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From the period December 2008 through August 2012, … transferred $3,931,425.27 to the Zapata County General Fund.”
Special account audit shows expenditures documented By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
An audit conducted by a Laredo firm on a Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office special account found no discrepancies. The results released in March state Flores Auditing, PLLC, in Laredo analyzed the special ac-
PROCEDURES LETTER
count from Jan. 1, 2009, through Aug. 9, 2012, which is the date the bank account was closed. The firm verified that all amounts deposited into the sheriff ’s office bank account related to reimbursements for housing of inmates or related to grant income were transferred to the county’s general fund.
“From the period December 2008 through August 2012, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s (Office) bank account transferred $3,931,425.27 to the Zapata County General Fund and deposited $3,922,202.17 from housing of inmate and grant income,” an agreed-upon procedures letter states.
The letter further adds this resulted in a $9,223.10 excess transfer from the sheriff ’s office to the county’s general fund. Commissioner Jose Emilio Vela said the audit had to be made to see if the expenses were justified. He stressed that no other de-
See AUDIT PAGE 9A
TEXAS COAST
LAREDO
HISTORIC BRIDGE REPAIRS
Man fails in attack Police: Assailant is on the loose By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
It wasn’t immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney. FBI agents wearing hazardous material suits were seen going in and out of Richardson’s house on Wednesday in nearby New Boston, about 150 miles northeast of Dallas near the Arkansas and Oklahoma borders. Officials have said the search was initiated after Richardson contacted the FBI and implicated her husband, Nathaniel Richardson, a 33-year-old Army veteran. John Delk, who represents Nathaniel Richardson, told The
LAREDO — A man who exposed himself to a Zapata woman and attempted to sexually assault her early Tuesday along the San Bernardo Avenue in Laredo is on the loose, Laredo police said this week. The suspect was described as wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. He allegedly fled the scene riding a bicycle behind the Valley Day and Night Clinic in the 5500 block of San Bernardo. Police could not locate the suspect. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Laredo Police Department at 795-2800 or Crime Stoppers at 727TIPS (8477). Close to 4 a.m. Tuesday, an officer patrolling the San Bernardo was waved down by a woman wearing a gray sweater and blue and pink pajama pants. Crying hysterically, she stated a man tried to rape her, said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, LPD spokesman. According to police, the woman, of Zapata, was walking southbound on San Bernardo with some tacos in hand when she saw a man exposing his genitals behind the Eyemart Express. Police said the man allegedly told the woman, “I love white chicks.” “The male subject ran toward her and tackled her to the ground. (He) tried to pull down the victim’s pajama pants but she held on to them,” Baeza said. She managed to get away while the man rode off in a bicycle. She ran toward the parking lot of Toys “R” Us, which is where she saw the officer and waved him down for help. Initial-
See LETTERS PAGE 9A
See WOMAN PAGE 9A
Photos by Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News | AP
The lift span on the Pelican Island Bridge raises to allow shipping traffic to pass in Galveston. Repairs to the bridge would close the lift span for at least 14 months. The bridge would remain open to vehicular traffic, but force shipping traffic to reroute around the north side of Pelican Island.
Rare type of span has damage from Ike By LAURA ELDER THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS
GALVESTON — Discussions about replacing the aging Pelican Island Bridge took a surprising turn earlier when state officials informed city leaders the structure was historically significant and subject to protections. “It was quite a bombshell,” Mayor Lewis Rosen said. “You could have heard a pin drop.” Rosen with other city and economic development officials and representa-
tives of the Houston-Galveston Area Council met May 17 in Austin with the Texas Department of Transportation to discuss building a $30 million bridge to replace the old one, which is in need of repair and is hindering economic growth on the island, industry officials said. The Galveston County Daily News reports the Pelican Island Bridge, which carries 51st Street over the Galveston Ship Channel to
See BRIDGE PAGE 9A
Vandy Anderson, chairman of the Galveston County Navigation District board, points to an area of concern on a rack-and-pinion gear that raises and lowers the lift span on the Pelican Island Bridge.
Pregnant Texas actress charged in President Obama ricin threat By NOMAAN MERCHANT AND DANNY ROBBINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEXARKANA — A pregnant Texas actress who told FBI agents her husband had sent ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was charged Friday with threatening the president. Shannon Guess Richardson, 35, made an initial appearance in a Texarkana courtroom after being charged with mailing a threatening communication to the president. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, U.S. attor-
“
But until I’m sure they’re not looking at him being involved, I can’t say much more.” ATTORNEY JOHN DELK
ney’s office spokeswoman Davilyn Walston said. Richardson, a mother of five who has played bit roles in television shows, was arrested earlier Friday for allegedly mailing the
ricin-laced letters last month to the White House, Bloomberg and the mayor’s Washington gun-control group. The letters threatened violence against gun-control advocates.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” at 4 p.m. and “Earth, Moon and Sun” at 5 p.m. General admission is $3. Call 326-3663. The monthly I Can Cope Class for people with cancer and their family and friends is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Doctors Hospital Cancer Treatment Center Lobby. This month’s topic is “Nutrition during Cancer Treatment.” Classes are offered the second Wednesday of the month. There is no charge to attend. To RSVP or for more information, contact Diana Juarez at 319-3100 or diana.juarez@cancer.org.
THURSDAY, JUNE 13 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club, from 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. American Cancer Society will host their monthly Look Good Feel Better session, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Doctors Hospital Cancer Treatment Center. Women currently under treatment are invited to attend this free monthly session. The program teaches beauty techniques to women to help them combat the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatments. Ladies receive a complimentary cosmetic bag. To RSVP or for more information, contact Diana Juarez at 319-3100 or diana.juarez@cancer.org.
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Two homes damaged by the fertilizer plant explosion are shown May 31 in West, with inspirational words spray painted onto them. The white slabs popping up across town are a sign that the effort to rebuild West has just begun, almost two months after an explosion that killed 15, and injured 200.
Hundreds seek FEMA help after plant blast ASSOCIATED PRESS
SATURDAY, JUNE 15 El Centro de Laredo Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at downtown’s Jarvis Plaza. Visit laredomainstreet.org. The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show: “The Little Star That Could” at 5 p.m.; “Ancient Skies, Ancient Mysteries” at 6 p.m.; and “Lamps of Atlantis” at 7 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Premium shows are $1 more. Call 326-3663.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show "Force 5: Nature Unleashed" at 4 p.m. and "Secrets of the Sun" at 5 p.m. General admission is $3. Call 326-3663.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club, from 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show "The Future Is Wild" at 4 p.m. and "New Horizons" at 5 p.m. General admission is $3. Call 3263663.
THURSDAY, JUNE 27 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club, from 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
FRIDAY, JUNE 29 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show: "The Zula Patrol: Down to Earth" at 5 p.m.; "Seven Wonders" at 6 p.m.; and "Lamps of Atlantis" at 7 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Premium shows are $1 more. Call 326-3663.
SATURDAY, JULY 20 The PFC Ira “Ben” Laningham IV 5K Memorial Run is set for 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. There will also be a 200m Kids Fun Run. Early registration through Sunday is $8; from Monday through July 19, $10; and late registration on race day is $15. Registration for the Kids Fun Run is $5. Those who wish to participate may register at Zapata Boys & Girls Club, 306 6th St.; Zapata County Chamber of Commerce, 601 N. U.S. 83; Momentum Running Co., 1202 E. Del Mar Blvd., Ste. 103, Laredo; or by email at http://www.evenbrite.com/ event/5820121139#. Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.
WEST — Nearly 800 people have sought Federal Emergency Management Agency help since a deadly fertilizer plant explosion decimated this Central Texas town. FEMA on Thursday said the agency, the state and the Small Business Administration have approved more than $6.5 million in grants and loans since the April 17 blast in West. The fiery explosion claimed 15 lives and left about 200 people hurt. Officials say about 200 homes in West were damaged or destroyed. The disaster-assistance money has gone to
eligible individuals and families in McLennan County. FEMA also says the 764 applicants who’ve registered so far will be receiving follow-up phone calls to help identify any pending needs. Many displaced residents promise they will try to come back, saying they missed West’s quiet streets and friendly neighbors. Even by the standards of a small Texas town, roots run deep in a community where many of the last names, street names and bakeries serving kolache pastries still recall West’s Czech origins. But there’s still no running drinkable water in the area closest to West Fertilizer Co., now a 93-foot-wide crater.
Los Alamos nuke waste to be buried in fed site
2 get prison for sex trafficking of teens
District promises change after teacher abuse
ANDREWS — The portion of a radioactive waste disposal site built to handle waste from U.S. Energy Department locations nationwide is set to open. Waste from New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on Thursday will be the first lowlevel radioactive waste to be buried in the 90-acre federal dump on a site operated by Dallasbased Waste Control Specialists.
FORT WORTH — Two men have been sentenced to 15-year federal prison terms for sex trafficking of teenagers. Prosecutors in Fort Worth on Wednesday announced the sentences for 23-year-old Craig Jerome Gadley Jr. and 25-year-old Joshua Alexander Smith, both of Mansfield.
SAN ANTONIO — A suburban school district is reviewing teacher training guidelines after two disciplinary incidents involving students. One involved a teacher restraining a student in a chair with duct tape, and another involved a teacher ordering her kindergartners to take turns hitting a classmate accused of being a bully.
Man acquitted in Craigslist escort death SAN ANTONIO — A man has been acquitted in the shooting death of a woman he met on Craigslist as a possible escort. A jury in San Antonio on Wednesday acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of murder. The defense says Gilbert was protecting himself from theft when he shot Lenora Frago on Christmas Eve 2009. She died several months later.
AAA says retail gasoline prices down 2 cents HOUSTON — Retail gasoline prices across Texas have slipped 2 cents this week to settle at $3.37 per gallon. AAA Texas on Thursday reported nationwide gas prices rose a penny this week to reach $3.63 per gallon. The association survey found Corpus Christi has the cheapest gasoline at $3.29 per gallon. The most expensive gasoline was in Amarillo, costing $3.56 per gallon.
