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FEDERAL COURT
Bail bond battle Attorney: Man not a flight risk
By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — U.S. prosecutors in the drug and money laundering case against Carlos Contreras and 23 other Laredoans alleged in federal court Friday that the
defendant has a close association with the Mexican Mafia. They said Contreras, 32, and his associates changed their cell phones every 30 days to make it more difficult for law enforcement to track their transactions.
Prosecutors also said the trucking business that Contreras owns is a front company, that most of his income comes from the illicit drug trade. Arturo Gallegos, Contreras’ attorney, refuted the claim, saying he could pro-
vide receipts proving the trucking company is legitimate. Contreras, a father of five who is married to co-defendant Ana Rosa Contreras, was in court Friday for
See FEDERAL COURT PAGE 9A
CARLOS CONTRERAS
U.S. CONGRESS
Rep decries border fence
IMMIGRATION REFORM Bill could slow illegal entry By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cuellar says barrier an affront to Mexico By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — When the fireworks displays adorned the skies Thursday night in celebration of the nation’s independence, approximately 11 to 12 million people living here illegally stand on the precipice of the American Dream. CUELLAR The U.S. Senate passed a bill last week that sets the stage for the House of Representatives to take up the ever-polarizing issue. If passed, the legislation could give rise to a citizenship path for millions of undocumented immigrants and also increase border security measures. The 68-32 vote by the Senate passed with support from both sides of the aisle — but with the addition of an amendment that some Democrats in the House, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, are calling “an outrageous assault on border culture.” Cuellar and his two Democratic colleagues — Filemon Vela, of Brownsville, and Beto O’Rourke, of El Paso — released a statement two weeks ago denouncing the Corker-Hoeven
See CUELLAR
PAGE 9A
Photo by John McCusker/The Advocate | AP
WASHINGTON — Comprehensive immigration legislation passed by the Senate would reduce illegal immigration into the U.S. by onethird to one-half beyond what would happen under existing law, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. That’s a significantly greater reduction than the nonpartisan budget office said would have resulted from an earlier version of the bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have cut illegal immigration only by 25 percent. Partly in response to that earlier finding, senators agreed to greatly boost border security in the bill and take steps against people who overstay their visas. Those changes helped the legislation pass the Democratic-controlled Senate with a bipartisan 68-32 majority last week. It’s now pending in the Republican-led House, where it faces an uncertain future. The CBO also said that despite spending $36 billion more on border security than would have happened under earlier versions of the bill, the legislation would still reduce the budget deficit by $158 billion over 10 years and $685 billion in the decade after that. Taxes paid by newly legalized residents, along
Kha Nguyen, 94, holds an American flag as she takes the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony in New Orleans, on Thursday. The ceremony was one of several being hosted across the country on the Fourth of July.
See IMMIGRATION PAGE 9A
RECREATION
Zebra mussels target of state officials By BETSY BLANEY AND URIEL J. GARCIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Uriel Garcia | AP
A sign alerting boaters to the presence of zebra mussels is shown at Lewisville Lake, near Dallas, on Tuesday. The pesky, non-native shellfish are causing big headaches as they migrate southward.
LEWISVILLE — Carl Pearson dusts cobwebs off his boat as he prepares to push off into Lewisville Lake for some summer relaxation. At a nearby boat ramp a sign reminds him he’ll need to clean off more than cobwebs when he returns to shore: It’s illegal to transport zebra mussels from the lake.
The warning sign is part of an awareness campaign wildlife officials are waging to halt the migration of the pesky non-native shellfish that have spread this summer to more North Texas waters after already causing billions of dollars in economic damage in more than two dozen other states. The mussels clog inflow pipes of water suppliers, build colonies inside boat engines and can hurt lakeside businesses by making
beach-walking hazardous with their sharp edges. “It’s big-time money,” said Bob McMahon, a biologist at the University of Texas at Arlington who developed monitoring and risk assessment programs for the mussel with funding from by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s by far the most costly aquatic freshwater invasive species that’s ever been introduced
See MUSSELS PAGE 8A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, JULY 6
ASSOCIATED PRESS
First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents. The Boys and Girls Club will hold registration for their basketball league at 302 6th St. Registration fee for members is $15, non-members $30. All skill levels are welcome, ages 5-18. Coaches and referees are needed. Registration ends July 12.
