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WEATHER
Red Cross ready to help By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
tween 60 mph and 65 mph were also reported in Zapata by Lincoln and Fifth. At 3:35 p.m., a flash flood was reported at Irene Drive and U.S. 83. The report states the intersection had nearly 3 feet of water. Elizondo said a downed power line caught on fire on Texas 16 on the Arroyo Veleño Bridge. There were several wires down
Tuesday’s destruction displaced at least four households, an American Red Cross manager for the Laredo branch said. Isela Sanchez said the organization offered two-night hotel stays to the families, but most refused. Instead, Sanchez said, they opted to stay with family members in order to keep close watch on their properties. Some of the damage Tuesday’s storm wreaked on the displaced families’ homes included roofs blowing partially off of trailers and roofs caving in because they were so drenched in water. “It was just a blessing that nobody got injured,” Sanchez said. The Red Cross Laredo branch has jurisdiction over four counties: Dimmit, LaSalle, Webb and Zapata. She said with storms still possibly looming, the organization remains on standby. Those who would like to assist the Red Cross, can call 726-4778 in Laredo. The Red Cross was the first disaster-relief organization the county contacted, County Judge Joe Rathmell said. Other than the strong winds that damaged several mobile homes, Rathmell said several rooms in the Zapata County Public Library were flooded, with “several inches” of water jumping the curb outside the building. He said the ongoing problems at the courthouse continue as rainwater seeps into the building after just about any rain event. The county is suing the builder and its several subcontractors for what it claims was negligence on the part of the general contractor, Satterfield and Pontikes, that led to water damage and mold buildup in the courthouse. Nevertheless, the rain was a
See STORM PAGE 9A
See HELP PAGE 9A
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
A storm cloud darkens the sky in North Laredo on Thursday as Webb County received storm warnings. A preliminary storm report from NWS Brownsville states four homes sustained roof damage in San Ygnacio. In addition, high winds demolished two mobile homes.
Angry Mother Nature Storms leave downed power lines, but nobody hurt By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Severe thunderstorms affected Zapata County this week, leaving behind downed lines, structure damage, outages and a few fires. According to the National Weather Service office in Brownsville, the county experienced 60 mph winds. But no one was harmed, according to first responders.
A preliminary storm report from NWS Brownsville states four homes sustained roof damage in San Ygnacio. Sgt. Mario Elizondo of the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office added two mobile homes were demolished due to the high winds there. At about noon Tuesday, San Ygnacio experienced wind gusts of 60 mph to 65 mph. According to Elizondo, heavy winds and lighting kept deputies busy
throughout the county. Deputies responded to flash flood areas such as the one at Arroyo San Francisco on U.S. 83, north of San Ygnacio. Meanwhile in Zapata, the wind blew several trees down around 4 p.m. by Fourth and Flores streets, according to the NWS report. Forecasters added there was quarter size hail by Lincoln Avenue and Fifth Street at about 3:23 p.m. Wind gusts be-
COMMISSIONERS
Zapata to consider hiring consultant for mold issue By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County will look to address a mold problem in its courthouse as litigation against the contractor that built the structure remains ongoing. Last year, the county filed
suit against Satterfield and Pontikes and several subcontractors that built the courthouse. Commissioners Court will consider Monday hiring a consultant to assess the mold issue. The court will also mull searching for a contractor to remediate the problem.
“It’s substantial,” County Judge Joe Rathmell said of the mold. Once a consultant is hired and assesses the damage, “we will know the extent of it, and what we have to do,” Rathmell said. The lawsuit, filed in June,
claims Satterfield “committed acts … of negligence in the supervision of its subcontractors.” The county — represented by law firm Escamilla, Poneck and Cruz — claims the roughly $8.6 million facility which opened in 2005 sustained, along with the mold, water damage due to
faulty construction. Rathmell said the problems have persisted since the courthouse opened for use. As for the lawsuit, it is in the discovery stage, during which each party can obtain evidence
See COMMISSIONERS PAGE 9A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
MONDAY, MAY 14
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Day One of AP Exams Week 2 at Zapata High School. Commissioners Court will have its regular meeting today at 9 a.m.
Today is Saturday, May 12, the 133rd day of 2012. There are 233 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 12, 1937, Britain’s King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey; his wife, Elizabeth, was crowned as queen consort. On this date: In 1012, Pope Sergius IV died, ending a nearly threeyear papacy; he was succeeded by Pope Benedict VIII. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, S.C., surrendered to British forces. In 1812, English poet Edward Lear, known for nonsensical verse like “The Owl and the Pussycat,” was born. In 1902, anthracite coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike. (The strike effectively ended in October 1902 with the appointment of an Anthracite Coal Strike Commission by President Theodore Roosevelt.) In 1922, a 20-ton meteor crashed near Blackstone, Va. In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, N.J. In 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD for short). In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope’s longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the assault.) Ten years ago: Jimmy Carter arrived in Cuba, becoming the first U.S. president — in or out of office — to visit since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power. Five years ago: Virginia Tech held its first commencement ceremonies since the April 16 shooting rampage that claimed 32 victims and the shooter. A U.S.-led coalition operation supported by NATO troops killed the Taliban’s most prominent military commander, Mullah Dadullah. One year ago: CEOs of the five largest oil companies went before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats challenged the executives to justify tax breaks at a time when people were paying $4 a gallon for gas. A German court convicted retired U.S. autoworker John Demjanjuk (dem-YAHN’-yuk) of being an accessory to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews as a Nazi death camp guard. (Demjanjuk, who maintained his innocence, died in March 2012 at age 91.) Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 87. Burt Bacharach is 84. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 62. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 62. Country singer Kix Brooks is 57. Actor Ving Rhames is 53. Actor Emilio Estevez is 50. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 46. Actress Samantha Mathis is 42. Actor Jason Biggs is 34. Thought for Today: “Mistrust the man who finds everything good; the man who finds everything evil; and still more the man who is indifferent to everything.” — Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss theologian (1741-1801).
TUESDAY, MAY 15 Day Two of AP Exams Week 2 at Zapata High School. Zapata County ISD will hold its regular school board meeting today at 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 Day Three of AP Exams Week 2 at Zapata High School. The LCC Economic Development Center is partnering with Skillpath to present the “Excelling as a Manager or Supervisor” workshop today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 101 of the De La Garza Building at LCC’s Fort McIntosh campus. For more information or to register, call the EDC at 721-5110 or visit www.laredo.edu/edc.
THURSDAY, MAY 17 Day Four of AP Exams Week 2 at Zapata High School. Fifth grade field trip to McAllen for Villarreal Elementary School.
Photo by Laura Skelding | AP
Gov. Rick Perry speaks about his "Texas Budget Compact" at an event Wednesday at Corvalent, a company that moved to Austin, Texas from Silicone Valley in California.
Perry ruling reversed
FRIDAY, MAY 18
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Day Five of AP Exams Week 2 at Zapata High School. Second grade field trip to Laredo for Villarreal Elementary School.
AUSTIN — A judge has reluctantly reversed his own ruling and found that the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn’t have to release travel records of Gov. Rick Perry’s security detail. The Austin American Statesman reported Friday that District Judge Scott Jenkins decided a day earlier that releasing officers’ travel vouchers and receipts could compromise the governor’s safety. Jenkins had ruled in 2008 that the information should be released under Texas Public Information Act requests by the Statesman, Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. “It’s a sad, sad world where we have to do this ... and it leads to less transparency,” the judge concluded this week. The paper sued after their open records re-
SATURDAY, MAY 19 The Bass Champs tournament will take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Falcon Lake.
TUESDAY, MAY 22 Third grade field trip to San Antonio for Villarreal Elementary School.
FRIDAY, MAY 25 Early release at Villarreal Elementary School.
SATURDAY, MAY 26 Day One for the BLT Open Team Tournament. The ninth annual Juvencio de Anda Memorial Day Golf Tournament is today at 8 a.m. at the Laredo Country Club, 1415 Country Club Drive. The tournament, hosted by the Women’s City Club, honors the late Bill Powell and Horace Watson. For more information, contact Nancy de Anda at 7639960 or n.deanda@att.net.
SUNDAY, MAY 27 Day Two for the BLT Open Team Tournament.
MONDAY, MAY 28 Kindergarten graduation at Villarreal Elementary School.
THURSDAY, MAY 31 Awards Day at Villarreal Elementary School. The API Fishing Tournament begins today and continues through Friday.
FRIDAY, JUNE 1 Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts music department’s 2012 Ballroom Gala-Dance is today from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Laredo Civic Center (meeting rooms), 2400 San Bernardo Ave. VMT’s jazz ensemble SoundTown will be featured. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at the VMT office, located at 820 Main St. For more information, contact Robert M. Lopez at 956-2737811 or rmlopez@elisd.org.
MONDAY, JUNE 11 Commissioners Court will have its regular meeting today at 9 a.m.
SUNDAY, JUNE 23 The Second Annual Classic Bass Fishing Tournament is scheduled.
MONDAY, JULY 9 The Zapata Commissioners Court will have its regular meeting today at 9 a.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 11 The Back To School Kids Fishing Tournament takes place today.
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
Gasoline prices tumble 7 cents across Texas HOUSTON — A travel association survey finds retail gasoline prices have tumbled 7 cents across Texas this week. AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump fell to $3.61 per gallon. Gas prices nationally also down 6 cents, reaching $3.74 per gallon. AAA Texas says crude oil prices have declined in the last week. The group’s weekly survey finds the most expensive gasoline statewide is in El Paso, at $3.73 per gallon. Amarillo has the cheapest gasoline, selling for an average $3.46 per gallon.
Thousands lose power in Houston-area storms HOUSTON — Crews have been working to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses that lost electricity during Texas storms.
quests were denied in 2007. They sought travel vouchers for a detailed accounting of how public money was spent protecting Perry when he or his wife, Anita, traveled to Europe, Mexico, Japan, Turkey and other places. The 3rd Court of Appeals agreed with Jenkins’ initial decision, but the Texas Supreme Court reversed those lower court rulings in July. It found that “the public’s right to ‘complete information’ must yield when disclosure of that information would substantially threaten physical harm.” Jenkins said Thursday that the Supreme Court’s direction left him little choice but to issue the new ruling this week, the Statesman reported. Jenkins rejected a request by the newspapers to require the Public Safety Department to release at least one travel voucher per trip.
CenterPoint Energy reported about 1,000 customers without power Friday afternoon, down from almost 9,000 outages around dawn. About 3,000 Austin Energy customers lost electricity during storms since Thursday night, but utility officials say that number had dwindled to a few dozen by Friday. Oncor (ON’-kor) reported nearly 1,900 customers without power in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, plus Central Texas and the Midland-Odessa area.
UT chancellor says he wasn’t told to fire Powers AUSTIN — University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa denies that regents told him to fire the president of the University of Texas at Austin. Cigarroa’s Thursday statement responds to rumors that regents Chairman Gene Powell wanted Bill Powers fired in a dispute over tuition rates at the system’s flagship campus. A Cigarroa spokesman said he won’t
comment further. Powers criticized regents last week for freezing tuition rates for most UT students for the next two years.