Colorado man sentenced in murder-for-hire plot LAREDO — A Colorado man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking and murder-for-hire case. A federal judge in Laredo on Friday sentenced Shavar Davis of Denver. Davis last August pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute drugs and conspiracy to commit murder for hire. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Andrea brings rain, flood watches to East Coast RALEIGH, N.C. — The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season drenched the Southeastern U.S. but caused no major damage on Friday, moving swiftly up the East Coast and bringing the threat of weekend flooding as far north as New England. After bringing rain, strong winds and even tornadoes to Florida, Andrea was losing its tropical characteristics on Friday even as it still packed maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was blamed for one trafficrelated death in Virginia.
Man faces 329 charges in missing women case COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man accused of holding three women captive in his run-down home in Cleveland for a decade and fathering a child with one of them
Today is Saturday, June 8, the 159th day of 2013. There are 206 days left in the year. Highlights in History: On June 8, 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks. Eight tornadoes struck Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, killing 126 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; most of the deaths were caused by an extremely powerful twister in Flint. On this date: In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn. In 1861, voters in Tennessee approved an Ordinance of Secession passed the previous month by the state legislature. In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement with President Woodrow Wilson over U.S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania. In 1942, Bing Crosby recorded “Adeste Fideles” and “Silent Night” in Los Angeles for Decca Records. In 1967, 34 U.S. servicemen were killed when Israel attacked the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship in the Mediterranean. (Israel later said it had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.) In 1972, during the Vietnam War, an Associated Press photographer captured the image of 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc as she ran naked and severely burned from the scene of a South Vietnamese napalm attack. In 1978, a jury in Clark County, Nev., ruled the socalled “Mormon will,” purportedly written by the late billionaire Howard Hughes, was a forgery. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament. In 1987, Fawn Hall began testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she helped to shred some documents and spirit away others. In 1998, the National Rifle Association elected actor Charlton Heston its president. Today’s Birthdays: Former first lady Barbara Bush is 88. Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 86. Comedian Joan Rivers is 80. Actress Millicent Martin is 79. Actor James Darren is 77. Actor Bernie Casey is 74. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 73. Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 71. Musician Boz Scaggs is 69. Rock musician Mick Box (Uriah Heep) is 66. Author Sara Paretsky is 66. Actress Sonia Braga is 63. Actress Kathy Baker is 63. Country musician Tony Rice is 62. Rock singer Bonnie Tyler is 62. Actor Griffin Dunne is 58. “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams is 56. Actor-director Keenen Ivory Wayans is 55. Singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) is 53. Musician Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) is 51. Rhythm-andblues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) is 47. Actress Julianna Margulies is 46. Actor Dan Futterman is 46. Actor David Sutcliffe is 44. Actor Kent Faulcon is 43. Thought for Today: “I do believe one ought to face facts. If you don’t they get behind you and may become terrors, nightmares, giants, horrors. As long as one faces them one is top dog.” — Katherine Mansfield, New Zealander author (1888-1923).
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An Arkansas Own display of Planters Peanuts faces the entrance of a Wal-Mart store in Bentonville, Ark., on Friday. Items from Walmart’s Arkansas Own collection were made within 100 miles from the store they are placed in. has been indicted on 329 charges including murder, kidnapping and rape, prosecutors said. A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned the indictment Friday against Ariel Castro. Castro, 52, is accused of kidnapping Amanda Berry, Gina De-
Jesus and Michelle Knight and holding them captive along with a 6-year-old girl he fathered with Berry. The grand jury charged Castro with two counts of aggravated murder related to one act. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
Chase yields pot but no arrests By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A police chase reported this week 6 miles east of Zapata yielded 746 pounds of marijuana, Zapata County Sheriff ’s officials said Friday. The 47 bundles of marijuana had an estimated street value of about $300,000. No one has been arrested in connection
with the case. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the sheriff ’s office at 765-9960. On Tuesday, a deputy at 9:55 p.m. attempted to pull over a 2005 Ford F-150 by Texas 16 and 17th Street. Sgt. Mario Elizondo said the pickup did not stop and led the deputy on a chase along Texas 16. A sheriff ’s incident report states the driver
abandoned the pickup on the side of the road about 6 miles east outside of Zapata. He fled toward the brush area and could not be located, Elizondo said. Deputies noticed the pickup had been left behind with bundles of marijuana. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
THE BLOTTER Assault
rested and charged with driving while intoxicated at about 1:45 a.m. June 1 An assault was reported at 6 on Miraflores Street between Seventh p.m. Monday in the 600 block of and 10th streets. Rodriguez had a Fresno Street. $5,000 bond at the Zapata Regional Jail.
Burglary
A burglary of habitation was reported at 9:36 a.m. June 1 on Elm Street. A burglary of a building was reported at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 1800 block of Medina Avenue.
Linda Ramirez, 24, was arrested and charged with public intoxication at about 2:45 a.m. June 2 by Texas 16 and First Street. Deputies said they stopped Ramirez because she was walking on the roadway. She was taken to the Zapata County Jail.
Illegal dumping Deputies responded to an illegal dumping call reported at 9:19 p.m. June 2 in the intersection of West 27th Avenue and Del Mar Street. Deputies said someone threw several trash bags on the side of the road.
Theft
Roberto E. Lopez, 30, was arrested and charged with theft at about 5:15 p.m. May 29 in the 100 block of Trinity Lane. Lopez allegedly stole fishing rod and reels valued at $300. He had a $5,000 bond at the Dog bite Zapata Regional Jail. A man reported at 11:43 p.m. Possession A dog bite was reported at May 29 in the 300 block of Gonzalez 9:04 a.m. Tuesday in the 800 block David Mendez, 17, was arrested Street that two window air conditionof Medina Avenue. and charged with possession of mari- ing units were missing from his resijuana at about 10:45 p.m. June 1 dence. Both units together were valDWI along Texas 16. He had a $5,000 ued at $300. Michael L. Delgado, 36, was bond at the Zapata Regional Jail. A man reported at 7:59 p.m. Samuel I. Garcia-Garcia, 21, arrested and charged with driving June 1 on Hidalgo Boulevard that while intoxicated at about 7:30 p.m. was arrested and charged with pos- someone stole a land mower from his session of controlled substance at May 31 by Fifth Avenue and U.S. residence. The item was worth $300. 83. Deputies said he was driving er- about 1:30 a.m. June 2 by Seventh A 36-year-old man reported at and Medina streets. He had a $5,000 8:05 p.m. June 2 in the 1700 block ratically on U.S. 83. Delgado was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail, bond at the Zapata Regional Jail. of Lincoln Street that someone stole where he had a $3,000 bond. 22 rolls of felt paper worth $370. Public intoxication Javier Rodriguez, 40, was ar-
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
‘SURF’ time for student SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
After a national competition, Texas A&M International University sophomore Mónica Martínez has successfully earned her place among this year’s cohort of research students who will travel to the University of Rhode Island this summer. And you might say she’ll be “SURFing” while there. Martínez was selected to participate in URI’s 2013 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, a 10-week research program that offers opportunities to qualified undergraduate students considering a possible career in biomed-
ical and behavioral research. Her SURF experiences will expose her to laboratory research and provide an environment to learn firsthand about a career in biomedical and behavioral research. TAMIU assistant professor for the Department of Biology and Chemistry and Martínez’s mentor, Anju Gupta, praised her achievement. “Mónica is a fast learner and continues to be really motivated. The SURF Program is very competitive, but I know that Mónica is able to compete with students from top-tier universities,” Gupta said.
Martínez was born and raised in Laredo. A TAMIU sophomore majoring in Biology, she is a member of the D.D. Hachar Honors Scholar Program. Martínez would like to become a pharmacist and is looking forward to the networking opportunities and exposure to a field that suits her career aspirations from her experience in the SURF Program. “Since I am going to be working at a College of Pharmacy, I am hoping to meet pharmacists who will provide me with insights and new techniques that are being used in the pharmaceutical world,” Martínez said.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Too many winners for the game AUSTIN — Turns out you people have propensities. Some of you have a propensity to like puppies. Others have a propensity to believe the Longhorns should win every football game by a 56-2 score. And some of you had a propensity to pick certain numbers, the same numbers other folks had a propensity to pick, when playing the Texas Lottery’s now-suspended All or Nothing game. That’s why it’s the now-suspended All or Nothing game. ”Gtech Corporation, the lottery operator in Texas, notified the commission of a game design issue related to the current game structure, caused in part by player propensity to play certain number combinations in the game,” the Texas Lottery Commission said this week in announcing the suspension. In All or Nothing, players select 12 numbers from one to 24. You win the top prize — $250,000 — by correctly picking all 12 numbers or by picking none of them. All or nothing, get it? But here’s the problem produced by player propensities: There could be too many winners in this game, and lotteries don’t like that. There’s nothing nefarious here. State lotteries exist to raise money for the state and are arranged to pretty much guarantee how much the state will make. It’s a game of chance for you, less so for the state. The Lottery Commission doesn’t care who wins (though, other things being equal, it probably prefers not to have megaprizes won by ax murderers), but the commission does want to have a handle on how much is paid out to winners. Lottery Commission spokeswoman Kelly Cripe told me there are 2.7 million possible number combinations in All Or Nothing, and ”some of our players were gravitating to a smaller subset of number combinations available for selection.” That’s where propensity progresses toward problem. ”We saw the potential for unusually high prize payouts should one of the favored combinations be drawn,” Cripe said.