THURSDAY, JULY 11 The Laredo Association of Realtors will host a Bowl-a-Thon at 6 p.m. at Jett Bowl North, 701 Gale St. Fee is $150 per five-player team. There will be door prizes and trophies awarded for first, second and third place. Prizes will be awarded for best bowling team shirt, most spirited team and best of the last bowlers. Players must be 18 years or older. Call 712-4400.
FRIDAY, JULY 12 The Boys and Girls Club will hold registration for their basketball league at 302 6th St. Registration fee for members is $15, non-members $30. All skill levels are welcome, ages 5-18. Coaches and referees are needed.
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#.
SATURDAY, AUG. 3 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.
FRIDAY, AUG. 23 The South Texas Food Bank’s Empty Bowls VII fundraiser starts at 6 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Blvd. The event will feature the band Starship and honor J.C. Martin III and James Pearl, trustees from the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust. Table sponsorships start at $1,500. Call 324-2432.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 7 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.
Photo by Ramon Renteria | El Paso Times
Playboy Marfa, a new art installation depicting the iconic Playboy bunny logo and a classic 1970’s muscle car on a tilted platform, was erected along U.S. 90 about a mile West of Marfa. The Texas Department of Transportation recently determined the sculpture is illegal and ordered Playboy Enterprises to remove it within 45 days.
State says sign must go ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARFA — A state agency says Playboy has 45 days to remove a neon-lit 40-foot high sculpture of the magazine’s iconic bunny logo from a West Texas road. The Texas Department of Transportation ordered the removal of the sign, called “Playboy Marfa,” because Playboy does not have a license for outdoor advertisement in Texas. The El Paso Times reports officials representing Playboy said the company has not violated any laws and will try to resolve the agency’s concerns. Officials were alerted after Marfa resident Lineaus Lorette filed a complaint. “I thought it was a sign — a corporate logo. And in Texas you can’t put up signs without permits,” Lorette said. “I checked and it didn’t have a permit so I filed a complaint.”
Lorette said some Marfa residents are upset the company has used their town, known as a hub for artists, for marketing purposes. “I was really ambivalent. It’s a beautifully made sign,” Lorette said. “The problem is that it’s a sign.” Veronica Beyer, TxDOT’s director of media relations in Austin said that the agency is treating the case like any other instance in which someone puts up a road side advertisement without a license in an area that does not qualify. The sign is part of a roadside art display designed by New York contemporary artist Richard Phillips and Playboy’s creative director of special projects Neville Wakefield. The installation features the offending sign perched atop a post and a concrete platform displaying a stylized version of a 1972 Dodge Charger, a classic American “muscle car.”
Celebrations keep firefighters busy
Grand jury no-bills former DPS official
No injuries in Thursday train derailment
DALLAS — Fire crews are reporting a rash of grass and other fires in many areas of Texas caused by fireworks lit as part of Fourth of July celebrations. Fire officials in Travis County said Friday there were about 30 grass and trash fires in Austin and nearly as many reported in other parts of the county. Dallas firefighters responded to 24 grass fires Thursday evening and early Friday morning.
AUSTIN — A Travis County grand jury has found no basis to charge a former Texas Department of Public Safety official who was under investigation for her role in running the agency that handles federal Homeland Security grants to the state. Janice Bruno, former head of the State Administrative Agency, was dismissed in 2011, a tip alleging “criminal misconduct” in connection with a contract for an Austin consulting firm.
BEAUMONT — Police say no injuries were reported after several cars from a train derailed in downtown Beaumont. Officials say the derailment happened around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The rail cars were carrying grain and a large amount spilled in the area. The cleanup of the derailed cars and the spilled cargo began Friday.