American Airlines workers march on headquarters FORT WORTH — Hundreds of uniformed American Airlines workers have marched to company headquarters to protest bankruptcy plans that could void their contracts. Members of the Allied Pilots Association, flight attendants and transport workers rallied Friday outside AMR Corp. headquarters in Fort Worth. AMR in November sought Chapter 11 reorganization. Union leaders on Monday are expected in bankruptcy court in New York to oppose AMR’s plan to throw out their labor contracts. The company seeks to impose its own terms for pay, benefits and work rules. Thousands of employees have signed a no-confidence petition. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Authorities: Kidnapped girls didn’t eat for days GUNTOWN, Miss. — Hope was fading that two young sisters abducted from their Tennessee home would be found alive two weeks after they vanished: Their kidnapper had already killed their mother and sister, and he was armed with a pistol as officers closed in. Yet 12-year-old Alexandria and 8-year-old Kyliyah Bain went home to their father Friday alive, with no apparent injuries. They told the officers who found them that they had not had food or water for three days, said Mississippi Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Steve Crawford. At one point, Mayes had claimed to be the girls’ father. That may be why he spared them, one criminologist said. It also may be that while he wanted to escape prosecution, he didn’t believe the girls were better off dead. And he was close to
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SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY Photo by Mississippi Department of Public Safety/File | AP
This combo of file photos shows sisters Alexandria Bain, 12, left, and Kyliyah Bain, 8. Adam Mayes, wanted for killing Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her daughter, Adrienne Bain, 14, and kidnapping the sisters, shot himself to death Thursday. the family, described as an unclelike figure. “He probably developed an attachment to them, and even the most vicious of killers can separate the world into people they care about, people they detest and people they don’t care
about,” said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. Authorities said Mayes, 35, killed Jo Ann Bain and 14-yearold Adrienne on April 27 in Whiteville, Tenn. — Compiled from AP reports
(956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
HONORING VILLARREAL ELEMENTARY ADMINISTRATORS
THE BLOTTER ANIMAL BITE A man reported at 1:29 p.m. May 4 in San Ygnacio a raccoon bit him on his leg.
ASSAULT
Courtesy photo
Villarreal Elementary faculty and staff showed their graditude towards school administrators Ana Martinez and Elsa Martinez with a cake in the library on Tuesday, May 1. Some shared words of appreciation for their administrators.
LCC to offer annual Mother’s Day concert SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Looking for a special Mother’s Day gift? Don’t fret. Instead, make a date with mom to attend the 22nd Annual Mother’s Day Concert on Sunday, at Laredo Community College. The concert begins at 3 p.m. in the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater, on the Fort McIntosh Campus, West End Washington Street. Sponsored by the LCC Performing Arts Department, the concert is free and open to the public. The annual concert will feature a romantic serenade by the LCC Spanish Traditional Group. The group is composed of LCC music students who will perform on guitar, requinto, and tololoche. "We’re dedicating this
free concert to all mothers out there as a token of appreciation for all the work they do for their families and their loved ones," Ruben Vargas, director of the traditional group and event organizer, said. "They’ll truly treasure this regalo for years to come."
Many favorites Vargas’ group of singers and guitarists will perform a selection of cherished songs in honor of mom, including "Las mañanitas," "Amor eterno," "Despierta" and "Madrecita." The ensemble also will perform "Cielo," "Déjame vivir," "El milagro de tus ojos," "Gema," "El Reloj," and "Juntos." In addition to honoring mothers with a musical tribute dedicated especially for them, the college
will offer carnations to moms while supplies last.
LCC starts again with May-mester classes May-mester is a great way to complete developmental or state-required core courses in just three weeks. Classes will be held either Monday through Thursday or Friday through Sunday for your convenience. This is definitely a benefit for students who are close to completing their developmental courses and want to be ready to take college-level courses by summer or fall! The best part is that students can use financial aid to cover the cost for Maymester classes. Classes start Monday through May 31.
Heber Barboza, 25, was arrested and charged with assault, family violence and interference with an emergency call Monday in the 5100 block of Laredo Lane. A police report states Barboza assaulted his wife. When she was going to call police, Barboza allegedly grabbed the cell phone and broke it. He was at Zapata Regional Jail as of Friday afternoon. A woman reported at 8:38 p.m. Monday in the 5200 block of Laredo Lane that her husband punched her and choked her to the point of passing out. A woman reported at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 5400 block of McCallen Lane that a man punched her several times in the
face and choked her.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF A woman reported at 9:31 a.m. Monday in the 5300 block of Lopez Lane that someone shot at her windows with a BB gun. A man reported at 11:42 a.m. Monday in the 2300 block of Alamo Street that someone threw several bottles at his property and broke two light fixtures.
CRIMINAL TRESPASS Jose Eduardo Barron, 20, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass at about 9:15 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of Miraflores Street. He was at Zapata Regional Jail as of Friday afternoon.
PUBLIC INTOXICATION Gilberto Sanchez, 34, was arrested and charged with public intoxication at
Researcher looks at health literacy SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A Texas A&M International University faculty researcher and students are conducting a binational study featuring Laredo research looking at the relationship between diabetes and health literacy. Suko Lee, associate professor, College of Education, is part of the study sponsored by TAMIU, Texas A&M University and the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. The study is collecting data in Laredo, Bryan-College Station, San Antonio and Mexico City. In Laredo, Lee is collaborating with Mercy Min-
istries of Laredo and conducted on-site research last week at the clinic at 2500 Zacatecas. “Mexican-Americans have a high rate of diabetes and twice the rate of heart disease than other ethnic groups,” Lee explained, “We will be looking at the correlation between health behaviors, health literacy, or understanding of one’s health, and diabetics.” Participants must be over 18, have diabetes for more than one year, have been born in México or have parents from México and cannot be pregnant, he said.
about 3:30 p.m. May 4 by West 24th Avenue and Elm Street. He already served his sentence. Jose Guadalupe Macias Jr., 38, was arrested and charge with public intoxication at about 8 p.m. May 4 at The Steak House Restaurant, 111 S. U.S. 83, parking lot. He already served his sentence.
POSSESSION Jesus Mario Benavidez Jr., 30, was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia at about 10:30 p.m. May 6 in the 1700 block of Texas 16. He is out on bail.
RECKLESS DRIVING Freida Lee Yvette Dominguez, 32, was arrested and charged with reckless driving and for striking a stop sign at about 5 p.m. May 4 by 16th Street and Villa Avenue in the Medina Addition. She was at Zapata County Jail as of Friday afternoon.
ATTENDING CINCO DE MAYO
Courtesy photo
Junior Miss Falcon Lake Victoria Rae Garza is seen at the Cinco de Mayo Celebration in San Ygnacio.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Obama uses Orwell for campaign By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
T
he calendar says 2012. The propaganda screams “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The Obama brain trust in Chicago recently rolled out its new campaign slogan — “Forward.” If the president’s most extreme detractors had wanted to attribute to him a rallying cry more freighted with leftist baggage, they could not have done better.
Going ‘Forward’ “Forward” was the name of the socialist rag for which Engels and Trotsky wrote. “Forward” was the newspaper Lenin founded, and was at the heart of one of his most famous political slogans: “When one makes a revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward — or go back.” Stalin used the motto, “Forward to communism!” Mao led the “Great Leap Forward.” If the Obama campaign geniuses are ignorant of modern political history, they also seem unfamiliar with the writing of George Orwell. Visit the campaign’s website and you’re invited to join the heroic work of “the Truth Team . . . a network of supporters of President Obama who are committed to responding to unfounded attacks and defending the president’s record.”
Title says it all Mitt Romney’s strategists couldn’t have created a title that begs greater comparison to Orwell’s Ministry of Truth. Then there is Julia. In “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” she is an enthusiastic propagandist for the Party, an eager participant in the daily “Two Minutes Hate” against its enemies and eventually a victim of Big Brother’s totalitarian cult of personality. In the Obama campaign’s “The Life of Julia,” she is the faceless protagonist of an interactive story demonstrating “how President Obama’s policies help one woman over her lifetime — and how Mitt Romney would change her story.” From pre-school to retirement, Obama is there for Julia. As a three-year-old, she is able to enroll in a Head Start program because of Obama’s valiant fight against the “Romney/ Ryan budget.” She can take the classes she
needs in high school, go to college, receive a Pell Grant, have insurance coverage for surgery, get a job, receive a fair wage, pay off her student loans and obtain birth control — all thanks to Obama, and in spite of the evil machinations of Romney.
Everything’s free Julia’s two acts of creation — a child and a business — are impossible without Obama. She has a son, evidently without the assistance of a father, but with the essential prenatal care and free screenings provided by the president’s health care reform, which Romney would repeal. And she starts a web business with help from a Small Business Administration program and Obama tax cuts that Romney would eliminate. Julia eventually retires at age 67 to a life of volunteerism at a community garden and lives off the fruits of Medicare and Social Security, which Obama has courageously saved from Romney — never mind that both programs are headed toward insolvency long before Julia would ever be eligible to use them.
Only the state As in “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” “The Life of Julia” presents a disturbing vision of a society where — aside from the benevolent oversight of Big Brother — people live an atomized existence. Obama’s Julia has no relationships, not with the parents and child who are mentioned in passing or with a spouse and friends who are not. In the worlds of both Julias, no institutions exist outside of those supported by the Party or the state. The only constant in Julia’s life, Big Brotherlike from cradle to grave, is President Obama. Assuming Julia is born in 2012, the storyline suggests Obama’s preeminence and his perpetual struggle against the reactionary forces of Romneyism will continue at least through 2079. The Obama campaign presents “The Life of Julia” as a utopian fairy tale about a statist future. Others may recognize it as a dystopian horror story that breaks sharply from America’s individualist past. “Who controls the past controls the future,” Orwell wrote. “Who controls the present controls the past.” (Email: jgurwitz@express-news.net)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
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 namecalling 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.