“
KEN HERMAN
”Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, we chose to temporarily stop sales while we work with Gtech to resolve this game design issue.” ”We did not temporarily stop sales of the game because there have been too many winners,” she said. ”We took this step as a precautionary measure to protect the state from the possibility of unexpected financial liability.” They say “unexpected financial liability.” You hear “too many winners.” The commission was concerned about having too many winners. The ”smaller subset of number combinations” to which players have been gravitating include all odd, all even, one-12, 13-24 and the first six numbers and the last six numbers. The dreaded “unexpected financial liability” could become reality if any of those combinations ever are winners. (Odds against winning the top prize are 2.7 million to 1; there have been 29 $250,000 winners since the four-times-a-day, six-daysa-week game started last September; all even or all odd has never come up as the winning combination.) I’d guess odds are good that All or Nothing will be back. Cripe said the tweaks under consideration include limiting the number of tickets sold for each number combination. Odds also are good that Gtech officials will have some explaining to do at Tuesday’s Lottery Commission meeting. The company had no comment when I contacted it. I hear that lottery officials are miffed about having to suspend the game for what, to me, looks like a foreseeable problem, especially when the game’s “playboards” steer players toward certain combinations by including a onecheck way to pick all even, all odd, the first 12 or the last 12 numbers. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: kherman@statesman.com.
COLUMN
We are being savaged by the Chinese dragon we fed By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON — I don’t like it that my Florsheim shoes, a great American name in footwear, are made in China, but I can’t blame the Chinese. I don’t like it that my famous-name English tweed cap was, in fact, made in China, but I can’t blame the Chinese. And I won’t like it when my ham from Smithfield Foods, Inc., a great U.S. meat processor, is wholly owned by Shuanghui International, but I won’t blame the Chinese. I blame the shameless, shortsighted greed of the American and European companies and their political leaders, who bought the argument of the business world that it was both good and inevitable that we move our manufacturing to China. The same fellow travelers now argue that it’s beneficial to sell our companies to China — just so long as the price is right today (forget about tomorrow.) Whereas I hope that President Obama has made great progress with persuading Chinese President Xi Jinping that China should abide by both the spirit and letter of its commitments to fair trade and the World Trade Organization, I’m not hopeful. Mean-
while, U.S. business, led by Wall Street, will argue that money is its own imperative and that this imperative cannot be ignored. In the world of finance, shareholder value today trumps national interest tomorrow. There are glimmering signs that even devoted free traders, as pointed out by Clyde Prestowitz in Foreign Policy magazine, are beginning to grasp slowly — oh, so slowly — that Western business has marched willfully behind the banner of free trade into the embrace of the Chinese state. This state is positioned to practice mercantilism on a scale that the world has never imagined, even in the days of the wicked mercantile imperialism of the British Empire. It’s unlikely that the Chinese leadership planned world economic domination the same way that it continuously dreams of taking over Taiwan. But once it saw that it was possible to expand throughout the world, the game was on. For China, the elegant thing has been that their expansion has been financed by those it is competing against. Not a shot has been fired, yet China expands exponentially. Several authorities, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, predict that China’s economy will draw ahead of that of the United States in 2016. It will not have gotten there by the genius of Beijing, but by manifest folly elsewhere. An old joke says that though the English burned Joan of Arc, the French sold them the wood. The wholesale preparedness of American and European companies to move their manufacturing to Asia, and particularly to China, brings this gag to mind: We have sold the wood and now we, like the Maid of Orleans, are being burned. This has happened because of the seductive power of a dubious economic theory: that the market has supernatural powers and it will always bring about the best result, whether in the diplomatic or social fields. There’s no doubt that markets are very efficient. Markets are efficient internationally to a fault. In a few short years, they’ve efficiently exported much American and European manufacturing to China, and with equal efficiency they’ve recycled China’s earnings into buying up whole industries, and — as in the case of Africa — whole countries have been locked up as suppliers. China’s expansion has
had two things going for it: Western greed and the hope in Western capitals that China will behave itself, float its currency and stop stealing intellectual property. They also hope that as a result of this maturing, China will stop dumping its manufactured products; reveal the government’s role in its companies, including the role of the Red Army; stop government-supported hacking for commercial purposes; sign on to global environmental standards; and put some of its accumulating wealth towards growing its domestic markets with world access. Fat chance, I fear. Money has been flowing downhill because those who manage it have found that profitable. Trouble is it’s pooling in China with awful consequences for the rest of the world. Obama’s presidency could turn on how he stands up to China, as could the well being of the world trading system and life in the United States and Europe. This is bigger than drones, Obamacare, sequestration or the other things that bother us. (Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS. Email: lking@kingpublishing.com.)
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
Team’s season is a nightmare By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
Oh Nationals, didn’t we almost have it all? The best record in baseball. The best young pitcher in the league. The best young hitter in the league. A new stadium. The 2012 season was a dream. Which is what makes the nightmare of 2013 so hard to take. Stephen Strasburg, the man with the golden arm, is sidelined with something called a lat strain. Bryce Harper, the wooden-batted wunderkind, is on the disabled list because of a knee injury.
Then there is the disaster happening on the field. Heading into Friday night, the Washington Nationals were 29-30 and in third place in the National League East. After a come-from-behind-walk-off win against the New York Mets on Tuesday, the Nats got drubbed by the Mets 10-1 the following night. Thursday’s rainout fit the mood of the club: dreary. The Washington Nationals, for not being able to bring back that winning feeling, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
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
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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
International
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
Mexico eyes more China tourism By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Adriana Gomez Licon | AP
A man weeps as he is embraced by relatives outside a gym where four people were shot dead, in the Tepito neighborhood in Mexico City, on Thursday.
4 die in shooting at gym By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Two masked gunmen stormed into a gym yelling “everyone hit the floor” and opened fire, killing four people in a tough Mexico City neighborhood that is home to the area’s biggest black market, authorities said Friday. Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said the attack appeared to be aimed at two brothers who were exercising at the gym and another man who was with them. A fourth man, identified as the gym owner, died later in the hospital after he apparently tried to intervene in the killings. The Thursday night shooting happened in the Body Extreme gym in Tepito, one of Mexico City’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Two suspects were arrested after they opened fire on police a few blocks away from the gym shortly after the killings, he said. No police were injured. Mancera said preliminary investigations indicated the killings were part of a “personal grudge” between the killers and the victims, and he denied that the kind of large-scale drug cartel executions that have blood-
ied other parts of Mexico have arrived in Mexico City. “I don’t have any indication of any cartel in Mexico City,” Mancera told the Televisa television network. “It’s not a cartel. What we have in Tepito is an upswing in violence, and an upswing in some gangs.” Tepito is the main clearinghouse for millions of dollars of contraband, from guns and drugs to counterfeit handbags that come through Mexico City. A dozen people from the same neighborhood disappeared nearly two weeks ago from a bar in a posher part of the city several miles away. Three people have been detained in the case, but there is still no sign of the 12. Relatives allege they were taken in broad daylight May 26 from the “Heaven” bar by heavily armed and masked men. Mancera said the Thursday shooting did not appear to have had anything to do with the missing people. “It appears to have been a personal dispute with the people who unfortunately were killed there,” Mancera said, noting that about 30 witnesses were at the gym and have talked to police. First, one attacker en-
tered and shouted a series of insults, Mancera said, including one that would roughly translate as “you’ve bought it now,” and “you didn’t listen to what you were told.” Agents found six bullet shells inside the building. But Mancera said authorities were investigating whether the alleged mass kidnapping might have been related to the execution on May 24 of a low-level drug dealer outside a bar in the trendy Condesa neighborhood. A public security official had said the killing of the dealer outside the “Black Bar” was related to the disappearances two days later, and that both may have been part of a turf battle between drug gangs. “The Heaven bar and the Black bar have some threads in common, which prosecutors are investigating,” Mancera said. “These events could lead us to the conclusion they are related.” But he said “we have found nothing to connect” the Thursday gym shootings with the bar case. The shooting Thursday so close to the two other crimes raised fears that an organized crime battle could be breaking out in Mexico’s capital.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico hopes the visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to this country’s most emblematic Mayan ruins Thursday will spark a mass influx of tourists from China, the world’s largest tourism spender. But officials and industry insiders said it’s still a long way before Mexico can capitalize on the opportunity. Xi and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto toured the archaeological site of Chichen Itza in Yucatan and spoke about expanding their commercial ties. The Chinese leader said he trusts that some of the 400 million Chinese tourists who will travel abroad in the next five years will find Mexico’s ancient ruins and resort cities alluring. Xi’s three-day stay in Mexico has been used to pump for an increase in Chinese visitors. On Tuesday, Mexico boasted of a 35 percent increase in Chinese tourists in the first four months of the year. On Thursday, the Tourism
Department said it wants to increase flights from China and put up more Mandarin signs in key areas, hoping to make China the No. 1 source of Asian travelers to Mexico. Tourism is one of Mexico’s biggest industries, last year drawing 23 million foreign tourists who spent about $12.7 billion. However, travel insiders and government officials said Mexico is not close to exploiting China’s fast rise as a source of tourists. The World Tourism Organization says China is the largest supplier of tourists around the world, its travelers spending a total of $102 billion in 2012. Other countries have expanded their consular offices and flights to welcome Chinese visitors, but not Mexico. Just under 50,000 Chinese visited Mexico last year. Ten times that number of U.S. citizens visit Mexico each month. Jorge Guajardo, who left his post as Mexican ambassador to China on Sunday, said Mexico doesn’t have the facilities or staff in China to issue the increasing number of visas needed to boost tourism.
“What you have to do is to make the process quick. That’s what countries that have been successful in attracting Chinese tourists have done. Mexico doesn’t have it yet,” he said. Guajardo said Mexico’s consular office in Beijing potentially serves up to 400 million people, but it has only two people issuing visas. “If we want to capitalize on this opportunity, we have to expand our consular sections,” he said. He also said more flights are needed to connect the two countries. Right now, Chinese travelers can only fly from Shanghai to Mexico City on Thursdays and Sundays. Jorge Hernandez, president of Mexico’s association of tourism and travel agents, said there is a dire need for Mexican tour guides who speak Mandarin and for Chinese signs in airports, hotels and restaurants. “They are very devoted to their traditions, their language,” he said. “Whoever is not working on making these tourists feel welcome won’t enjoy the benefits.”