Suspect shot when confronted by victims HOUSTON — Police say a 24year-old man has been hospitalized in serious condition after being confronted by people whose vehicles he’s suspected of burglarizing. Authorities say Cristian Lince was shot, then fled in a stolen vehicle with a second suspect. He’s charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Fort Worth neighborhood remembers dog FORT WORTH — A memorial service was held for a dog named Beau Blue who had no owner but became a fixture in a Fort Worth neighborhood. Residents, police officers and the vet who cared for him gathered at an outdoor chapel. Blue died June 26 of heart and kidney failure.
Houston’s space shuttle replica looking for a name HOUSTON — Texans are being given the chance to name the full-sized space shuttle replica that will be displayed at Johnson Space Center’s official visitor center in Houston. The visitor center, Space Center Houston, is running its “Name the Shuttle” contest through Labor Day. — Compiled from AP reports
FRIDAY, OCT. 11 Registration for the Texas Team Trail Championship will take place at the Zapata Community Center, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOV. 2 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.
SATURDAY, DEC. 7 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents. 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.
AROUND THE NATION Some documents in shooting to remain sealed TUCSON, Ariz. — A federal judge has unsealed about 60 documents in the 2011 Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ruled that about 20 other documents will remain sealed. Burns says some of those documents that should stay sealed contain confidential reports from the Bureau of Prisons about Jared Lee Loughner, who was sentenced in November to seven consecutive life sentences. He pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges in the shooting that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including Giffords.
Work continues to save historic warship in Philly PHILADELPHIA — Officials are working to keep an endangered historic ship afloat on Phi-
Today is Saturday, July 6, the 187th day of 2013. There are 178 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 6, 1933, the first AllStar baseball game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park; the American League defeated the National League, 4-2. On this date: In 1483, England’s King Richard III was crowned in Westminster Abbey. In 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed in England for high treason. In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga. In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an antirabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies. In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks. In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom. In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. In 1963, the cult horror movie “Blood Feast” had its world premiere at a drive-in theater in Peoria, Ill. In 1973, classical conductor Otto Klemperer, 88, died in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1983, Fred Lynn of the California Angels hit the first (and, to date, only) grand slam in an All-Star game as the American League zoomed to a 13-3 victory over the National League in Chicago. In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York Cityarea seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches. Today’s Birthdays: Former first lady Nancy Reagan is 92. Actor William Schallert is 91. Singer-actress Della Reese is 82. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is 78. Actor Ned Beatty is 76. Singer Gene Chandler is 73. Country singer Jeannie Seely is 73. Actor Burt Ward is 68. Former President George W. Bush is 67. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 67. Actor Fred Dryer is 67. Actress Shelley Hack is 66. Actress Nathalie Baye is 65. Actor Geoffrey Rush is 62. Actress Allyce Beasley is 62. Rock musician John Bazz (The Blasters) is 61. Actor Grant Goodeve is 61. Country singer Nanci Griffith is 60. Jazz musician Rick Braun is 58. Country musician John Jorgenson is 57. Former first daughter Susan Ford Bales is 56. Hockey player and coach Ron Duguay is 56. Actress-writer Jennifer Saunders is 55. Rock musician John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) is 54. Rapper Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) is 43. Thought for Today: “Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.” — Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (born this date in 1907, died 1954).
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Business Manager, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 324-1226 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Managing Editor, Mary Nell Sanchez........... 728-2543 Sports Editor, Adam Geigerman..................728-2578 Spanish Editor ........................................ 728-2569 Photo by Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register | AP
Robert Gilchrist, 61, of suburban London, touches the nose of the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in Springfield, Ill., as his wife, Jane, looks on during a tour to learn more about their newfound cousin Friday. ladelphia’s Delaware River waterfront. The USS Olympia is a rare steel ship from the SpanishAmerican War. Its hull is badly rusting and desperately needs to be dry-docked for more than $10 million in repairs.