COLUMN
Want reform? Explain why By BILL KING HOUSTON CHRONICLE
H
OUSTON — A couple of months ago, a special task force for the city of Houston concluded that the city has been running a structural deficit for the better part of a decade. More daunting was its prediction that the cumulative deficit for the next 20 years would be at least $1 billion and might swell to as much as $11 billion. The task force identified escalating pension and health care costs as the principal drivers of the looming deficits and made a number of recommendations for trimming those costs. In an op-ed responding to the report, the head of one of the pension funds criticized the report because it concentrated too heavily on the problems with the pension plans and did not investigate “wasteful” spending by the city. The pension official did not give any specific examples of wasteful spending by the city. A Houston blogger, Charles Kuffner, posted an entry regarding the pension official’s comments about wasteful spending. In response, he said he was adopting the following rule. “If you claim there is wasteful spending, but then fail to say what spending in particular is wasteful, I’m not going to take you seriously. Crying ‘waste’ is the easiest and laziest dodge in the book. If you’re not giving specifics, you’re not contributing.” I frequently find myself with different views of public policy issues than Kuffner, but on this point I am with him to the molecule. The catch phrase we so often often hear is
“waste, fraud and abuse.” Every candidate promises to ferret it out. And virtually every public official claims to have already done so. I certainly am not suggesting that there is not plenty of waste, fraud and abuse in government. But waste and abuse is often in the eye of the beholding special interest group. One person’s waste and abuse is another person’s critical program. And after spending more than 30 years around government, my impression is that there is much less outright fraud than the average person may suspect. But regardless of the actual level of waste, fraud and abuse in government, Kuffner’s rule is still a good one. Unless you can tell me a specific expenditure you intend to eliminate, don’t waste my time. I would expand the “I am not taking you seriously” rule to those who keep telling us that they want to lower tax rates through broadening the base by eliminating tax “loopholes.” As with waste, one person’s tax loophole is another person’s critical tax policy, typically not just benefiting the proponent’s special interest but also saving the entire country from economic ruination. This is the biggest issue I have with Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future.” There is much to be admired in the fact that Ryan, R-Wis., and the House Republicans have laid out the financial dilemma facing the country over the next several decades in plain language. Many of their proposals make sense and in some ways track the findings of the Simpson-Bowles Commission. But a cornerstone of the Roadmap is a broadly based and dramat-
ic reduction in income tax rates. The Roadmap authors say the revenue lost by lowering the rates will be made up by eliminating tax loopholes. However, they do not say which ones. The problem is that the largest deductions are very popular. The largest, which constitute more than two-thirds of all tax deductions, are: The exclusion of employer-paid health insurance. Home mortgage deduction. Lower rates for capital gains and dividends (I’m pretty sure this is not one the Republicans are thinking about eliminating). The exclusion of Medicare benefits. The exclusion of contributions to pension plans. The earned income tax credit for low-income filers. The deduction for state and local taxes. Charitable deductions. The exclusion of capital gains on death. Of course, the reason that Republicans have not specified any particular deduction for elimination is that there is a large constituency that supports each of these deductions. If there were not, they would have never found their way into the tax code in the first place. Generally speaking, the idea of lowering tax rates and broadening the base is a good one. It was a concept specifically endorsed by the Simpson-Bowles Commission. But unless you are prepared to tell which deduction you are going to eliminate, I am invoking Kuffner’s rule, and I am not going to take you seriously. (Email: weking@weking.net )
Romney stronger than we think By ED ROGERS SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
It is hard to make the case that the 2012 primary battles wounded former Gov. Mitt Romney. Yes, it has been conventional wisdom that Romney “won ugly.” That he pandered to the far right but didn’t win
their hearts; that he was too rough on his opponents; that his candidacy suffered from the effects of a GOP “war on women” and the GOP budget; that he doesn’t connect with voters and is tainted by his wealth. But after that, Romney is no worse than even with President Obama.
Yes, the president — the incumbent who has a unified party, is the politician who relates to voters so well, and who has loyal support among the swooning apologencia (a useful new word) on the left. So, what is wrong? Why isn’t Obama cruising right now with a big lead over
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Romney? Because Romney is stronger than he has been portrayed and Obama is weaker than most people think. How else do you explain the current polls? Obama may have a problem his supporters can’t bring themselves to admit, and that is a formidable opponent in Mitt Romney.
National
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Edwards’ charges not dismissed By MICHAEL BIESECKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Jay Reeves | AP
Ricky Campbell looks over the plot where his granddaughter used to play with 9-year-old Katelynn Arnold, who died Friday.
Ala. boy charged in girl’s death By JAY REEVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAGLAND, Ala. — When 9-year-old Katelynn Arnold didn’t appear right away after one of her frequent bicycle rides along her rural Alabama road, her concerned aunt set out to look for the girl. The woman, who is the girl’s foster mother, checked with a neighbor whose daughter often played with Katelynn, but he hadn’t seen her. When she returned home Thursday evening, she found the girl hanged from a tree with an old tire swing rope, deliberately, authorities say, by her 14-year-old half-brother who was charged Friday with murder. The cotton rope was tied in a simple knot around the girl’s neck, but was not a hangman’s noose, said St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles. County Coroner Dennis Russell said an autopsy found the cause of death was homicide due to ligature strangulation. The neighbor, Ricky Campbell, could only shake his head when thinking about what happened. “She never got a chance to grow up. Her life was taken away,” he said. The accused boy admitted to killing her by hanging, Surles said. He said the boy told investigators a motive but Surles did not release it. A call came into the sheriff ’s department about 8:10 p.m. Thursday and by the time investigators arrived, rescuers had removed the girl from the tree and she was pronounced dead at a hospital. The half-siblings were living with their aunt and uncle in Ragland, a town of some 1,900 people about 40 miles northeast
of Birmingham, as part of a foster home situation, Surles said. Authorities did not release their names, but Campbell identified them as Jerry and Teresa McMahan and an address search shows a couple by that name living on that road. Campbell said the children had been staying with the couple for years and authorities had no information about their parents. It was not clear whether the state had placed the children in the care of the McMahans or if the parents had sent the pair to live there. Several relatives who had gathered at the small, white home declined to comment Friday. Yellow police tape was strung around a couple of trees outside the home along a one-lane road and a small bicycle with pink handle bars was parked out front. The boy faces juvenile charges and his name was not released. Authorities could later decide to charge him as an adult. After the girl was found and taken to the hospital, the boy went to bed, Surles said. He was arrested between 2 and 3 a.m. Teresa McMahan came to Campbell’s house Thursday evening looking for the girl, Campbell said. She returned home and a few minutes later he heard the ambulances arrive. Campbell said he never saw any real signs of trouble out of the accused boy. “He’d run off and do crazy things, but I never believed he’d do something like that. It’s a bad situation,” Campbell said.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A federal judge refused to throw out campaign corruption charges against John Edwards on Friday, meaning the former presidential hopeful will have to present his case to a jury. Lawyers for Edwards argued before U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles that prosecutors failed to prove the 2008 candidate intentionally violated the law or that some of the alleged offenses actually occurred in the Middle District of North Carolina, the venue where he was indicted. After two-and-a-half hours of arguments from the defense and rebuttal from the prosecution, the judge ruled quickly from the bench that the government had met its basic burden under the law. “We will let the jury decide,” Eagles said. Motions to dismiss are routine in criminal trials, but rarely granted. The decision means Edwards’ defense team will begin calling its first witnesses Monday, including former Federal Election Commission chairman Scott Thomas, political pollster Harrison Hickman and ex-Edwards attorney Wade Smith. Lawyers for Edwards said they have not yet determined whether he’ll take the stand. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to campaign finance violations. He is accused of masterminding a scheme to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy donors to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Edwards’ lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, made an impassioned argument Friday tearing down the government’s evidence piece by piece, saying their case had numerous holes and they were expecting the judge to serve as the “pothole filler.” Chiefly, Lowell said that in 14 days of testimony the government failed to present any direct evidence Edwards intended to violate campaign finance laws when hiding his affair or lying about it to his wife, his campaign and the American people. Lots of cheating husbands lie, Lowell argued. “They have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Edwards knew he was violating the law and did so with specific intent,”
Photo by Gerry Broome | Associated Press
Former presidential candidate and Sen. John Edwards arrives at a federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday. Lowell told the judge. “No one is going to deny that Mr. Edwards lied and lied and lied. ... But what did he lie about?” But Lowell also admitted for the first time that his client had some knowledge his campaign finance chairman Fred Baron was financially supporting his mistress, Rielle Hunter, while she was in hiding. Edwards had previously denied having any knowledge of the cover up orchestrated by two of his closest campaign confidants. “Mr. Edwards definitely knew she was outside North Carolina, definitely knew she was on a plane and definitely knew that Baron was taking care of things,” Lowell said. “No one is denying he knew. But does he know it’s in the context of campaign laws?” As he had argued in pretrial hearings, Lowell said the government has taken
the existing canon of federal campaign finance regulations and stretched them to try to fit conduct where the money was never deposited in a campaign account and wasn’t spent for a traditional campaign purpose, such as paying staff or buying political ads. “That would be like saying that everyone knows murder is against the law, but then applying that law when someone in an argument tells the other person to ‘drop dead,’ and then the other person does, of a heart attack,” he said. Lowell asked: How was Edwards supposed to know he was violating the law when no one has ever before been charged for the same behavior? In response to one of Lowell’s arguments, Judge Eagles said she thought the law on that point “seems pretty straightforward to me.” “Then I want to make it less straightforward to
you,” the fast-talking Washington lawyer replied, causing the gallery to erupt in laughter. Lead prosecutor David V. Harbach wasn’t amused. He especially seemed to bristle at the defense lawyer’s narrow interpretation of the federal statute being cited by prosecutors. It defines a campaign contribution as anything of value given “for the purpose” of influencing an election. Just as another of Lowell’s former clients, Bill Clinton, once tried to parse the meaning of “is” during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Lowell quibbled with the word “the” in “for the purpose.” Lowell argued “the” means the secret money given by Edwards’ donors couldn’t be considered a campaign contribution if it was also given for any other reason, such as hiding the affair from his cancerstricken wife.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
Gay marriage shift gives Obama boost By BETH FOUHY AND KEN THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — President Barack Obama has seen an uptick in fundraising since he announced his shift on gay marriage, with some Democratic rainmakers citing renewed interest from gay and lesbian donors who had been urging the president to clarify his stance on the divisive social issue. “The phone calls went on until one in the morning after the president spoke — people calling saying ‘Where do I go, what can I do to help, what events are coming up,”’ said Robert Zimmerman, a Long Island, N.Y., Obama bundler. “People I’ve been seeking out for campaign support for months have been calling me saying, ‘I’m ready to give.”’ Obama’s campaign has declined to say how much it has collected since the announcement but some staffers have asked supporters to give money as a way of expressing their approval. Following the Obama interview with ABC News, Rufus Gifford, Obama’s national finance director, said in a posting to the campaign website that “if you’re proud of our president, this is a great time to make a donation to the campaign.” Chad Griffin, an Obama bundler and incoming president of the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said most prominent gay donors had been supporting Obama all along despite his reluctance to champion gay marriage. Most had already given the maximum contribution to his campaign, Griffin said. But he said Obama’s announcement had boosted enthusiasm among many gay donors. “There was a tad bit of uncomfortableness because
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP
President Obama returns a salute as he steps off the Marine One helicopter before boarding Air Force One in Los Angeles on Friday. of his position on marriage, even though most people saw where he was headed,” Griffin said. “The thing he did (Wednesday) cleared any uncomfortableness anyone had.” Obama said Wednesday he supported gay marriage, marking a shift in his personal view on the issue after once opposing it and saying more recently that his views were “evolving.” Even before the gay marriage news, Obama has long stressed his commitment to gay rights. The president repealed the military’s 18year-old ban on openly gay service members, called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and instructed the Justice Department last year to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of samesex marriages. Some gay rights advocates have pressed Obama to sign an executive order barring discrimination against gays and lesbians who work for companies with federal contracts. Obama was attending a New York fundraiser Monday with gay and lesbian
Candidates aim talk on economy By JIM KUHNHENN AND KASIE HUNT ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO, Nev. — The presidential candidates tried to put aside politically risky talk of gay rights Friday and return to Americans’ top worry, the economy, in two states critical to the hopes of President Barack Obama and his rival Mitt Romney. Obama discussed how to help homeowners seeking to avoid foreclosure in hard-hit Nevada, while Romney was focusing on jobs in North Carolina — more evidence that each views the sluggish economic recovery as the key issue in November’s election. For both, it was a day to move past the week’s backand-forth on gay marriage, punctuated by Obama’s announcement that he now
supports it. Romney, who reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage repeatedly, was distracted by a news report that led him to apologize for decades ago mistreating a high school classmate who was gay. "There are things that we can do right now to help create jobs, to help restore some of the financial security that so many families have lost," Obama told Nevada voters after he met with struggling homeowners. "But I have to say that there are a few too many Republicans in Congress who don’t seem to be as optimistic as we are." Romney will navigate a tricky course on Saturday when he gives the commencement address at an evangelical university in Virginia, a long-planned speech.