SÁBADO 8 DE JUNIO DE 2013
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 06/08— “Día Internacional del Tejido”, de las 11 a.m. a 2 p.m. en la Sala de Usos Múltiples en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road. Informes en el 771-2445. 06/08— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta, a las 5 p.m., “One World, One Sky Big Bird’s Adventure”; a las 6 p.m., “Stars of the Pharaohs”; y, a las 7 p.m., “Lamps of Atlantis”. Costo varía de 4 a 6 dólares. 06/08— El Summer Stock Theater Project de LCC presenta la obra de teatro “Lydia” de Octavio Solis a las 7:30 p.m., en el teatro de Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center. El costo de admisión general es de 10 dólares y 5 dólares para estudiantes y adultos mayores. Otra presentación el domingo alas 3 p.m. 06/08— Béisbol: Laredo Lemurs reciben a Amarillo Sox a las 7:30 p.m. en el Estadio Uni-Trade. Informes en (956) 7LEMURS. (Día familiar). El tercer encuentro es el domingo, a las 7:30 p.m. 06/10— Football: Laredo Rattlesnakes reciben a Bombers a las 7:05 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. 06/11— Exhibición de la artista “Leticia Norman” en Laredo Center for the Arts, a las 7 p.m. Además participará la “Rondalla de Voces y Guitarras” celebrando el 165 aniversario de la ciudad de Nuevo Laredo, México. 06/12— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: “The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket”, a las 4 p.m.; “Earth, Moon, & Sun”, a las 5 p.m. Costo general: 3 dólares. 06/13— El Summer Stock Theater Project de LCC presenta la obra de teatro “Rabbit Hole” de David Lindsay Abaire a las 7:30 p.m., en el teatro de Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center. El costo de admisión general es de 10 dólares y 5 dólares para estudiantes y adultos mayores. Otra presentación el viernes a las 7:30 p.m. 06/13— Laredo Little Theater presenta la producción infantile “101 Dalmatians” a las 8 p.m. en LLT, 4802 Thomas St. Costo: 5 dólares. Otra presentación el viernes a las 8 p.m. 06/14— Soccer: Laredo Heat SC recibe a El Paso Patriots a las 8 p.m. en TAMIU Soccer Complex. 06/15— El Mercado Agrícola “El Centro de Laredo” desde las 9 a.m. hasta la 1 p.m. en Plaza Jarvis. Más información en laredomainstreet.org. 06/15— Se llevará a cabo la feria “Community Wellness” de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el Laredo First Assembly. El evento es gratuito. Más información en 727-7954. 06/15— Silverado’s Night Club, 5920 San Bernardo, presenta a Los Cardenales de Nuevo León a las 9 p.m. Informes al 726-4347 y 726-1076. 06/15— Laredo Little Theater presenta la producción infantile “101 Dalmatians” a las 8 p.m. en LLT, 4802 Thomas St. Costo: 5 dólares.
NUEVO LAREDO 06/09— El Grupo de Teatro Laberintus presenta la obra “Alicia en el país de las maravillas”, del Clásico de Lewis Carroll, dirigida por Luis Edoardo Torres, a las 12 p.m. en el teatro del IMSS, Reynosa y Belden, Sector Centro. Costo 20 pesos. 06/11— Laberintus Teatro presenta “Diálogos de Nostalgia y Pollos”, a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, Belden y Reynosa. Costo: 20 pesos.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
ARRESTAN A ACTRIZ DE TEXAS EN RELACIÓN AL CASO
Cartas con ricino POR DANNY ROBBINS Y ADAM GOLDMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Una actriz de Texas embarazada que dijo a agentes del FBI que su marido había enviado cartas contaminadas con ricino al presidente Barack Obama y el alcalde de Nueva York Michael Bloomberg fue arrestada porque presuntamente fue ella quien envió las cartas, dijeron funcionarios policiales el viernes. No se sabe aún qué cargos serán presentados contra Shannon Guess
Richardson de New Boston, Texas, madre de cinco hijos que ha tenido pequeños papeles en programas de televisión. Dos oficiales de Policía confirmaron su detención a The Associated Press, pero hablaron bajo la condición del anonimato porque no estaban autorizados a hablar públicamente mientras la investigación esté en curso. Se vio a agentes del FBI vestidos con trajes de materiales peligrosos entrando y saliendo de su casa el miércoles en New Boston, ubicada a unos 240 kilómetros (150 millas) al
noreste de Dallas cerca de la frontera entre Oklahoma y Arkansas. Funcionarios han dicho que la búsqueda comenzó después de que Richardson contactó al FBI e implicó a su marido, Nathaniel Richardson. No se sabía de inmediato si Shannon Richardson, de 36 años, tenía abogado. John Delk, que representa a Nathaniel Richardson, dijo a la AP el jueves que su cliente había pedido el divorcio y que quizá había sido inculpado injustamente por su esposa. Dijo que su cliente estaba coo-
perando con las autoridades que investigan las cartas enviadas el mes pasado a Bloomberg, su grupo a favor del control de armas de Washington y la Casa Blanca, amenazando con utilizar la violencia contra los defensores del control de armas. “Hay varios factores de los que estoy enterado que indican que (Nathaniel Richardson) fue inculpado injustamente por ella”, dijo Delk. (El periodista de The Associated Press Adam Goldman informó desde Washington, DC)
ECONOMÍA
DETERIORO CARRETERO Buscarán solución a largo plazo POR AMAN BATHEJA THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
E
n el sur y el oeste de Texas, un aumento en la extracción de petróleo ha sido tanto una bendición para las arcas del Estado como una carga en las carreteras locales. A medida que la sesión legislativa entró en sus últimos días el mes pasado, algunos temieron que los legisladores sacarían el máximo provecho de la primera, mientras que no harían mucho por la misma después. Al final, legisladores encontraron 225 millones de dólares para reparar caminos de condados afectados por el desarrollo de energía, y la misma cantidad para los caminos propiedad del estado. Aunque los fondos ayudarán, solamente es un arreglo a corto plazo. “Agradecemos lo que tenemos, pero sentimos que el tiempo demostrará que fue poco”, dijo el Juez del Condado de DeWitt, Darryl Fowler, quien trabajó sobre el tema durante toda la sesión de parte de varios condados en el Eagle Ford Shale en el Sur de Texas. “Trabajaremos con ello y trataremos de regresar la próxima sesión y encontrar
Foto por Jerry Lara | San Antonio Express-News
El tráfico se mueve a lo largo de FM 468, justo al noroeste de Cotulla, a mediados de marzo. La mayoría de las carreteras en el área del Eagle Ford Shale están pagando el precio del tráfico. una solución a largo plazo”. Oficiales con los denominados condados de esquisto se pasaron la sesión negociando con los cabildeos de hidrocarburos y legisladores para encontrar fondos para los caminos rurales, muchos de los cuales han sido diezmados por miles de camiones pesados viajando sobre ellos para tener acceso a las operaciones de extracción. El deterioro de las carreteras ha contribuido a un aumento de los accidentes de tráfico y amenaza con paralizar la producción de energía en el futuro de la región.
El Departamento de Transportación de Texas pidió a los legisladores 1.6 billones de dólares para atender el tema — 400 millones para arreglar la infraestructura existente y 1.2 billones para reforzar los caminos existentes. Propuestas para encontrar el dinero incluyen tocar la cuenta de ahorros del estado, conocido como el Fondo de Reserva, y facturar a las empresas de energía directamente por los costos de reparación. Los legisladores que representan a los condados de esquisto en varias oca-
siones han recordado a sus colegas que el auge de perforación fue la razón principal para el excedente presupuestario del Estado y de los miles de millones de dólares que se sientan en el Fondo de Reserva. “Estamos decididos a encontrar una solución a los problemas estructurales que la bonanza petrolera del Siglo XXI de Texas ha traído a nuestro gran estado”, escribieron los Senadores Glen Hegar, R-Katy y Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, en un editorial conjunto en marzo. Los líderes económicos y
legisladores que representan a los condados de esquisto revivieron las negociaciones sobre el último fin de semana de la sesión. Ellos llegaron a un acuerdo que incluía requerir a TxDOT repartir la mitad de los 450 millones de dólares a los condados locales como donaciones. Para tener derecho a las subvenciones, los condados tendrán que establecer las Zonas de Reinversión para Transporte de Energía en el Condado, lo que permitiría que ingresos por impuestos a la propiedad se destinen a la cantidad. El acuerdo significa que serán reparadas más carreteras afectadas por el auge de perforación, especialmente en el Eagle Ford Shale. Pero fue una infusión de una sola vez y menos de lo que se necesitaba, indican los defensores. Para mayor complicación, un creciente interés en la exploración de esquisto en el Oeste de Texas podría significar que más condados se enfrentarán al mismo problema en el futuro próximo, lo que eleva el costo total de las reparaciones. Deb Hastings, vicepresidente ejecutivo de la Texas Oil y Gas Association, describió los movimientos de la Legislatura sobre el tema como “un paso en la dirección correcta”. “La cifra en dólares no es para nosotros, pero el esfuerzo y la atención a esta necesidad fue la decisión correcta”.