The Independence Seaport Museum can’t afford to keep the deteriorating ship. Preservation groups in California and South Carolina have proposed taking ownership. — 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, JULY 6, 2013
THE BLOTTER Assault A fight between relatives was reported at 5:17 p.m. June 29 in the 100 block of Kens Way. An assault causing bodily injury was filed. A domestic disturbance was reported at 3:59 a.m. June 30 in the 700 block of Medina Avenue.
Burglary Francisco Javier Chapa, 25, was arrested and charged with burglary of a vehicle at about 11 p.m. June 26 in the 200 block of Cardinal Street. He had a $5,000 bond at the Zapata Regional Jail. A 21-year-old man reported
at 12:33 a.m. June 27 in the 900 block of Roma Avenue that someone burglarized a building to steal a weed eater worth $450. A 43-year-old man reported at 6:44 p.m. June 28 in the 1200 block of Texas 16 that someone stole his lawn mower from the back of his pickup. A burglary of habitation was reported at 1:56 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Villa Avenue.
someone stole a five-gallon gasoline container full with gas and a weed eater. The property had an estimated value of $285. A man reported at 3:21 p.m. June 29 in the 1200 block of Villa Avenue that someone stole his toolbox. A 23-year-old woman reported at 7:17 p.m. June 29 in the 2300 block of Weslaco Lane that someone stole her eightmonth-old pit bull.
Verbal altercation Theft Deputies responded to a theft at 7:05 a.m. June 26 in the 100 block of Vista Hermosa. A 59-year-old man stated that
A verbal altercation between two women was reported at 3:20 p.m. Monday at Falcon Lake Nursing Home, 200 Carla St. No arrest was reported.
Crack sends man to jail By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A search warrant executed June 26 landed one man in jail accused of having small amounts of crack cocaine, Zapata County Sheriff ’s officials announced this week. Pedro Navarro III, 20, was arrested and charged
with possession of a controlled substance in the 1100 block of Bravo Avenue. The alleged crime is a third-degree felony punishable with two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Investigators served the warrant at the home on Bravo. Authorities seized approximately 19 individually wrapped foils contain-
ing crack-cocaine. The contraband had an estimated street value of $400. Navarro was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail, where he was given a $75,000 bond. He bailed out Tuesday, according to custody records. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
LCC TREATS ZAPATA JUMP START STUDENTS
Courtesy photo
Some 60 students from the Zapata Jump Start program celebrated the end of their summer activities on Wednesday. Students were treated to an afternoon meal to celebrate their commitment to completing the summer program. Pictured are, from left, Zapata High School instructor Maria T. Garza, Shannon M. Lopez, Jorge Ramon and Zapata High School instructor Diana Gonzalez.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Workshop is Monday SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A NRCS Texas Outreach Initiative workshop will take place Monday at Costal Bend College in Kingsville. The workshop, scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to
11 a.m., will discuss programs dealing with technical and financial assistance. Participants will learn how services can be combined, mixed and utilized. Costal Bend College is
located at 1814 South Brahama Boulevard in Kingsville. For more information, contact Jose Lucio at 956-665-3118, email at jhlucio@utpa.edu, or refer to www.utpa.edu/ RED.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Does Perry have eye on presidency? By MELINDA HENNEBERGER THE WASHINGTON POST
In San Antonio on Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will share his “exciting future plans.” Not to be confused with his past plans, I guess, or his not-so-hot ones. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure these don’t involve accepting the $90 billion or so in federal money to expand Medicaid that would insure 1 million more Texans in a state that’s first in job creation but second in the number of children without health insurance. When I asked a few Texans what they figured their governor would announce, though, I did get some exciting replies: Secede from the union? Change the part in his hair? Break in some new boots? And those were the Republicans, who have nothing but praise for their longest-serving governor — just as long as they’re speaking for attribution. Perry did succeed in turning his state’s governorship from one of the weakest in the country to one of the strongest by applying a strict personal loyalty test to those he appointed to every seat on every board. As a result, he always has been more feared than loved. But after his belly flop of a presidential run, some of his power to intimidate seems to have worn off. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus — a Republican, of course — publicly criticized Perry’s remarks about Wendy Davis, the state senator who successfully filibustered an antiabortion bill, as damaging to the GOP. I think Perry was actually trying to pay Davis a compliment. “Who are we to say,” he asked, “that children born in the worst of circumstances can’t lead successful lives? Even the woman who filibustered the Senate the other day was born into difficult circumstances. She’s the daughter of a single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. “She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas Senate. It’s just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential, and that every life matters.” Which I took to mean that had her single mom chosen not to have her, the world would have been deprived of her intelligence and fortitude. I’m not surprised, however, that Texas Republicans are telling pollsters that they don’t want Perry to run for president in ’16: Just 18 percent of GOP primary voters want him to go for it, while 69 percent hope he doesn’t. Even among Texans, he’s the sixth-choice Republican presidential candidate right now, after Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan. And although his job approval rating in the state has improved substantially lately, more still disapprove than give him a thumbs-up, and 60 percent of respondents in a recent Public Policy Polling survey said they do not think he should run for a fourth term as governor, either, compared with the 30 percent who say he should. That doesn’t mean Texas is likely to turn blue
“
It’s just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example.” GOV. RICK PERRY
anytime soon, however, because it’s still an awfully red state — and one that has only gotten redder in recent years, with Barack Obama taking 44 percent of the vote in ’08 and 41 percent in ’12. Longtime Democratic consultant Marc Campos, of Houston, who calls Perry “Governor Dude,” is less sure than some others in the state about how the governor will come down on the question of “to dude or not to dude” for a fourth term. “Oops means oops,” Campos jokes, referring not only to Perry’s inability to remember during a primary debate the name of the third federal agency he’d cut, but also to Perry’s presidential chances if he does run in ’16. Yet Campos assesses his party’s chances of taking the governorship next year no less realistically, quoting Rocco Lampone’s line in “The Godfather Part II” that shooting Hyman Roth would be “difficult, not impossible. It would have to be a hardlyany-room-for-error type of campaign,” he says, and darn well funded. As The Dallas Morning News’ Wayne Slater points out, Davis has doubled her name recognition lately, yet is still unlikely to prevail over Perry, who won by 13 points in ’10 as the least-popular Republican on the ballot. Although 38 percent of Texans are Latino, turnout continues to be a problem, with Hispanics accounting for more than a third of the population, yet only about a fifth of the vote. Rep. Joaquin Castro — whose twin, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, would have the best chance of besting Perry if he does run again, according to a recent poll — told me that “we’re going to see the state get more competitive, but realistically, our window” for turning Texas blue “is eight to 12 years.” Perry might actually speed that process along if he does seek reelection, and the state’s Republican attorney general, Greg Abbott, opposes him in a primary. If that happens, Castro says, it will be expensive, brutal and “a replay of what happened to the once-dominant Democratic Party” in Texas in the ’80s, with more infighting than punches thrown at the other party. No one can say that Perry suffers from a lack of confidence, though, and it wouldn’t be like him to worry about that. Just before he was elected to his third term, he told me that walking away after only two would have been “like Van Gogh walking away when he’s two-thirds finished with a masterpiece.” On Monday, we’ll find out whether he thinks any brush work remains undone. Melinda Henneberger is a Washington Post political.
COLUMN
Africa’s energy crisis won’t be fixed quickly or easily By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON — It is a lasting memory of Africa: Men walking dozens of miles searching for firewood. No stick is dismissed and is added to a bundle, mostly carried on the head. In most of Africa, all 54 countries lying south of the Sahara Desert, food is a problem and so is something to cook it with. As populations have grown, so has destructive deforestation. The problem is not confined to rural areas. It spreads out from the shanty towns that surround the cities. There is no electricity, so something must be burned. Of course, it means dismal living conditions. Life without electricity fits Hobbes’ description of life after war: “Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Against this background, President Obama has proposed a $7 billion electrification initiative. To use an expression adopted from T.S. Eliot but popular in Africa, the grass must be singing. It is the right proposal at the right time, but it is also fraught with huge difficulties of implementation.