donors hosted by singer Ricky Martin, his first fundraising event with gay supporters since his announcement. The president is scheduled to attend a major fundraiser with gay supporters in Los Angeles on June 6, with tickets priced as high as $25,000 per couple. Griffin, who is co-hosting the event, said he was confident it would sell out. At least one leading gay activist has said he will attend the June 6 event after pledging to withhold support for Obama if the president did not embrace gay marriage. Lance Black, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter based in Los Angeles, penned a column in the Hollywood Reporter last month saying he would not contribute to or vote for Obama and urged other gay activists to withhold support as well. Now I can do all I can to help him financially. I am going to go big, and I’m not alone there,” Black said. “He blew me away (Wednesday). I walked around for the first time in three years thinking, ‘Yes we can.”’
SÁBADO 12 DE MAYO DE 2012
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 05/12 — Conozca a la autora Terry Guerrero a las 2 p.m. en la Sala de Usos Múltiples H-E-B de la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road. Guerrero es autora de “The Butterfly Journey”. 05/14 — Presión arterial y nivel de azúcar puede ser revisados gratuitamente el día de hoy en First United Methodist Church, 1220 avenida McClelland, de 9 a.m. a 4 p.m. Se recomienda el ayuno para verificar el nivel de azúcar. Todo el público está invitado. 05/15 — Club Una Mirada de Amor invita a la Conferencia “Bullying Stops Here” a las 5 p.m. en 4519 E. Del Mar. El evento gratuito contará con la participación de Ptr. Jeff, Sister Paula y marionetas. Informes en el 712-2484. 05/15 — Una clase de video-ejercicio de 45 minutos para personas mayores de 50 años se ofrece en el salón de La Trinidad United Methodist Church, 1120 calle E. Fremont, a las 10 a.m. los lunes y miércoles. 05/15 — Laredo Heat recibe a ASC New Stars Houston, a las 8 p.m. en el Campo de Soccer de TAMIU. 05/16 — Club de Libros de Misterio “Scene of the Crime” se reúne hoy a las 6 p.m.; y Club de Libros “Gateway City Book Lovers” se reúne hoy a las 7 p.m., en Scholars Café Barista, 1701 Meadow Court. Evento gratuito. 05/16 — Laredo Soccer League invita al 10mo. Boys & Girls College All-Stars vs High School All-Stars, juego de fútbol soccer, a las 6 p.m. (hombres) y a las 7:45 p.m. (mujeres) en Slaughter Park Sports Complex. Evento gratuito. 05/18 — Concierto “Newman’s Kidz Bop Spectacular!” a las 7:30 p.m. en el auditorio del Student Activity Complex (SAC). Evento gratuito.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA HA REPORTADO MENOR INMIGRACIÓN Y MÁS AGENTES
Estrategia nacional POR ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO — La Patrulla Fronteriza de Estados Unidos presentó el martes su nueva estrategia nacional, la primera en ocho años, periodo en que el número de sus agentes aumentó a más del doble y las detenciones de personas que ingresan sin permiso desde México disminuyeron a su menor nivel en cuatro décadas. El nuevo plan, esbozado en un documento de 32 páginas y cuya elaboración tardó más de dos años— contiene términos especializados como “en base al riesgo” y “en base a información de inteligencia” para describir una reacción más matizada y específica frente a amenazas que evolucionan constantemente. En su anterior estrategia, la Patrulla Fronteriza había
El año pasado, la Patrulla Fronteriza detuvo a 327.577 personas cerca de la frontera con el país vecino, 80% menos que las más de 1,6 millones que en 2000. Fue el nivel más bajo desde 1971. emplazado a numerosos agentes en corredores de intenso tránsito de inmigrantes carentes de permiso, para obligarlos a desplazarse por zonas más remotas donde supuestamente sería más fácil capturarlos y que los desalentaría de reincidir. “El punto para mí es que al menos sea una estrategia firme”, dijo a The Associated Press el director de la fuerza, Mike Fisher. La nueva estrategia se basa en información de inteligencia para identificar a los reincidentes y determinar por qué siguen entrando al país sin permiso, dijo
Fisher, quien exponía el plan el martes ante una subcomisión de la Cámara de Representantes. “Toda esta iniciativa basada en el riesgo intenta determinar ¿quiénes son estas personas? ¿Qué peligro representan respecto de la seguridad nacional? Cuanto más sepamos, más informados estaremos para identificar una amenaza y un peligro potencial”, señaló Fisher en entrevista reciente. Las condiciones en la frontera han cambiado considerablemente desde la anterior estrategia nacional, lo cual obliga a la agencia a
adaptarse a un nuevo panorama. El número de agentes se incrementó a más del doble desde 2004, a 21.000 elementos, gracias a una contratación sin precedentes, a la par de otras medidas, como fuertes inversiones en la construcción de cercas y en la instalación de cámaras, sensores y otros aparatos. Al mismo tiempo, la inmigración proveniente de México ha disminuido considerablemente. El año pasado, la Patrulla Fronteriza detuvo a 327.577 personas cerca de la frontera con el país vecino, 80% menos que las más de 1,6 millones que en 2000. Fue el nivel más
COMUNIDAD
FRONTERA
DE ANIVERSARIO
Inicia trasvase a Falcón POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 05/12 — Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte” a las 12 p.m.; “El Sonido de las Letras” a la 1 p.m.; “Taller de Narración Oral” a las 3 p.m.; “El Fantasma de la Opera, Rapeando Historias” a las 2 p.m.; “Taller de Creación Literaria” a las 3 p.m. Eventos gratuitos. 05/13 — Laberintus Arte y Cultura, A.C. presenta “Historia del Otro Lado” de Ángel Hernández, a las 12 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, Reynosa y Belden. Costo: 20 dólares. Apta para toda la familia. 05/15 — Laberintus Arte y Cultura, A.C. presenta “Rapaz” de Edoardo Torres, a las 8 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, Reynosa y Belden. Costo: 20 dólares. 05/20 — Laberintus Arte y Cultura, A.C. presenta “Historia del Otro Lado” de Ángel Hernández, a las 12 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, Reynosa y Belden. Costo: 20 dólares. 05/11 — Laberintus Arte y Cultura, A.C. presenta “Rapaz” de Edoardo Torres, a las 8 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, Reynosa y Belden. Costo: 20 dólares.
AUSTIN 05/17-18-19 — Coors Light invita a su evento de arte tridimensional que inicia hoy con los artistas pintando sus obras que concluirán el sábado a las 3 p.m. en 203 calle Congress (estacionamiento en la esquina de calles Congress y 2nd). El evento continuará el 18 y 19 de mayo. Asistentes podrán tomarse una fotografía sobre la obra de 15’x20’ que da la ilusión de lata de Silver Bullet saliendo del pavimento.
bajo desde 1971. El Pew Hispanic Center reportó en abril que la más grande ola de inmigrantes de un sólo país en la historia de Estados Unidos dejó de aumentar y posiblemente se revirtió. La nueva estrategia busca frenar una política de enviar de regreso a los inmigrantes a México por una especie de “puerta giratoria”, sin ninguna sanción. La Patrulla Fronteriza ahora considera que tiene más recursos para comenzar a endurecer las sanciones contra casi cualquier persona que atrape en la zona fronteriza. En enero amplió su “Sistema de Aplicación de Consecuencias” a toda la frontera, dividiendo los cruces fronterizos en siete categorías que van desde aquellos que infringen la ley por vez primera hasta las personas con antecedentes delictivos.
Foto por Cuate Santos | Tiempo de Zapata
La maestra de Cuidado Infantil del Texas Migrant Council, Catarina Soliz, sostiene a Galilea Rivera, conforme Camilla Saucedo sonríe a la cámara, en el Centro de Cuidado Infantil Henry Bonilla, en LaredoCondado de Webb. TMC celebra 40 años de servicio a la comunidad.
Las compuertas de la presa internacional “La Amistad” fueron abiertas para trasvasar 152 metros cúbicos por segundo a la presa Falcón durante un lapso de dos a tres semanas, anunció la Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas (CILA). Siendo que el trasvase inició el sábado, para el martes se reflejaba un crecimiento del caudal a 1.68 metros. “Notificamos con tiempo sobre el crecimiento en el río”, dijo el representante de CILA-México, David Negrete Arroyo. No se tiene previsto que el agua salga de su cauce. “Es posible que el caudal pudiera crecer a consecuencia de las lluvias, pero sin mayor riesgo”, sostuvo Negrete. Actualmente la Presa La Amistad reporta un 63% de sus reservas, mientras que la Falcón tiene solo un 35%. “Con el trasvase esperamos que la Falcón aumente su capacidad al 50 por ciento”, dijo Negrete. Según datos de CILA, durante el 2011 se registraron solamente el 49% de las lluvias que se habían pronosticado, lo que afectó el agua reservada en la presa Falcón. El 2012 no se ve mejor, ya que se pronostica como un año seco. “Aunque se indica que un huracán pudiera tocar la región, en el clima todos son pronósticos”, dijo Negrete. “De registrarse un huracán podría darse el caso que las presas pudieran llenarse y contar con las reservas adecuadas”. La Dirección de Protección Civil y Bomberos alertó a pescadores y rancheros para que extrajeran sus bombas del río. “Además montamos operativos para evitar que inmigrantes ingresen al río”, el Director de Protección Civil, Juan Ernesto Rivera Gómez. “Los operativos se ejercerán desde el Puente del Ferrocarril hasta el área del Parque Viveros conocida como ‘El Patinadero”. “Sería un suicidio que los migrantes pretendieran cruzar al lado americano estas semanas”, dijo Rivera. (Localice a Miguel Timoshenkov en el (956) 7282583 o en mramirez@lmtonline.com)
TURISMO
Tamaulipas presume opciones ESPECIAL TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Tamaulipas es una entidad que destacada por su diversidad de climas y terrenos. Múltiples acciones de diversión, excursión y entretenimiento para el turismo de aventura se encuentra ofreciendo la entidad, esto incluye desde escalar o el rappel, hasta visitar sitios de interés en cualquiera de sus regiones: Frontera, Valle de San Fernando, Centro, Mante, Altiplano y Sur. Como dos ejemplos, se tienen a Miquihuana, al suroeste de Ciudad Victoria, y la Biosfera El Cielo.