EXPANSIÓN
LAREDO
Construirán enlace ferroviario
Mujer reporta agresión sexual
POR RICARDO R. VILLARREAL TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El grupo Lewis Energy celebró una ceremonia el jueves en Encinal para el La Salle Railway y Parque Industrial, lo que facilitará el continuo crecimiento y expansión que la compañía y el Sur de Texas están experimentando como resultado de la producción de hidrocarburos del Eagle Ford Shale. Rick Smart, vicepresidente de operaciones globales de Lewis Energy, dijo que las nuevas instalaciones se desarrollarán para incluir a los arrendatarios que no participan en la industria de hidrocarburos. “No será estrictamente enfocado al campo petrolero. Vamos a desarrollar esto de la mejor manera para Encinal”, dijo Smart. “Es muy emocionante y lo mínimo que esperamos hacer es crear de 100 a 150 empleos para finales de 2014. Esperamos, sean más que esos. Pero esa es una de las cosas en las que todos estamos: el crecimiento del Sur de Texas”. Smart dijo que los interruptores del ferrocarril se construirán en un sistema de aproximadamente 4 millas, vías que se incluyen en la Fase I del plan. La puerta de entrada de las instalaciones estará en el State Highway 44. “Nuestra proximidad con Laredo y Union Pacific va a ser un gran beneficio para el ferrocarril para varias iniciativas”, dijo Smart. Agregó que una compañía de arena y químicos serán los primeros arrendatarios, pero que esperan seguir con la ampliación a medida que surja la necesidad. Bret Smart, gerente de la división de servicios, dijo que el enorme impacto de Eagle Ford Shale ha tenido sobre las ciudades y el área no puede se subestimado. “Podríamos tener algunos grandes jugadores que vengan y quieran ser parte de los estamos haciendo aquí”, dijo. “La instalación va a ser
POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía
Rick Smart, VicePresidente de Operaciones Globales, durante la ceremonia de arranque del proyecto La Salle Railway and Industrial Park. bastante grande, vamos a tener espacio para el nuevo desarrollo de las compañías y realmente dejar una huella justo en el centro de la parte sureste de Eagle Ford”. Rod Lewis, CEO de Lewis Energy, dijo que la propiedad donde se está construyendo el nuevo parque ferroviario e industrial fue el primer rancho que compró en la década de 1990. La puerta de entrada actual es una pequeña estructura de madera que cubre lo que Lewis dijo, fue un pozo de agua una vez utilizado para llenar los tanques de los motores de las locomotoras de vapor que pasaban ahí. Dijo que había una casa de madera construida en la década de 1920 en la que vivió un portero del ferrocarril. Lewis desmontó la casa y utilizó la madera para construir otra casa en otro rancho. Describió cómo las operaciones en la propiedad que están siendo desarrolladas solían ser el hogar de una productora de cebolla. Lewis dijo que era significativo que la propiedad histórica que una vez fue importante para la economía local lo fuera de nuevo. “Sólo quiero hacer lo mejor para el equipo que trabaja para mí, para mi familia y para la comunidad. Eso es de lo que se trata todo esto”, dijo Lewis.
Se sigue sin saber el paradero de un hombre que expuso sus genitales a una mujer de Zapata e intentó agredirla sexualmente el martes alrededor de las 4 a.m., por la Avenida San Bernardo en Laredo, informó la policía de Laredo esta semana. En la descripción otorgada se dijo que el sospechoso vestía una camiseta color negro y pantalones de mezclilla. Supuestamente se alejó en una bicicleta detrás del Valley Day and Night Clinic en la cuadra 5500 de San Bernardo. La policía no pudo localizar al sospechoso. Llorando de manera histérica, declaró que un hombre intentó violarla, dijo el Investigador Joe E. Baeza, vocero para LPD. De acuerdo a la policía, la mujer, de Zapata, caminaba hacia el sur sobre San Bernardo con algunos tacos en su mano cuando vio a un hombre mostrando sus genitales detrás del Eyemart Express. La policía dijo que el hombre supuestamente le dijo a la mujer “Me encantan las chicas blancas”. “El sospechoso se acercó corriendo a ella y la arrolló al suelo. (Él) trató de quitarle los pantalones de pijama a la víctima pero ella lo impidió”, dijo Baeza. La mujer presentaba un pequeño rasguño en una rodilla de cuando el agresor la arrolló al suelo. Fueron realizados reportes por agresión sexual y exposición indecente. El caso continúa siendo investigado.
National
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
Perry: Phone surveillance is like China By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — Sounding like a candidate gearing up for another presidential run, Gov. Rick Perry on Friday blasted the Obama administration in some of the harshest terms he has used since his failed White House bid in 2011. Already the longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry has not said if he plans to seek a fourth full term in office next year. But he also hasn’t ruled out running for president again in 2016. A hint of his intentions, though, may have come in Perry’s fiery tone and focus on nonTexas issues while addressing the National Federation of the Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs, a Republican grassroots group active in 14 states. “We have an administration today that is taking alarming steps to infringe upon our rights in the name of consolidating their power,” Perry told about 200 activists who gathered in San Antonio for the organization’s national convention. It was revealed this week that the National Security Agency has been collecting the phone records of hundreds of millions of U.S. phone customers. That includes users of Verizon’s land and mobile phones, but also those from other companies. “Who knew, when you were watching the Verizon ad and the guy said, ‘Can you hear me now,’ that was really just a mic check for the Obama administration,” joked Perry, who drew a standing
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Gov. Rick Perry, left, and Adan Gallegos, right, are with service dog Bootz during a ceremonial signing of House Bill 489 in San Antonio, on Friday. The bill will allow people with disabilities to use the assistance of service animals in all public places. ovation. He called the federal government’s secret surveillance into America’s phone records a “fundamental misuse of the massive power of the federal government,” and added, “These acts are something I would expect to see out of China but not out of the United States.” Word of the phone surveillance came as the Obama administration already faces questions over the federal tax agency’s improper targeting of conservative groups and the seizure of journalists’ phone records in an in-
vestigation into who leaked information to the media. “They have spied on us, they have intercepted reporters’ communications, they have unleashed the IRS to target conservative groups and not just conservative groups ... Faith-based groups,” Perry said. The governor also referenced the September 2012 attacks against a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. “This irritates me to a great deal,” he said, “no one has the
authority at the White House or the State Department to pick up the phone to send elite forces to save and rescue our ambassador in Benghazi. But someone high enough up in this administration is authorizing the tapping of over 100 million American phones.” He went on to blast the Obama White House for allowing unchecked federal expansion, saying of the U.S. government, “It was never meant for there to be this powerful, centralized government that says, ‘Here is how you are going look, act, perform in every avenue;’ whether it’s
health care or whether its transportation, or whether it’s education or whether its on the social issues.” The speech came after Perry visited the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in San Antonio to sign into state law a measure allowing people with service animals to take them anywhere — including restaurants and food stores. He even got a little help from service dog Bootz, a 3-year-old rat terrier whose leg was carefully dipped into an ink pad so he could affix a paw print to the legislation. “It was fun,” Perry said of the joint signing, “but it was powerful and appropriate.” The law includes a publicity campaign to educate store employees and business owners that people with post-traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities that aren’t always visually obvious still should not be discriminated against when they take their service dogs to public places. It also mandates fines for any who do discriminate. Bootz belongs to U.S. Army veteran Adan Gallegos, who served in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and suffers from PTSD. The dog jumps to remind Gallegos it’s time to take his medication, while also gently urging him to leave public situations that are stressful. Gallegos also sued a San Antonio mattress store last year after he says the owner kicked him out for having a service dog. “It feels amazing,” he said of the new law. “All I wanted was to get positive attention for service animals.”
Some call for equitable redistricting plan By CHRIS TOMLINSON AND URIEL GARCIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Reed Saxon | AP
A Santa Monica police officer leads children from a Los Angeles school out of Santa Monica College, where they attended a planetarium show, following a shooting in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday.
Gunman kills 6 in Calif. By TAMI ABDOLLAH ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A gunman with an assault-style rifle killed at least six people in Santa Monica on Friday before police shot him to death in a gunfight in the Santa Monica College library, authorities said. Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks told reporters the rampage began at a house in the coastal city before the gunman, dressed all in black, made his way to Santa Monica College. Seabrooks said he killed two people in the house, which caught fire, two more people as he moved several blocks toward the campus, and then two more on campus. He entered the library and fired on other people but didn’t hit them, Seabrooks said. Several students in the library reported hearing gunfire, and one witness said he heard a woman scream. “The officers came in and directly engaged the suspect and he was shot and killed on the scene,” Seabrooks said. She identified the gunman as 25 to 30 years old and dressed all in black, wearing what appeared to be a ballistic jacket. The campus was searched for a second shooter, and a man dressed entirely in black, with the words “Life is a Gamble” on the back of his sweatshirt, was seen being taken into custody by law enforcement officers. He did not appear to be wounded. “We are not convinced 100 percent that the suspect who was killed operated in a solo or alone capacity,” Seabrooks said. All of this unfolded about 3 miles from where President Barack Obama
was attending a fundraising luncheon. Three women with gunshot wounds were admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, said Dr. Marshall Morgan, the chief of emergency medicine. One died, another was in surgery, and the third was in serious condition but doing well, he said. Three other women went to UCLA Medical Center Santa Monica with relatively minor injuries, Morgan said. One has shrapnel-type injuries and the two others had injuries not related to gunfire, he said. Jeff Furrows of the Santa Monica Fire Department said there was extensive fire damage inside the home where two bodies were found, and one of the wounded women was found with a gunshot wound in a car nearby. Jerry Cunningham Rathner, who lives near the house, said she heard gunshots and came out onto her porch to see a man shooting at the residence. Soon, the building erupted in flames and was billowing smoke. The gunman, dressed in black and wearing an ammunition belt, went to the corner and pointed a rifle at a woman in a car and told her to pull over, Rathner said. He then signaled to a second car, also driven by a woman, to slow down and began firing into the vehicle. “He fired three to four shots into the car — boom, boom, boom, right at her,” said Cunningham, who went to the woman’s aid and saw she was wounded in the shoulder. “I can’t believe she didn’t have worse injuries,” Cunningham said. She said the gunman then abducted the woman in the first car and drove away. From there, the scene
shifted to Santa Monica College, located in a neighborhood of strip malls and homes more than a mile inland from the city’s famous Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade and its expansive, sandy beaches. Jimes Gillespie, 20, told The Associated Press he was in the college’s library studying when he heard gunfire, and he and dozens of other students began fleeing the three-story building. “As I was running down the stairs I saw one of the gunmen,” said Gillespie, who described the shooter as a white man in his 20s, wearing cornrows in his hair and black overalls. He said the man was carrying a shotgun. Gillespie believed there were two shooters because he heard two kinds of gunfire — a shotgun and a handgun — but only saw one person. “The shotgun blast was first. It was either him or the partner who shot eight to 10 handgun shots,” Gillespie said. “Then after I saw the gunman I heard more shots and I ran out of the library through the emergency exit.”
AUSTIN — Residents in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth areas called on Texas lawmakers Thursday to redraw congressional districts to provide them with more direct representation in Washington. Political maps drawn by the Republican-dominated Legislature in 2011 divided the state Capitol into five congressional districts, none of them based in Austin. Most of the districts in Dallas and Tarrant counties are divided in such a way that a vast number of voters are in suburban or rural areas. The Republican majority in the Legislature drew most districts so that Republicans could easily win, except for a handful of seats traditionally held by minorities. Travis County was divided in a way that most considered it an attempt to get rid of Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a vocal critic of Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Federal judges in Washington found that those maps were drawn to intentionally discriminate against minorities and a federal court in San Antonio drew temporary districts for the 2012 election intended to fix only the most egregious problems with them. Now the Legislature wants to throw out the original maps and is meeting in special session to make the court-drawn maps permanent. Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, complained Thursday that the process of considering the court-drawn maps and public testimony was insincere. “Texas state leaders are the only state leaders in
the country to have enacted discriminatory redistricting (maps) against minority citizens,” West said, referring to the Washington court’s opinion. “The ruling of intentional discrimination cannot be washed away by holding cynical hearings where the public and minority leaders are asked to speak with certainty that their words will not be heard or acted upon.” West specifically complained about the DallasFort Worth area, where the House Redistricting Committee held hearings Thursday. He said U.S. Census data shows that 2.2 million Hispanics and African-Americans live in Dallas and Tarrant counties, and therefore there should be three congressional districts where minorities make up the majority of voters. Under the interim map, there are two such districts that elected black representatives from the Metroplex, and West said a new map should include a new majority-Latino district. Hispanic groups also want a new majority-Latino district in Houston. Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks told the House committee that he’s “seen state leaders work to undermine the voter strength of African-Americans and Latino citizens of Tarrant County and all across Texas.” “It really doesn’t matter if you hold one hearing, five hearings or 20 hearings,” Brooks said. “If you end up where you began and pass the congressional and state House plans unchanged, the entire process would have become political theater.” But Fred Moses, the Collin County Republican
Party chairman, said the interim maps suit his North Texas community. “As we adopt and make changes, it only confuses voters and it discourages people to be involved in the process,” he said. At a Senate hearing in Austin, Sakar Chapman Thomas, an African-American resident of Austin, said the congressional map keeps her community from electing someone who represents Travis County’s interests. “By carving it into five pieces, it looks as though it is a concerted effort to silence the voices of minority voters in the district, and in this county, that normally vote Democrat,” she told the Senate Redistricting Committee. Thomas and other witnesses Thursday asked lawmakers to draw a new map where at least one congressional district has most of its residents living in Austin. Minority groups from across the state say the temporary maps didn’t fix all the problems with the original maps and that new ones are needed. The redrawing of the state’s political districts takes place every 10 years after the U.S. Census is taken. State lawmakers draw the maps in Texas, and the majority may legally design them to benefit their party. But federal law prohibits redistricting plans that hurt the ability of minorities to elect their candidates.
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
MARTHA M. CISNEROS
WOMAN
Feb. 21, 1951 — June 4, 2013
Continued from Page 1A Martha M. Cisneros 62, passed away Tuesday, June 4, 2013, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo. Mrs. Cisneros is preceded in death by her mother Carlota Santos de Chapa; brother Osvaldo Chapa and a sister Carlota Chapa de Cantu. Mrs. Cisneros is survived by her husband Guadalupe Cisneros; sons Melvin (Araseli) Cisneros, Arturo Cisneros and Larry (Vanessa) Cisneros; daughter Ruby Cisneros; grandchildren Henry, Alysia, Lizette, Damian, Derek, Sabrina, Larissa, Cristian, Ricky Martinez, Yazmin Peña and Danny Peña; great-grandchildren Krystal Cisneros and Nicole Cisneros; brothers Arnulfo Chapa, Ambrocio Chapa and Alejandro Chapa; sisters Esther Chapa, Dora Morales, Nora Cisneros, Olga Serna and Ludy Conway; and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Visitation hours were held Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral
ly, she did not want to file a police report. “She just wanted for police to be aware of the incident and to catch the (man) before he (attacks) some-
one else,” Baeza said. The woman sustained a small scratch to a knee when the assailant tackled her to the ground. Reports for sexual assault and inde-
cent exposure were filed. The case remains under investigation. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
AUDIT Continued from Page 1A procession departed at 10:30 a.m. for an 11 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. A graveside service was on Friday, June 7, 2013, at 10 a.m. at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.
partment can disburse money in the county other than the county treasurer. The new sheriff ’s administration deposits its money to the county treasurer, he said. “Everything is transparent. Before it was not,” Vela said. Former Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. said the expenses on the account were properly documented. “I’m not trying to hide anything. I never was,” Gonzalez said. The auditing firm suggested to the former sheriff and the commissioners that the account should’ve stayed open, Gonzalez pointed out. Vela, however, noticed
“
“I’m not trying to hide anything. I never was.” FORMER SHERIFF SIGIFREDO GONZALEZ JR.
several expenses made by the sheriff ’s office, such as travel, contract labor, donations, advertisements, vehicles, among other items. Though all expenses were cleared with the audit, Vela believes otherwise. “Was it legal? In my opinion, I’d say no,” Vela said.
Regarding purchases, Gonzalez said he had nothing to hide. He pointed out that since 2006, the county has not purchased a patrol unit. All purchases were done with federal grants and forfeiture funds, which include the special account, Gonzalez said. Gonzalez acknowledged
the donations made to nonprofits and other expenses. He said other public officials in other counties donate to non-profits all the time. “I think there was nothing wrong with the account,” County Judge Joe Rathmell said. Commissioners heard the agreed-upon procedures results and acknowledged the results publicly during a meeting. Now, the account is closed. Payments from the U.S. Marshals service go straight to the county treasurer, Rathmell said. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
BRIDGE Continued from Page 1A Pelican Island, was completed in 1959 for Galveston County Navigation District No. 1. It’s historically significant because it’s a bascule type drawbridge, which uses a beam or truss deck that can be raised to an incline or vertical position, allowing vessels to pass. Bascule bridges can be single-leaf, lifting from one side, or doubleleaf, in which the bridge separates at the center. The Pelican Island Bridge is a single-leaf bascule. The bridge is important because it represents an important innovation that provided reliable, unimpeded vehicular transportation, while allowing ships unobstructed access to Texas ports, state officials said. Its 3,239-foot lift span also is exceptionally long compared to other movable bridges, which demonstrates important engineering design and technology, according to documents provided by the Texas Historical Commission. And it’s a rare bridge. Bascule bridges were introduced in the 1890s, but very few were built from 1945 to 1965. The Pelican Island Bridge is the only surviving bascule bridge in Texas from that period and one of only two known to have been built in Texas during the period, officials said. The bridge has been deemed eligible for
listing in the National Register of Historic Places. And while that doesn’t preclude its demolition or removal, it makes such prospects far more difficult and expensive. Should there be a movement to demolish the bridge, officials would have to rigorously study alternatives, including rehabilitating it or building another bridge parallel to it. If those options weren’t viable, the bridge could be demolished but not without gathering extensive documentation and erecting a marker noting its significance, state officials said. Before the bridge could be demolished, historians would have to provide high quality archival photos, images and articles, said Linda Henderson, a historian with the Texas Historical Commission. “It’s a special bridge, but we understand the limitations,” Henderson said. “If a bridge is unsafe, there’s not many arguments we could use not to replace it.” The transportation department also said that no one expects a bridge, no matter how historical, to stay in use if it’s no longer safe or working. “Safety is our highest priority,” transportation department spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis said. “We would not allow for the transport of people or goods on a bridge deemed unsafe.” What makes the bridge so special also makes it a problem, its caretakers and in-
dustry observers said. The bridge’s lift span will be closed for more than a year beginning Aug. 14 for a $10 million project to repair Hurricane Ike damage. The storm, which struck in September 2008, caused significant damage to the bridge’s lift gears and other machinery. Transportation department officials ordered the repairs after finding components of the lift bridge to be unsafe. Thousands of shipyard and offshore workers, along with students, staff and faculty at Texas A&M University at Galveston use the bridge daily. Vehicular traffic will not be interrupted during the repairs, although the bridge may be reduced to one traffic lane. But closing the lift span will force barges and other vessels from businesses on the ship channel west of the bridge to traverse the north side of Pelican Island, costing money, time to open water and competitive advantages, industry officials have said. It would force vessels to go almost to the Galveston Causeway and make a 140-degree turn, which is nearly impossible for some. Because of its age, the bridge is in need of constant patching up, which is costly, industry stakeholders argue. They would rather see efforts, energy and money going into a new bridge that would meet modern maritime needs, they
said. The Harborside Management District, the Port of Galveston, the city and the Galveston Economic Development Partnership are just some of the stakeholders working toward building a new bridge. The meeting with transportation department officials last month was a part of that effort. Early discussions have centered on a bridge that would arc 75 feet in height, providing enough room for barges and other vessel traffic without a lift span. There’s also discussion among port officials, industry and local government officials about building a railroad bridge alongside the proposed new bridge. The old bridge’s historic significance doesn’t mean the end for a new bridge, said Jeff Sjostrom, president of the Galveston Economic Development Partnership. Industry and city officials are continuing to meet with transportation department officials about options and paying for a new bridge, Sjostrom said. And almost everyone agrees a new bridge and a rail link to Pelican Island are necessary for the city’s economic growth. But dealing with preservation of the old bridge adds new dimensions to the issue, Sjostrom said. “I don’t think anyone envisioned we were dealing with a historic bridge,” Sjostrom said.