Miquihuana y Biosfera El Cielo Miquihuana está situada en la parte alta de la Sierra Madre y es propicio para el excursionismo, campismo, la cabalgata o recorrido en bicicleta de montaña por sus extensos escenarios. Por su altitud, de aproximadamente 3,564 metros sobre el nivel del mar, Miquihuana es una de las regiones más hermosas de la naturaleza tamaulipeca. Es un hábitat
natural para el oso negro y otras especies como el venado cola blanca y en sus recorridos el visitante puede apreciar llanuras y una amplia vegetación del semi-desierto. La Biosfera El Cielo, enclavada en la sierra de Gómez Farías, es uno de los recorridos de turismo ecológico o turismo extremo con mayor demanda. La biodiversidad incluye una amplia gama de flora y fauna única en México. El recorrido se puede hacer hasta la cima de la sierra o solamente al Centro Interpretativo Ecológico, donde en forma didáctica se muestra la riqueza natural de la reserva.
Foto de cortesía
El rappel es una de las actividades turísticas que se pueden realizar en Tamaulipas.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
Ore in Haiti might spur boom Search teams find 12 bodies in jet crash By MARTHA MENDOZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
TROU DU NORD, Haiti — Its capital is blighted with earthquake rubble. Its countryside is shorn of trees, chopped down for fuel. And yet, Haiti’s land may hold the key to relieving centuries of poverty, disaster and disease: There is gold hidden in its hills — and silver and copper, too. A flurry of exploratory drilling in the past year has found precious metals worth potentially $20 billion deep below the tropical ridges in the country’s northeastern mountains. Now, a mining company is drilling around the clock to determine how to get those metals out. In neighboring Dominican Republic, workers are poised to start mining the other side of this seam later this year in one of the world’s largest gold deposits: 23 million ounces worth about $40 billion. The Haitian government’s annual budget is $1 billion, more than half provided by foreign assistance. The largest single source of foreign investment, $2 billion, came from Haitians working abroad last year. A windfall of locally produced wealth could pay for roads, schools, clean water and sewage systems for the nation’s 10 million people, most of whom live on as little as $1.25 a day. "If the mining companies are honest and if Haiti has a good government, then here is a way for this country to move forward," said Bureau of Mines Director Dieuseul Anglade. In a parking lot outside Anglade’s marble-floored office, more than 100 families have been living in tents since the earthquake. "The gold in the mountains belongs to the people of Haiti," he said, gesturing out his window. "And they need it." Haiti’s geological vulnerability is also its promise. Massive tectonic plates
By ANDI JATMIKO ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery | AP
In this April 10 photo, Genove Valcimon 70, right, plays music using his shovel as laborers build a road that will lead to an exploratory drill site in the department of Trou Du Nord, Haiti. squeeze the island with horrifying consequences, but deep cracks between them form convenient veins for gold, silver and copper pushed up from the hot innards of the planet. Prospectors from California to Chile know earthquake faults often have, quite literally, a golden lining. Until now, few Haitians have known about this buried treasure. Mining camps are unmarked, and the work is being done miles up dirt roads near remote villages, on the opposite side of the country from the capital. But U.S. and Canadian investors have spent more than $30 million in recent years on everything from exploratory drilling to camps for workers, new roads, offices and laboratory studies of samples. Actual mining could be under way in five years. "When I first heard whispers of this I said, ’Gold mines? There could be gold mines in Haiti?’" said Michel Lamarre, a Haitian engineer whose firm, SOMINE, is leading the exploration. "I truly believe this
is our answer to taking care of ourselves instead of constantly living on donations." On a rugged, steep Haitian ridge far above the Atlantic, brilliant boulders coated with blue-green oxidized copper jut from the hills, while colorful pebbles litter the soil, strong indicators that precious metals lie below. "Just look down," said geologist John Watkins. "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire." Nearby, 8-year-old Whiskey Pierre and his barefoot buddies stared at a team of sweat-drenched men driving a narrow, shrieking diamond bit 900 feet into the ground. "That is a drill!" shouted Whiskey, bouncing on his toes. "The man drill to get gold!" The workers periodically pulled up samples and knocked them into boxes. The first 40 feet yielded loose rocks and gravel. About 160 feet down, cylinders of rock came back peppered with gold. At 1,000 feet down, rocks were heavily streaked with cop-
per. Geologists extrapolating from depth and strike reports estimate at least 1 million ounces of gold at two sites. In April, prospectors found the first significant silver ever reported in Haiti: between 20 million and 30 million ounces. And in the end, it may be copper that is the most lucrative: geologists suspect that more than 1 million tons lay in just one of many areas. The prices of precious metals have been volatile in recent years, with copper selling for about $8,000 per ton, silver at $30 an ounce, and gold at $1,600 per ounce. "Ultimately, I think mining is going to dwarf anything else in Haiti," says Michael Fulp, an Albuquerque-based geologist who visited the drill sites. "Usually you’ve got about a one-in-1,000 chance of making a mine from the exploratory stage, but those odds are much better in Haiti because of the lack of any previous modern-day exploration and very, very promising samples."
MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia — Search teams who scaled a volcano’s steep slopes found at least 12 bodies Friday near the wreckage of a Russianmade jetliner that crashed in Indonesia during a demonstration flight for potential buyers, an official said. All 45 aboard the Sukhoi Superjet-100 that crashed Wednesday are feared dead. "Today we have discovered 12 victims, all dead," Rear Marshal Daryatmo, head of the national search and rescue agency, told reporters Friday. Many of the bodies found Friday had been torn apart in the crash, said Lt. Col. Oni Junianto of the Indonesian marines, whose search team found eight corpses before returning to base camp further down the mountain. "We see many other victims ... but the ravines and steep cliffs prevent us from reaching them," Junianto said in a statement. Local television showed what appeared to be the plane’s tail with the blue-and-white Sukhoi logo, part of a wing and bits of twisted metal scattered along the slope like confetti. About 85 soldiers, police and volunteers used ropes to climb up to the wreckage through jungle on the near-vertical slopes of Mount Salak, search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said by telephone. Thick fog and the mountain’s jagged slopes
kept helicopters from landing at the crash site, so the bodies remained there along with the search teams. The soldiers, police and volunteers fashioned a landing area by hacking down trees, but Prakoso said the helicopters were recalled to Jakarta late Friday because the fog limited visibility to only about 5 meters (15 feet). The jetliner slammed into the dormant volcano at nearly 800 kph (480 mph) during drizzle. Russian and French investigators have joined the investigation into the cause. The Superjet-100 is Russia’s first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and was intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry. The ill-fated Superjet was carrying representatives from local airlines and journalists on what was supposed to be a 50minute demonstration flight. Just 21 minutes after takeoff from a Jakarta airfield, the Russian pilot and co-pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 meters to 1,800 meters). They gave no explanation, disappearing from the radar immediately afterward. It was not clear why the crew asked to shift course, especially since they were so close to the 7,000-foot (2,200-meter) volcano, or whether they got an OK, officials have said. Communication tapes will be reviewed as part of the investigation, but it’s unlikely they will be released to the public any time soon.
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Wal-Mart’s reputation JPMorgan loss draws takes another beating higher regulation calls By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — In business, you’re only as good as your last good deed. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, in recent years has tried to repair a reputation that’s been damaged by decades of criticism and legal troubles. Community activists have blamed it for damaging the neighborhoods where it builds its stores. Labor groups have lambasted it for not treating its workers well. And politicians have called it a poor steward of the environment. Wal-Mart has been doing things like offering employees better health care coverage and working with its suppliers to reduce environmental waste. Now, allegations that WalMart paid millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Mexico threaten to derail its efforts. The accusations highlight how difficult it is for a company as big and powerful as Wal-Mart to dig itself out of a pile of bad publicity. As history shows, the discounter’s low-income customers continue to shop at the retailer even when it’s having image problems. But the fallout from the latest accusations could become a distraction for the company at a time when it’s battling growing competition. The U.S. and Mexican governments reportedly are investigating the chain. Wal-Mart’s stock is down almost 5 percent since the allegations surfaced. The company and top executives are being sued by angry investors. And some shareholders are planning to vote against the re-election of several board members at Wal-Mart’s annual meeting next month. “This is a devastating blow to their reputation,” says Jonathan Low, cofounder and partner of Predictiv, LLC, which advises corporations on their image although the
By DANIEL WAGNER
“
ASSOCIATED PRESS
We continue to focus on things customers care about like jobs, healthier foods, sustainability and workforce development.” WAL-MART SPOKESMAN STEVEN RESTIVO
firm declines to give examples because of confidentiality agreements. "This undercuts all the initiatives they made in many areas.” Wal-Mart says it has an ongoing investigation into the allegations, and it’s cooperating with federal authorities. In the meantime, the retailer says it’s conducting business as usual. “We continue to focus on things customers care about like jobs, healthier foods, sustainability and workforce development,” says Steven Restivo, a WalMart spokesman. “Our commitment won’t change.”
No stranger to controversy Wal-Mart wasn’t always the center of controversy. After it was founded in 1962, the retailer expanded by keeping costs down and selling items for less than competitors. The company now has more than 10,000 stores worldwide — many of which are the size of two football fields. But as Wal-Mart grows, so does its troubles. Wal-Mart’s size has often made it a target. Critics, politicians and activists have portrayed it as a corporate behemoth that puts profits above its workers and the neighborhoods where it builds its stores. Anti-Wal-Mart sentiment reached a fever pitch around the beginning of the century when several groups funded by labor unions formed to oppose the company. The groups have argued that Wal-Mart, the largest
U.S. private employer with 1.4 million workers, doesn’t pay fair wages or provide adequate health care. They have said the company’s big-box stores are eyesores that crush small businesses and wreak havoc on traffic and commerce in local communities. They have complained that Wal-Mart hasn’t taken responsibility for its impact on the environment. And they have complained that the company buys too many goods overseas. The groups ran ad campaigns, toured around the country holding protests and tried to help organize workers. They attempted to block Wal-Mart from opening new stores in places like New York City even while competitors like Target were greeted with fanfare. Wal-Mart even was cited during the 2008 election by then-Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John Edwards as an example of what’s wrong with big business. Then, in 2004, Wal-Mart was hit with what could have been the largest sex discrimination case in U.S. history. A group of 1.6 million female workers accused Wal-Mart of paying female workers less than male employees. Last year, the Supreme Court blocked the suit. “Wal-Mart was battling one image problem after another,” says Daniel Diermeier, an expert in corporate crisis management and a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Wal-Mart decided to try to reinvent itself.