LETTERS Continued from Page 1A Associated Press on Thursday that his client had filed for divorce and may have been set up by his wife. On Friday, Delk said his client was pleased with his wife’s arrest and was working with authorities to prove his innocence. Delk said he wasn’t anticipating that Nathanial Richardson would be arrested. “But until I’m sure they’re not looking at him being involved, I can’t say much more,” he said.
Bloomberg issued a statement Friday thanking local and federal law enforcement agencies “for their outstanding work in apprehending a suspect,” saying they worked collaboratively from the outset “and will continue to do so as the investigation continues.” Shannon Richardson’s resume on the Internet movie database IMDb said she has had small television roles in “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Walking
Dead.” She had a minor role in the movie “The Blind Side” and appeared in an Avis commercial, according to the resume. She was seen leaving a Texarkana hospital on Friday shortly before the court hearing, though it was unclear why she was there. A hospital spokeswoman didn’t return a phone message seeking comment. Delk said the Richardsons were expecting their first child in October. Shannon Richardson
also has five children ranging in age from 4 to 19 from other relationships, four of whom had been living with the couple in the New Boston home, the attorney said. The FBI is investigating at least three cases over the past two months in which ricin was mailed to Obama and other public figures. Ricin has been sent to officials sporadically over the years, but experts say that there seems to be a recent uptick and that copycat attacks — made pos-
sible by the relative ease of extracting the poison — may be the reason. If inhaled, ricin can cause respiratory failure, among other symptoms. If swallowed, it can shut down the liver and other organs, resulting in death. The amount of ricin that can fit on the head of a pin is said to be enough to kill an adult if properly prepared. No antidote is available, though researchers are trying to develop one.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NBA FINALS: SAN ANTONIO SPURS VS. MIAMI HEAT
One for the ages Photo by Kin Man Hui | San Antonio Express-News
The Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) is ready to lead his team to a title.
Duncan quietly leads By JON KRAWCZYNSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — For all the playoff slugfests he has endured over the years, for all the elbows to the ribs he’s taken in the post, for all the postseason runs between this NBA Finals and his last one, precious little has changed for Tim Duncan.
See DUNCAN PAGE 2B
Photo by Kin Man Hui | San Antonio Express-News
The Miami Heat’s Lebron James reacts after getting called for a foul against the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) in the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Thursday. The Spurs won 92-88.
Spurs take Game 1, look for more in Miami By BRIAN MAHONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
M
IAMI — If LeBron James played for the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich might have a message
for him. It’s the same one he’s occasionally deliv-
ered to Tim Duncan. Selfless play is great. Moving the ball to open teammates is usually the right idea. That belief has carried the Spurs to four NBA titles. Sometimes, though, it’s best if the superstar takes on more himself. “I’ve talked to players before about be-
ing more aggressive,” Popovich said Friday, after the Spurs practiced following their 92-88 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1. “Opportunities might be there that they didn’t take advantage of. That happens
See FINALS PAGE 2B Photo by Wilfredo Lee | AP
PARKER’S SHOT STILL RINGS
Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade (3) must now fight back from a deficit.
Miami needs comeback
San Antonio’s winner excites By TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS
M
IAMI — A day later, Tony Parker’s shot was still the talk of the NBA Finals. With good reason. The shot that sealed a Game 1 victory for the San Antonio Spurs was one that people will talk about for years, especially if Parker’s club goes on to beat the Miami Heat in this title series. His amazing sequence — dribble left, dribble right, keep dribbling right, dribble to the cor-
“
… That’s a huge shot, but it’s not why we lost the game.” HEAT FORWARD, LEBRON JAMES
ner, spin, fall down, keep dribbling, get up and shoot a bank shot underneath LeBron James’ outstretched
arm, watch ball bounce off rim twice and fall into net — seemed to impress everyone. “It was a crazy play,” Parker said Friday after the Spurs practiced in Miami. “I never panicked. I tried to recover the ball, because as soon as I tried to drive (on) Chris Bosh, I was already losing the ball. And after that it was chaos, and I tried to recover the ball. When I was on the ground, I had time to look at the clock, and I knew it was 1.7. So I had time to pump-fake and get a
See SHOT PAGE 2B
By TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Wilfredo Lee | AP
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) regains control of the ball during the second half of Game 1 against the Miami Heat on Thursday in Miami. The Spurs defeated the Heat 9288.
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade’s first three trips to the NBA Finals all were accompanied by a statistical oddity. The Game 1 winner in each of those series wound up watching the other team celebrate a championship. He’s hoping form holds again. Somehow, the Miami Heat seem to regularly disprove the notion that Game 1 win-
INTERNATIONAL SOCCER: FRIENDLIES
Heat to host blockbuster By ADAM GEIGERMAN
The UANL Tigres, Rayados del Monterrey and Club Deportivo Guadalajara— will join Laredo and Austin to play on July 3-6.
THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Laredo Heat plan to turn up the heat of South Texas’ summer with a four-day, five-team international soccer festival at the Texas A&M International Soccer Complex. Three Liga MX Under-20 teams — UANL Tigres, Rayados del Monterrey and Club Deportivo Guadalajara— will join
Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
the Premier Development League sides from Laredo and Austin to play in the
first collection of this magnitude in Laredo’s history on July 3-6.
Sources within the Heat’s front office confirmed that all five teams will be involved in various capacities, but spoke to LMT on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not been made public as the Heat are still ironing out ticket prices and fanfare for the week’s events. What was confirmed
See SOCCER PAGE 2B
See HEAT PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
DUNCAN Continued from Page 1B His expressive face looks remarkably similar in 2013 to the one that helped the San Antonio Spurs to their first championship in 1999. His game is still built on fundamentals and smarts more than athleticism and speed. And he still plays for the same coach, in the same system and with the same two stars by his side that brought three titles to the River Walk in five years. You see Duncan in Game 1 against Miami on Thursday night, controlling the paint, finding the open man and cleaning up the boards like he’s always done. And then you realize he’s 37 years old, and his last trip to the NBA Finals was six years ago. That may not seem so far back to most players. To Duncan, it felt like an eternity. And now that he’s finally here, with a chance for title No. 5, he’s playing with the urgency of a man that doesn’t know how many more chances he’s going to get. “It felt like a long time,” Duncan said on Friday, one day after posting 20 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in San Antonio’s 92-88 win over Miami in Game 1. “I definitely appreciate being back out here, to see the finals banners all around and to see the patch on the jersey and all those little things, the last
SHOT Continued from Page 1B
couple of days it’s really been sinking in. “I think I really do appreciate it more now, having been gone so long.” That Duncan, the most understated of stars, is focusing on those little details that he never did before should come as no surprise. He’s never been one for the pyrotechnic pre-game introductions; never craved the spotlight that comes with playing for the championship. What he has stood for more than anything over the years is dependability. Everyone knows what he brings to the table, and the fact that he keeps bringing it yearin and year-out has earned him an unparalleled level of respect and admiration within the league — if not among the casual fan who craves soaring dunks and wicked crossovers. .” Duncan has long since handed over the reins to the Spurs offense to point guard Tony Parker, but his influence and impact hasn’t waned in the least. “This will always be Timmy’s franchise,” Parker said. “Always. Should do a statue for him outside the AT&T Center.”
HEAT Continued from Page 1B ners almost always end up prevailing in a best-of-seven matchup, an axiom that probably comes out after the initial contest in every playoff series. Since Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined up their team has lost Game 1’s now on four occasions — the most recent being Thursday’s 92-88 loss to San Antonio to open the NBA Finals. And in the first three instances of them facing an 0-1 deficit, not only did they win every time, but they never as much as lost another game in each of those series. “That history-re-
peats-itself-hopefully thing, that would be great,” Wade said. “But right now we have to figure out how to make the adjustments to win Game 2. We’re playing against a very, very good team. Very intelligent, smart team. And we have to break the code. We have to crack the code and figure out how to be more effective, you know, in Game 2 than we were in Game 1.” Trying to continue that trend won’t be easy. The last time the Spurs won Game 1 of any playoff matchup on the road and failed to prevail in that se-
ries was 1978. And when the Spurs win Game 1 anywhere, home or road, they’ve won 27 of their most recent 31 series. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn’t a big believer in those sorts of trends actually mattering. “I think each game is an entity until itself,” Popovich said. “It unfolds differently, and I actually spend zero time wondering about how the next game is going to go, because I really have no idea. ... It unfolds as it goes. I don’t take much from game to game. It’s about what you
do in trying to execute that and trying to pick up things on the other team’s weaknesses or strengths as you go. But from game to game, it’s a new deal.” And the Spurs fully expect the Heat to have a bounceback effort in Game 2 of the series on Sunday night. “We got a little bit lucky in Game 1,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said. “Sometimes that’s what it takes in games. The details, a couple of possessions. So we just have to stay focused. We know we have a long, long way to go. We know they’re going to
come back strong in Game 2.” “You have to have tough character,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Our guys want to win and they are competitive, Type-A personalities. It’s not as if we need motivation and we didn’t come in inspired. No, it wouldn’t give the Spurs the credit they deserved. ... But to be able to bounce back from certain situations, you have to have a toughness, you have to have a collective character. We’ve also been through enough pain collectively that that can be motivating.”