WASHINGTON — JPMorgan Chase faced intense criticism Friday for claiming that a surprise $2 billion loss by one of its trading groups was the result of a sloppy but well-intentioned strategy to manage financial risk. More than three years after the financial industry almost collapsed, the colossal misfire was cited as proof that big banks still do not understand the threats posed by their own speculation. “It just shows they can’t manage risk — and if JPMorgan can’t, no one can,” said Simon Johnson, the former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund. JPMorgan is the largest bank in the United States and was the only major bank to remain profitable during the 2008 financial crisis. That lent credibility to its tough-talking CEO, Jamie Dimon, as he opposed stricter regulation in the aftermath. But Dimon’s contention that the $2 billion loss came from a hedging strategy that backfired, not an opportunistic bet with the bank’s own money, faced
doubt on Friday, if not outright ridicule. “This is not a hedge,” said Sen. Carl Levin, DMich., chair of a subcommittee that investigated the crisis. He said the trades were instead a “major bet” on the direction of the economy, as published reports suggested. On Friday, Dimon told NBC News, for an interview airing Sunday on “Meet the Press,” that he did not know whether JPMorgan had broken any laws or regulatory rules. He said the bank was “totally open” to regulators. The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, told reporters that the agency was focused on the JPMorgan loss but declined to comment further. JPMorgan’s disclosure Thursday recharged a debate about how to ensure that banks are strong and competitive without allowing them to become so big and complex that they threaten the financial system when they falter. The JPMorgan loss did not cause anything close to the panic that followed the September 2008 failure of the Lehman Brothers investment bank. But it shook the confidence of the
STORM Continued from Page 1A in the Medina Addition. He added the Texas Department of Transportation was also called out by the sheriff ’s office for flooding on Texas 16 and Alamo and in the Medina Addition area. Lightning struck an oil field tank and caught fire behind Falcon Lake Estates east, according to Elizondo. Fire Chief J.J. Meza said crews went out there to extinguish fire. Meza said one tank exploded while another had its top blown off. A house fire was also reported after lightning struck. The oversurge melted the wiring, thus causing the fire, Meza said. He said his crews, deputies and
even U.S. Border Patrol agents responded well to emergency situation. “We were trying to work as a team. What we’re doing here is served and protect Zapata County,” Meza said. By 5:10 p.m., the storm moved toward Hidalgo and Willacy counties, according to the report. The storm aftermath left hundreds without power. Olga Maldonado, American Electric Power spokeswoman, said AEP crews responded to numerous outages Tuesday. About 295 customers were affected in northern Zapata County. Maldonado said three transmission structures
COMMISSIONERS Continued from Page 1A from the opposing party before the trial. Fortunato Paredes, an attorney at the firm representing the county, said it would likely be a while before the trial gets underway. The commissioners will also consider a proposal from a kidney dialysis company wanting to bring a dialysis center to the county. For years the county has been trying to attract a dialy-
sis center to Zapata due to the high rate of renal disease and diabetes here. County officials hope to ease the burden of dialysis patients who travel to Laredo or San Antonio for treatment. Also on the agenda for Monday’s meeting is setting the hours at Zapata County Boat Ramp Park, which opened in March. Commissioner Eddie Martinez has suggested set-
financial industry. Within minutes after trading began on Wall Street, JPMorgan stock had lost almost 10 percent, wiping out about $15 billion in market value. It closed down 9.3 percent. Fitch Ratings downgraded the bank’s credit rating by one notch, while Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook JPMorgan to “negative,” indicating a creditrating downgrade could follow. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup closed down more than 4 percent, and Goldman Sachs closed down almost 4 percent. The broader stock market was down only slightly for the day. Dimon gave few details about the trades Thursday beyond saying they involved “synthetic credit positions,” a type of the complex financial instruments known as derivatives. Enhanced oversight of derivatives was a pillar of the 2010 financial overhaul law, known as Dodd-Frank, but the implementation has been delayed repeatedly. JPMorgan’s trades show that the derivatives market remains too opaque for regulators to oversee effectively, said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of the law’s namesakes.
ting the times from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The commissioners decided at the last meeting it would hold a public hearing to decide what the hours should be. That hearing never took place. “Commissioner Martinez felt he wanted to take action on it,” Rathmell said. “So he requested the item on the agenda.” The gated park has been
open 24 hours, but the county is concerned about possible vandalism and management of the grounds. Rathmell said if they set regular hours, then the park can be maintained better. Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Monday in the county courthouse. (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2567 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
were down about seven miles east of the town, off Texas 16. In San Ygnacio, about 760 people were affected by the storm. Residents were without power for much of the afternoon, until 6:35 p.m. In Zapata, 3,253 customers were without power. A majority were affected by trees on lines while other residents were affected by outages due to broken crossarms, according to Maldonado. She said one team from Uvalde and three from the Rio Grande Valley assisted crews in Zapata. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
HELP Continued from Page 1A much needed boost as the county had been suffering from drought, and water levels at Falcon Lake had been dipping in recent weeks, Rathmell said. “Obviously, we would have preferred to get a really nice, decent rain without getting significant wind damage, but, overall, I’m happy with the rain, especially after such a long dry spell,” he said.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
Colo. man passionate about fly fishing By JEFF LETOFSKY THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
PUEBLO, Colo. — Ron Vanvalkenburg has an optimistic outlook on life and fly fishing in particular. The owner of Angler’s Addiction in Pueblo is quite a character. He has a story about everything for everyone. First and foremost, Vanvalkenburg loves the outdoors. And fly fishing. Born and raised in Kansas, Vanvalkenburg began fishing at a young age and hasn’t stopped. At 66, he calls himself a fly fishing expert. Talking to him makes you a believer. “I lived on a ranch with a lake on it,” he said. “It only made sense I would fish.” After dabbling in a number of jobs such as financial planning, securities
and real estate, Vanvalkenburg decided to follow his dream. That was to move to Colorado and fly fish. He’s been a guide at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and also for Steel City Anglers. He continues to follow his passion. Vanvalkenburg says he’d rather fish for carp than any other fish “because of the fight they put up.” Prior to buying the fly fishing store, he spent up to 300 days a year fishing. Now, he gets out fewer than 100 days a year. Someone has to watch the shop, he joked. Vanvalkenburg’s philosophy about fly fishing is simple and to the point. He says you have to enjoy fly fishing for the sport. “If you want to catch (and keep) fish,
Man accused of killing four marines jailed ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican navy said Friday it has captured a member of the hyper-violent Zetas cartel who allegedly participated in the torture-slayings of four marines. Suspect Marcos Jesus Hernandez Rodriguez allegedly served as a top hitman for the Zetas in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. He was caught with guns and drugs on Wednesday, said Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara. The four marines were assigned to duty as drivers and were kidnapped and killed on April 18 as they returned from a training course in the state capital of Xalapa, Vergara said. “These lamentable acts, far from frightening Mexi-
can navy personnel, reinforce the need and desire to not let up in carrying out actions against organized crime,” Vergara said. Marines have largely taken over security duties in many parts of Veracruz because the Zetas intimidated or corrupted local police, and have frequently attacked or kidnapped and killed Navy personnel. Vergara said another Zetas member detained earlier had implicated Hernandez Rodriguez in the crime and said he is suspected in seven other killings. Local media had reported that marines found photos of the bound, kidnapped marines in Hernandez Rodriguez’s cellphone. Vergara said that video and photographic equipment were found in his possession.
use a net,” he said. “Fly fishing is a choice. If you don’t do it, you’ll never learn it. But the more you do it, the better you’ll get.” The chase, knowing how to track fish and understanding the environment, is what spins Vanvalkenburg’s reel. Catch and release is his game. “By putting fish back makes them smarter and tougher to catch the next time,” he said. “Plus, they’ll get bigger and will fight better.” Patience is also a virtue. “I’ve hooked probably more than 1,000 fish over 26 inches and landed maybe 50,” he said. “If you land one in 10 you are doing well.” The fly fishing man understands business and the Pueblo area. “This is a working man’s town,” he said. “I can outfit someone in full
gear for fly fishing for $3,700,” he said. “I can also sell an entire outfit for $60. I want people to learn how to fly fish and want them to know how to catch fish.” That’s why Vanvalkenburg offers fly fishing classes for free. If someone buys gear from him, he’ll make sure they know how to use it and will spend time with them to teach the sport. “I teach classes informally,” he said. “I’ve taught people how to fly fish who have paid up to $200 for classes to learn. I do it for free. “If a guy buys a rod, I want to make sure he can cast. Most people spend hundreds of dollars to learn what I teach for free.” That’s just the Vanvalkenburg way. He loves what he does and wants to pass it on to the consumer.
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors MERCY-BOSOM BUDDIES ALL-STAR GAMES
Athletic assembly
Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times
Zapata volleyball seniors, from left, Estela Molina, Shelby Bigler and Jackie Salinas will represent the Lady Hawks in the 11th annual MercyBosom Buddies All-Star games in Laredo.
Zapata gains recognition in All-Star games By CLARA SANDOVAL LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Zapata will become an All-Star town as a group of seniors and a coach have been invited to participate in the 11th Annual Mercy-Bosom Buddies AllStar games taking place
in Laredo. Zapata seniors Estella Molina, Shelby Bigler, Jackie Salinas and Michelle Arce will play in a variety of All-Star games. Zapata coach Juan Villarreal will coach one of the boys’ basketball AllStar teams as well.
The girls’ basketball All-Star game will be played May 22 at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ basketball game at St. Augustine. The volleyball All-Star game will be played May 23 at 6 p.m. at St. Augustine, and the softball All-
Star game is slated for May 27 at 7 p.m. at the SAC. Molina and Salinas will participate in three AllStar games — volleyball, basketball and softball. Bigler was chosen to
See ALL-STAR PAGE 2B
All Stars give it all, then some “ I
love this time of year because of the slew of All-Star games taking place in Laredo. Zapata will be well represented in the five All-Star games, including football, volleyball, girls’ and boys’ basketball, and softball. The All-Star games will mark the last high school game for many seniors, and it’s the last time to slide into a uniform to end their high school careers in a positive way. Eleven years ago, I took the idea of having All-Star games from my days participating in one in the Rio Grande Valley and made it a reality in Laredo. After making a few phone calls to coaches to get a feel for what they thought on the idea, I was ready to embark on what has been a great ride. The notion of inviting Zapata athletes soon followed, and they have participated every year. I have never personally been affected by cancer, but it does not mean that I cannot help in some way. Back then, I was a
CLARA SANDOVAL OVAL
high school basketball coach and was ready to help out my adopted community — Laredo. An All-Star game seemed liked the logical choice, while at the same time, it helps out a great organization. The Mercy-Bosom Buddies is a breast cancer awareness program that strives to inform women of the community the importance of early detection in the fight against breast cancer. Thus on the 8th of each month, we remind our “Bosom Buddies” to perform a breast self-exam. This life-saving technique is one of the best methods available to every woman to protect themselves from this devastating disease. While breast cancer cannot be prevented, it is the goal of the Laredo Mercy Bosom Buddies to make sure women at least have a fighting chance against breast cancer by detecting it in
See SANDOVAL PAGE 2B
MIDDLE SCHOOL GOLF
Hawks clean house as host By CLARA SANDOVAL LAREDO MORNING TIMES
The success of the Zapata High golf program can be attributed to the strong middle school program that’s unfolding at Zapata Middle. The Merlins came out on top in the annual Zapata Middle School tournament on May 4. The six-hole golf tournament (par 22) consisted of a girls’ and boys’ division, and the home school made the most of its time
on the course. Zapata won first place and took home the boys’ and girls’ team title, and the individual titles. “It’s great that these kids get an early start at our golf program. I’m hoping that the middle school golf program gets bigger next year,” Zapata Middle coach Clyde Guerra Jr. said. Zapata dominated the girls’ division, taking home three of the top four spots in the tournament. Andrea Reyes was
crowned the individual winner, while teammates Katy Ramirez and Mayra Garcia came in third and fourth places, respectively. The Zapata girls’ golf team has been sensation all season, taking home the gold trophy in all tournaments they’ve entered, including the Ramiro Barrera Middle School tournament and the Rio Grande City La Grulla Middle School Tournament. The trio has practiced since February and is
dedicated to the sport at a young age. “Girls have been introduced to golf at an early age, and this is a great advantage,” Guerra said. “Add the fact that these teams have been practicing since February, and that’s pretty good recipe for success.” In the boys’ division, Zapata completed a sweep of the top spot with Clyde Guerra III taking home the individual boys’ title.
See GOLF PAGE 2B
Courtesy photo
Zapata Middle School golfers, from left, J.J. De Jesus, Pepe Ramirez and Clyde Guerra III finished well at the annual Zapata Middle School tournament on May 4.
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Spurs play waiting game after silencing Jazz By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan, left, and teammate DeJuan Blair, right, were forced to wait for their next opponent in the NBA playoffs after sweeping the Utah Jazz in the first round.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs fretted all season about not getting enough rest. Now they might get a little too much. Dominating Utah in a four-game sweep reasserted the top-seeded Spurs as a front-running contender for a fifth NBA championship, but quickly ousting the Jazz has also left San Antonio with potentially plenty of time to kill while waiting for the Western Conference semifinals. “We just want to keep our rhythm and keep our conditioning as best we can,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Wednesday. The Spurs will play either Memphis or the Los
Angeles Clippers, who led that series 3-1 heading into Wednesday night. Regardless how long that series goes, the Spurs aren’t likely to host Game 1 until Saturday at the earliest and Tuesday at the latest. San Antonio finished off the Jazz on Monday. The Spurs practiced Wednesday for the first time since then, and guard Manu Ginobili expressed no qualms about taking an extended break following a lockout-shortened season that the Spurs ended by playing 16 games in 23 days. Far as Ginobili is concerned, the Grizzlies and Clippers can take their time. “I think I prefer a long series. Whoever wins gets a little more tired,”
Ginobili said. One upside of the layoff is that the Spurs worked in 5-on-5 practices Wednesday for the first time since the All-Star break. Yet the time off also puts Popovich in an ironic predicament after the NBA coach of the year so obsessively managed minutes, particularly those of his Big Three. Tim Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker were twice benched this season while the Spurs boasted 11-game winning streaks, simply because Popovich didn’t want to wear them out. Those winning streaks predictably ended both times, but Popovich ended the season getting what he wanted: everyone healthy. Now the challenge is keep-
See SPURS PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
MLS sees stadium boom By CHRIS DUNCAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Houston Dynamo president Chris Canetti sat in the highest row of empty BBVA Compass Stadium, gazed west at the city skyline and made a bold prediction. “Some people don’t agree with me,” Canetti said, “but I think Major League Soccer, in time, and I don’t know when that is, will become the second-most popular league in this country. I think it can pass baseball, I think it can pass the NBA.” Bold, indeed. The league that was barely afloat at the turn of the century is in the midst of a transformative facelift, re-branding itself with state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadiums that rival the best venues in the world. BBVA Compass is the league’s newest gem, a 22,000-seat venue just east of downtown Houston that will host its first game on Saturday when the Dynamo play D.C. United. It will be the sixth stadium to open since 2010, despite a lackluster economy, and the new venues have helped the league finally secure a solid foothold in the American sports scene. Houston will be the 13th of the 19 MLS teams to secure its own stadium or have its current home renovated with an eye toward soccer. Two more are coming: Montreal, which joined the league this year, will open its stadium later this summer and San Jose, the former home of the Dynamo, plans to unveil a new stadium next year. The Dynamo, two-time MLS Cup champions, had languished in dilapidated Robertson Stadium since moving here from San Jose in 2006. “We call ourselves a major league. We need to be major-league,” Canetti said. “Having your own stadium is major league, and anyone who’s walked into this building has been blown away. This is here for the Dynamo and this place makes a very strong statement about the credibility of the brand and the relevance of the team.” And the MLS. Commissioner Don Garber made building soccer-
specific stadiums a top priority when he got the job in 1999. Lamar Hunt had financed a $34 million stadium for the Columbus Crew, but other plans met resistance from investors and civic leaders, leaving teams stuck as tenants in cramped college venues or vast NFL stadiums. The $95 million Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., opened in 2003 and by then, the league was starting to attract owners who saw the potential for both the sport and the venues. Garber said investors and corporate sponsors recognized the opportunities and civic leaders came aboard with the idea that the stadiums would create jobs and spur local growth. Most of the new stadiums — including BBVA Compass — were built through a combination of public and private money. The Houston project cost about $95 million and the hope is for the stadium to trigger an extension of a downtown revitalization. “These stadiums are economic drivers that can really enhance the lives of people in a community and make a city more attractive to potential businesses through not only development, but also through international exposure,” Garber said. Players who’ve been around since the early days see the stadiums as concrete symbols of the economic health of the league itself. “In the beginning, you took what you could get,” said Dynamo star Brian Ching, the franchise’s career scoring leader. “As the league has grown, you’ve seen teams creating these stadiums that create a true soccer experience. With that, everything else about the league has gotten better. It’s more exciting to play in these places.” It also makes financial sense. Instead of paying rent at insufficient venues, teams can now control all of the revenue streams, from concessions to naming rights to profits from other events such as concerts. The Dynamo was receiving only a percentage of proceeds from concessions and merchandise at Robertson Stadium. Now, the team will keep it all. Robertson
Photo by David J. Phillip | AP
This April 27 photo shows Houston Dynamo president of business operations Chris Canetti posing inside the Houston Dynamo’s new stadium in Houston. The Dynamo’s first home game in the the new 22,000 seat BBVA Compass Stadium is May 12. also lacked luxury suites; BBVA Compass has 36 luxury suites and outdoor patio decks built for big groups. “You can control the field, you can control the amount of activity, and the revenue streams kind of go without saying,” BBVA Compass Stadium general manager Doug Hall said. “It makes you feel like you’re in charge. It’s kind of the difference between renting and owning a property.” Houston’s stadium will also be the home for the Texas Southern University football team, and other events will be brought in to help pay the sizable mortgage. BBVA Compass will host an international soccer match (El Salvador-New Zealand) later this month, a rugby match between the U.S. and Italian national teams in June and a Sugarland concert in August. “The stadium is a ‘gamechanger’ for us,” Canetti said. “It just provides brand new opportunities that weren’t there for us before.” Other MLS stadiums will become hubs in larger entertainment developments. In New Jersey, the $200 million Red Bull Park is the centerpiece of a $1 billion project that will include office space, retail outlets, parking decks and housing across the Passaic River from Newark. PPL Park, the $120 million home of the Philadelphia Union, sits at the foot of the Commodore Barry Bridge, part of a planned $500 million entertainment, retail, residential and business complex covering more than 60 acres along the waterfront.
“It provides people a reason to stay in town after work and have a beer at a pub or dinner at a restaurant and then take in a 90minute soccer match,” Garber said. “That model seems to be working for us pretty well. We’ve had great success with our downtown stadiums.” Garber said BBVA Compass will be a gold standard of the new venues, and Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City is another. The $200 million venue mixes cutting-edge technology — there are more than 150 WiFi access points — with one of the league’s loudest atmospheres, thanks to a drum-shaped roof designed to deflect sound down to the field. The Kansas City franchise was floundering five years ago, and the ownership group saw an eye-popping stadium as the vehicle to turn the team’s fortunes. “If you’re ever going to re-brand the team — and we all thought we needed to after about the 2007 season — you had to rip off the Band-Aid off and come back with something big,” chief operating officer Greg Cotton said. “It was great when we announced it, but it was also scary as hell.” At first, Cotton said, fans offered a lukewarm response to the team’s name change from the Wizards. But since the stadium opened last June, it’s become a go-to attraction in town. The team previously played in expansive Arrowhead Stadium, and average attendance spiked from 10,287 in 2010 to 17,678 in 2011.
GOLF Continued from Page 1B J.J. De Jesus was not far behind Guerra, coming in fourth to put two Zapata golfers in the top four. Rounding out Zapata was Pepe Ramirez. The boys’ middle school golf team is coming around and will be ready to hit the district with a great stroke. “The boys came in second at the Ramiro Barrera, we didn’t have a team at the La Grulla tourney, and then first at our tourney,” Guerra Jr. said. “The boys are also practicing hard, and should be ready for district.” On Monday, Zapata will head to La Joya to compete in the district tournament. The Merlins will play at the Martin Valley Ranch Golf Course.
Courtesy photo
Zapata Lady Merlins Andrea Reyes, Katy Ramirez and Mayra Garcia fared well at the Zapata Middle School tournament.
into the NBA playoffs since 1986. The longest streak is 19 set by the Lakers in 2001. “You prefer not to wait for eight days because you lose your rhythm a little. But it’s not something that bad,” Ginobili said. “And you got the opportunity to prepare a little bit more for whoever you’re going to play. Individually, you can work on things you have time to work on. So you gain in some regards, and you lose a little rhythm.” Despite the often grueling pace of the condensed regular season— more back-to-backs, and some backto-back-to-backs — the Spurs got through with Duncan and Ginobili averaging among the fewest minutes
international stars in the world’s most popular sport. Luring English star David Beckham in 2007 was a giant leap, but Cotton believes the new stadiums will generate another wave of imports in the future. The U.S. national team offered rave reviews after playing a Gold Cup match in Kansas City last year. “Some guys have played here for a long time, and something like this was not even a gleam in their eyes when they left to go to Europe,” Cotton said. “Now, they can play in stadiums like LiveStrong and the Red Bulls’ (stadium) and now in Houston’s stadium. It’s a completely new world. We’re opening a lot of eyes.” Ching, a former member of U.S. national team, says the MLS venues rival their counterparts in Europe, and top-tier players will take notice. “They see some of the places where we were, like Robertson Stadium, and you could see why they’d say, ‘I’m OK over here,”’ Ching said. “But then you bring them here now, when they see BBVA Compass Stadium, it won’t be much of a change for them and overall, it probably won’t even be a step down. “I think there was the perception of the league and none of those guys were really sure where it was at,” Ching said. “Now, it’s started to gain its footing and I think you’re going to see a lot more guys coming over. That will be the league’s progression. It’s got tremendous room to grow.”