shot up. It was definitely a little bit of luck.” Or a lot of luck. He was guarded by four different Heat players — James, Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Mike Miller — at times in a mere 13-second span. He appeared to dribble the ball off his leg twice. He could have easily lost the ball when he tumbled to the hardwood. Instead, he made a shot that capped the scoring. Spurs 92, Heat 88, final. “He bobbled it, he backed up, he tripped, he fell and he got up and went under my arm and made a tough bank shot,” James said. “That’s not why we lost the game. That’s a huge shot, but it’s not why we lost the game.” Parker is clearly savoring the moment, though is cautioning his friends and family to not make too big a deal of the shot — at least, not yet. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t have a film session on Friday, so Parker just watched the highlight of his shot, which he’s already putting down as one of the biggest in his career, and understandably so. “You have to put it in my top three, for sure,” Parker said. “Maybe No. 1, because it’s the NBA Finals. It will only mean something if we win the championship. And so that’s why like all my friends, my family, they were going crazy. I’m like, you have to stop going crazy. We only won one game. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just one game. But if we go all the way, yes, that shot, you can put it No. 1.” One of the best reactions to the shot on Thursday night came from Spurs forward Matt Bonner, who just put his hands on his
head and stared blankly, almost in disbelief. He was asked Friday if he could make a shot like that. “If my knee did what his knee did, that would probably be the end of my career,” Bonner said. “That was my first reaction. ‘Oh, that had to hurt.’ If it didn’t, he must do a lot of yoga in the summer or something.” FLOP STUDY Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking on flopping, and one of his companies is putting up more than $100,000 to study the problem. Researchers at Southern Methodist University say that Radical Hoops Ltd., a Cuban-owned company, has awarded a grant to fund an 18-month “scientific study of the unsavory practice of player flopping in basketball and other sports.” “The issues of collisional forces, balance and control in these types of athletic settings are largely uninvestigated,” said SMU biomechanics expert Peter G. Weyand, who leads the research team. “There has been a lot of research into balance and falls in the elderly, but relatively little on active adults and athletes.” Researchers will investigate the forces involved in typical basketball collisions and look at how much force is required to cause a legitimate loss of balance, among other flopping-related matters. The NBA has been fining players who are deemed guilty of flopping in order to try and trick an official into making a certain call, and the matter will be discussed more next week when the league’s competition committee meets.
So it will be up to James to determine what he thinks will work. “He’ll do whatever it takes,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s as cerebral a player as there is in this league. He’ll read the game as necessary. I wouldn’t bet against our open shooters. So we just need to make sure we’re getting the shots that we want to.” It’s hard to imagine that includes four 3-point attempts from the 6-foot-11 Bosh — the same amount taken by Ray Allen, the NBA’s career leader in 3pointers made. Bosh missed all of them, but the Heat wouldn’t second-guess the shot selection or criticize their slumping All-Star forward. “We just want Chris to mix it up,” Wade said. “Chris is one of the best shooters, especially bigman shooters in this game. He hasn’t found the fine line of mixing it up, and that’s now always easy because of the dynamic of how many players we have on the court that’s live at all times.” The Heat aren’t in bad shape, having won both the 2006 and ‘12 championships after losing Game 1. But the difficult series against the Pacers took a toll, with both James and Wade say-
ing the team looked fatigued in the fourth quarter Thursday and James even having to ask for a break at the beginning of the period. A lengthy rest seemed to pay off for the Spurs, fresher at the finish after having nine days off following the West finals sweep of Memphis. They committed only four turnovers in the game — fewer than the Heat had in the fourth quarter. Plus, San Antonio seems to have an understanding of how to play James, though the Spurs don’t make it sound like a complex one. “It’s basketball. There’s nothing tricky really about basketball. There are only so many things you can do,” Popovich said. “So we try to do a little bit of everything. Sometimes it means getting up into him. Sometimes it means backing off. Sometimes it means fronting him. Sometimes it means playing behind. It’s just important to show a little bit of variety so somebody doesn’t get used to one thing.” Now it’s up to James to figure out how to deal with all that. “I don’t really predetermine what I’m going to do,” he said. “I kind of let the game flow for itself. We’ll see what happens.”
FINALS Continued from Page 1B with Timmy now and then. He’s so unselfish, if he shoots three jumpers in a row, he feels like he shouldn’t shoot more sometimes, because he wants the ball to move and he wants to involve everybody. I think unselfish players think like that. Once in a while I’ve got to tell him, no, I don’t care if you get 20 of those shots, you have to take them.” Maybe James will in Game 2. “We’ll see what type of game plan I come out with on Sunday,” he said. “It will be dumb of me to reveal it today.” James had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 1, but, as can be the case with the game’s greatest talent, there was a feeling he could have done more. And the Heat needed it. About the time the game was slipping away from the Heat midway through the fourth quarter, the league MVP had attempted fewer shots than Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and only three more than Mario Chalmers. Bosh took more shots in the final period (5) than James (4). The more they missed — as Wade and Bosh did six times in seven attempts over the final 12 minutes — the louder the cries for
James to stop giving them the ball and keep it for himself. Yet that just doesn’t seem natural for him. “I’ve got this far with them, I’m not going to just abandon what I’ve been doing all year to help us get to this point,” James said. “So I know those guys will be ready to shoot again once they’re open.” The Spurs appeared to retain at least part of the schemes they used against James in 2007, when they swept his Cleveland Cavaliers for their most recent title. A help defender was ready to slide over and make James give up the ball or shoot a jumper if he had beaten his man, rather than have a lane to the basket. “We obviously understand that he’s extended his range and he’s a much different player than he was then. We’re trying to make it as difficult as possible,” Duncan said. “We’re not going to hold him to 18 every game. Every game we know he’s going to come out real aggressive, especially this coming game, and be aggressive to score, but we’re going to try to make it as difficult as possible, show as many bodies as possible and make his plays so he doesn’t rack up on the ones
Photo by Kin Man Hui | San Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (09) weaves around the Miami Heat’s LeBron James (06) in the second half of Game 1. going right to the basket and try to get the easy stuff.” Some of the few easy looks the Heat got in their seven-game series against Indiana in the Eastern
Conference finals came when James went into the post. But even if he does that now, the strategy only pays off if his shooters make open looks when he’s double-teamed.
SOCCER Continued from Page 1B was that the festivities will begin with the regular-season PDL match between the Heat and Austin Aztex on July 3. On July 4, the Rayados will face Guadalajara; on July 5, the hosting Heat will play Tigres; and on July 6, Tigres will play in the festival’s finale against Chivas. The Rayados will not face their same-city rival Tigres, undoubtedly to maintain a level of safety around the friendlies. Rayados and Tigres are the bitterest of combatants in the 4,180,000-person city. When the pair of Monterrey teams play, it is referred to as one of Mexico’s most passionate El Classios. The most sparkling of headliners in the event are Los Rojiblancos, the Clausura 2013 Sub-20 champions. Guadalara defeated Tigres in the Clausura championship, 4-2 on aggregate, to raise the trophy and be crowned the country’s finest Under-20 team.
“It was certainly one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever felt in my life,” Chivas’ David Oropeza said after winning the trophy. “Because we have met our targets, have been buzzing with the team. This was the result of the good work in the tournament.” The Heat will offer Tigres a last-gasp shot at redemption in the four-day friendly showcase’s closer. In the past, Laredo has hosted Liga MX sides and futured stars such as then-Atlante manager Miguel “Piojo” Herrera, current Atlante striker Francisco “Kikin” Fonseca, then-Atlante goalkeeper Moises Muñoz and then-Chivas frontman Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. Hernandez currently is the Mexican national team’s go-to goal scorer and plays his club soccer for English Premier League champion Manchester United. Herrera and Muñoz moved on from At-
lante to Club América, where they both won the Liga MX championship in May. Muñoz scored a last-second equalizer on a corner kick before América defeated Cruz Azul in penalty kicks. The current championship Guadalajara squad is made up of goalkeepers Jose Antonio Rodriguez and Diego Parra; centerbacks Carlos Alberto Lugo, Juan Miguel Basulto, Isao Torres, Mauricio Hernandez, Jaime Frias Jr., Edson Flores Navarrete and Carlos Villanueva; midfielders Mauricio Hernandez Curl, Fernando Ruben Gonzalez, Michael Perez, Javier Eduardo Lopez, William Guzman and Giovani Hernandez; and forwards Stefano Erick Torres, Christian Zamora, Carlos Cisneros and Armando Escobar. Chivas is coached by Marco Fabian Vazquez. “It generates a lot of happiness and satisfaction,” Torres said of winning the tro-
phy. “It is something that we decided we needed to set our sights on since we made the playoffs, and having achieved the goal is something special.” The Heat and Aztex will be in mid-season form and probably battling for the top spots in the Mid-South Division to open the week. Laredo is currently (2-1-1, 7 points), having only lost at Austin (40-0, 12 points). Austin is atop the table while Oklahoma City FC (3-3-0, 9 points) is alone in second and Houston (2-2-1, 7 points) is tied with Laredo in the third position. Laredo plays Oklahoma City FC on Saturday in Oklahoma City. It’s the first meeting between Laredo’s defending MidSouth champion squad and the new expansion-side OKCFC. Follow @LMT_AGeigerman on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest local sports news.
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE THE BOTTLE DID SAY ‘MULTIPURPOSE’ Dear Heloise: While pretreating a piece of laundry for STAINS, I mistakenly grabbed a spray bottle of multipurpose cleaner, instead of my normal spot-remover product. Happily, the cleaner removed the spot without damaging the fabric! I now often use it as a spot remover on light-colored laundry, although I haven’t tested it on darker-colored fabrics. I like the fact that this one product does double duty as both a general cleaning agent and a laundry spot remover! — Debbie R. in Texas Glad this worked for you! Readers, if you use this hint, test on a small area first to be sure it doesn’t fade or change the color, and wash the item as soon as possible. Do you have other stains that you are unable to remove? All you need to do is send for Heloise’s Handy Stain Guide for Clothing. It includes a lot of common stains that every household has to deal with on a daily basis. To receive a copy, just
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send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (66 cents) envelope to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Never put an item in the dryer until you make sure the stain is gone. If it goes in the dryer, the stain will be very hard to remove. — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Cathy Wilson of Lancaster, Calif., sent in a photo of her black dachshund/Chihuahua mix, Rascal, floating on his favorite pool float. Cathy says, “Rascal loves to join us in our pool, and he climbs the stairs and watches us until we put him on his raft. He loves to float that way but hates to swim.” To see Rascal on his bright-colored float, visit my website, www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise WIRE HANGER DONATION
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SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013