SANDOVAL Continued from Page 1B
SPURS Continued from Page 1B ing the rust off. It’s an issue microphones caught the Spurs grappling with on the court even during the Jazz series. When Popovich first tried sitting Parker for good during a 31-point blowout in Game 2 — telling his AllStar that he’d be up to 29 minutes if he finished the third quarter — his point guard balked at the idea. “I didn’t play for three days, Pop,” Parker pleaded. “I’m 29 years old.” Parker said afterward he just wanted to keep his conditioning. On Wednesday, Ginobili said the biggest concern is not losing momentum built during a 14-game winning streak, which ranks among the six longest winning streaks sustained
Even with the new stadiums, weeknight games are still tough draws, especially on the East Coast. But the new stadiums have all produced better attendance numbers in all markets, some more dramatic than others. At Red Bull Stadium, the average attendance went from 12,229 in 2009, when the team still played in Giants Stadium, to 18,441 in 2010. In Philadelphia, the Union drew an average crowd of 18,343 last year, nearly 99 percent of capacity. The players love what they see, too. After years of dealing with inconveniences, like sharing inadequate locker rooms to playing on dangerous, weather-beaten turf, they finally see the league maturing. “It’s been fun to see where it’s going,” said Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis, in his 11th MLS season. “I signed my first contract in this league with New York and we played at the Meadowlands where they laid grass down before every single game, and it was a bit of a nightmare. In Dallas, we played in the Cotton Bowl for two years, which is a great stadium, but it’s another big football stadium and then we played at a high-school, AstroTurf field. “I took every opportunity to go to our stadium and check it out as it was being built,” Davis said. “To see where the league has come to, from where it was, it’s a positive outlook.” One of the league’s grandest ambitions has always been to rival the top leagues overseas and attract the top
of their careers. Duncan played 28.2 minutes a game while Ginobili played 23.3, logging seven fewer minutes a game than he did a year ago. Popovich could do that, in part, because of the deepest roster at his disposal in 16 years. That much the Spurs could control. Now stuck in standby mode until the Clippers and Grizzlies are finished, forward Stephen Jackson isn’t worried about what they can’t. “I don’t wish it ended, I don’t wish it goes more,” Jackson said. “It’s happening the way God wanted it to happen. I’m here, everyone is healthy, and we’re advancing to the second round. So just let it happen.”
the earliest, most treatable stages. Laredo Mercy-Bosom Buddies welcomes women and men of all ages to join our crusade to educate our community. They were proud to join forces with the young women and men of Laredo by sponsoring the 11th annual Laredo Mercy-Bosom Buddies All-Star games. High school seniors’ from across Laredo and the surrounding areas will raise
money for breast cancer patients. All the money collected from the All-Star games goes directly to the Mercy Cancer Assistance Program. This program helps deliver valuable medication and services to cancer patients who cannot afford the goods and services themselves. This program has help eased the financial burdens associated with breast cancer.
ALL-STAR Continued from Page 1B play in the volleyball and basketball All-Star games, while Arce represents Zapata in the softball AllStar game. Villarreal will coach the boys’ basketball team with the best basketball players from Laredo on the court. Molina was an All-District 32-3A setter and helped guide the Lady Hawks to a district title, along with Bigler and Salinas, who were key components on the team. In the final All-Star game, Molina, Salinas and
Arce will slip into their uniforms for their final high school game. The teams will be composed of athletes from Laredo, Zapata, Eagle Pass and Del Rio — all of whom were chosen by the All-Star committee. All the proceeds of the games go to the Mercy Cancer Assistance Program that helps people in Laredo and surrounding areas. In the past 10 years, the Mercy-Bosom Buddies AllStar games have raised over $80,000.
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE Dear Heloise: I wanted to share a hint for those of us who have FRONTLOAD WASHING MACHINES. They tend to stay “moist” inside. I use a plastic bowl with about half a cup of baking soda and place it in the washing machine while it is not in use. My washing machine stays dry while not in use because the baking soda absorbs the moisture. I pour this “used” baking soda in with my towels prior to washing them. There is no foul smell, and my towels come out smelling fresh! — Ginny in Yorba Linda, Calif. Ginny, I love a doubleduty hint, and baking soda is the perfect product to use in both cases. Many of my readers have problems with front-load washing machines smelling. The hint is to wipe off the door gasket after use and leave the door open until completely dry. Baking soda is a fabulous odor neutralizer all around the house, and it is environmentally friendly and cheap to use. Would you like to receive more hints about cleaning and freshening with baking soda, a wonderful workhorse in the home? I have compiled a pamphlet filled with my favorite baking-soda hints and formulas. If you’d like to receive one, send $5 and a self-addressed, stamped (65 cents), business-size envelope to: Heloise/ Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 782795001. Gargling with 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in half a glass of water will help to freshen your breath naturally, and at only a few pennies. — Heloise PET PAL
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HELOISE
Dear Readers: Katherine in San Antonio sent a picture of her 3-year-old white ferret, Zoey, who is having fun playing outside in the landscaping! She is quite the adventurer. To see Zoey and our other Pet Pals, visit www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise MICROCHIP UPDATE Dear Readers: If you choose to adopt or rescue a dog from the shelter, microchips are very important. A microchip can be the best way to bring your pet home should it get away. Be sure that the microchip information is updated and current to include your name, address and, most importantly, your phone number. This may make the difference between getting your pet back and not! Normally, microchips cost around $50, with an annual fee to maintain your information on the chip of around $20. Check with your veterinarian. — Heloise TRASHY PERFUME Dear Heloise: Regarding the cologne/perfume samples in the magazine ads: I open them and tape them inside the lids of my garbage cans. It will work for several days as an air freshener. — Barb in Humble, Texas VINTAGE LETTER OF LAUGHTER Dear Heloise: After an exasperating day with my preschool son, I had taken all I thought I could. “James!” I cried, “You’re driving me crazy!”
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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
Sports
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
Car designer, driver Shelby dies By NOMAAN MERCHANT AND JEFF WILSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Willis Glassgow | AP
NASCAR driver Regan Smith speaks to the media during a news conference Friday at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C.
Smith shoots for more luck at Darlington By JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Regan Smith had hoped his first career victory would be the turning point for his career. Yet here he is a year later, and not much has changed for the better. Smith picked up the only win of his Sprint Cup career at Darlington Raceway last May. Although he said Friday the victory was a “momentum booster,” he’s in dire need of another one. Smith goes into Saturday night’s race ranked 27th in points, with just one top-15 finish all season. “We have been struggling this year for about the past four weeks now, five weeks,” Smith said Friday. “We started the year off good, we thought we were going to be in good shape and just kind of hit a wall and have not progressed at all. We could use another good night like (last year) here this weekend.” Smith’s best finish this season is 15th at Las Vegas in March, and he’s led only two laps, in the season-opening Daytona 500. He’s got six finishes of 24th or worse, and an engine failure last weekend at Talladega led to a 40th-place finish. The worst part? The Furniture Row Racing team can’t pinpoint the problem and knows things are off because he’s struggling in qualifying, which was one of his strengths last year. Smith qualified inside the top-five eight times last season. “It’s been a situation where we have just
gotten behind ... hit this wall a little bit right now,” Smith said. “We’ve got to keep working on our stuff and making it better, coming up with new ideas.” The team has a technical relationship with fellow Chevrolet team Richard Childress Racing, but RCR is still looking to hit its stride this season. “A lot of times when we are struggling, we can lean on them and help make our stuff better,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, right now they are probably not quite as quick as they would like to be either at the moment. So, it’s tougher for us to lean on them like we normally would. Even our qualifying has been off this year. “Last year it seemed like we could qualify, even if we were having a bad weekend we could at least lay a lap down. We’ve got a few different areas that we are focused on working on and overall we need more speed.” Smith was in a similar position last year, when he came into Darlington ranked 29th. The Darlington victory was maybe enough to get him moving, but he tallied just three top-10s the rest of the way. He’s still searching for more, though. “I definitely thought after we got that first win we’d be more consistent with top-10s and top-fives, and we have not been more consistent,” he said. “It’s hard to say you’re surprised you haven’t won again because the series is so tough. I may be a little bit disappointed because I thought that victory would propel us a little bit more than it did.”
DALLAS — Decades after a heart condition forced him to retire from racing, Carroll Shelby still loved to drive muscle cars. Well into his 80s, the legendary car designer spent hours testing his last Mustang Shelby GT500, which sets a new record for horsepower and hits a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour. A one-time chicken farmer, Shelby had more than a half-dozen successful careers during his long life: champion race car driver, racing team owner, automotive consultant and safari tour operator. His fabled Shelby Cobra sports car became an automotive and cultural icon, and he was later credited with injecting testosterone into Ford’s Mustang and Chrysler’s Viper. When Shelby died Thursday night in a Dallas hospital, he also was one of the nation’s longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart on June 7, 1990, from a 34year-old man who died of an aneurysm. Shelby also received a kidney transplant in 1996 from his son, Michael. “What made him so unusual is he developed, literally, hundreds of cars,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of BarrettJackson Auction Company. “This guy was 89 years old and he was still developing cars.” Shelby first made his name behind the wheel of a car, winning France’s grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race with teammate Ray Salvadori in 1959. He had turned to the
Photo by Gregory Bull | AP
This 2005 photo shows Carroll Shelby standing next to the 2006 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 . Shelby, the legendary race driver, has died at age 89. race-car circuit in the 1950s after his chicken ranch failed. He won dozens of races in various classes throughout the 1950s and was twice named Sports Illustrated’s Driver of the Year. He already was suffering serious heart problems when he won Le Mans and ran the race “with nitroglycerin pills under his tongue,” his longtime friend, Dick Messer, executive director of Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum, once noted. Soon after his win at Le Mans, he gave up racing and turned his attention to designing high-powered “muscle cars” that eventually became the Shelby Cobra and the Mustang Shelby GT500. “He’s an icon in the medical world and an icon in the automotive world,” Messer said. “His legacy is the diversity of his life,” he added. “He’s incredibly innovative. His life has always been the reinvention of Carroll Shelby.” The Cobra, which used Ford engines and a British sport car chassis, was the fastest production model ever made when it was dis-
played at the New York Auto Show in 1962. A year later, Cobras were winning races over Corvettes, and in 1964 the Rip Chords had a Top 5 hit on the Billboard pop chart with “Hey, Little Cobra.” ("Spring, little Cobra, getting ready to strike, spring, little Cobra, with all of your might. Hey, little Cobra, don’t you know you’re gonna shut ‘em down?”) Turning a vehicle he had once dismissed as “a secretary car” into a rumbling, high-performance model was “the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Shelby recalled in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press. That car and the Shelby Cobra made his name a household word in the 1960s. Shelby had homes in Los Angeles and his native east Texas. Doctors did not immediately release a cause of death. He is survived by his wife, Cleo Shelby; his three children, Patrick, Michael and Sharon; his sister, Anne Shelby Ellison; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral services were not immediately announced.