The administration is quick to admit that to bring electricity to the 70 percent of Africans who do not have it will cost $300 billion, more to maintain the deteriorating electric systems that already exist in and around the cities. Barry Worthington, executive director of the United States Energy Association, part of the World Energy Council (WEC), and an expert on African energy, says the president is to be commended “at least for raising the issue of the people who have no electricity and what that does to economies as well as the lives of the people.” For years, Worthington says, the WEC and organizations like the World Bank have been trying to draw attention to the pitiable electric supply situation in Africa. But he also says the fix will not be quick. The 54 countries that make up Africa south of Sahara Desert are among the most difficult in which to do business. To start, there is something a little dreamy about Obama’s belief that the task will be undertaken by public-private partnerships. This is a concept more alluring in theory than in practice. Obama will find that be-
fore they invest, corporations need to know what their chances of making money commensurate with the risks will be. To do this they need political stability, respect for property rights and a legal system where they can seek redress if things go wrong. These basics are in short supply nearly all over SubSaharan Africa, with the possible exception of South Africa. But looming above all is the destructive force of corruption. Corruption in Africa is interpreted as capitalism in practice. It has no shame; it is the way of the world. In Zambia, for example, western mining companies that had operated copper mines there pulled out a decade ago abandoning hundreds of millions in new investment because corruption — sometimes operating as a kind of political protection money — became so severe that the mines could not operate and the needed investment was wasted. The Chinese became major players. Two years ago, it appeared the Chinese had found new ways of dealing with the corruption issue but that seems to be faltering. Ghana is awash with Chinese freelance gold prospectors, who were ini-
tially encouraged to come and pan for alluvial gold; now they are being driven from the mining claims by corrupt licensing officials and gangs of thugs. China is not exempt. Africa is rich in energy with coal, gas, oil, rivers suitable for hydroelectric development, sunshine and uranium. Yet global nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have a proprietary attitude to Africa, and they subscribe to a kind of environmental imperialism in which only “renewable” technologies that get their seal of approval should be pursued. Hardly had Obama finished his speech than Emira Woods of the Institute for Policy Studies was on the PBS NewsHour denouncing coal, gas and hydro as environmentally unacceptable African power systems. One assumes that leaves wind and solar, but there’s not enough heft there to lift up a continent. There have been electric power successes in countries like Botswana, Cameroon and Tanzania. Worthington says: “At least the president has shone a light on the crisis. The need is great.” The grass may indeed be singing, but softly. Email: lking@kingpublishing.com.
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phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
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ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
National
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Mother says screams are those of son By MIKE SCHNEIDER AND KYLE HIGHTOWER ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANFORD, Fla. — The prosecution in the murder trial of George Zimmerman wrapped up its case after a dramatic day of testimony Friday, with Travyon Martin’s mother and brother saying the screams for help that can be heard in the background on a 911 call came from the 17-year-old. Before the defense began its case, defense attorney Mark O’Mara argued Zimmerman should be acquitted, saying prosecutors hadn’t proved their case. “What is before the court is an enormous amount of information my client acted in self-defense,” O’Mara told Judge Debra Nelson, who continued to listen to arguments late Friday afternoon. Before the state rested, Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, sat expressionless on the witness stand while prosecutors played the 911 recording, in which highpitched wails can be heard as Zimmerman’s neighbor urges a dispatcher to send police quickly. Moments later on the call, there is a gunshot and the crying stops. “Who do you recognize that to be?” prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda asked Fulton. “Trayvon Benjamin Martin,” she replied. She was followed on the stand by her son Jahvaris Fulton, Martin’s 23-year-old half brother, who also testified the cries came from Martin. Identifying the voice could be critical to the case because it could help the jury determine who the aggressor was during the scuffle that ended with Zimmerman killing Martin. Zimmerman’s father has claimed it’s his son yelling. Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with seconddegree murder, has said he
Photo by Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/pool | AP
Volusia and Seminole County associate medical examiner Shiping Bao, left, reviews notes with defense counsel Don West while testifying during George Zimmerman’s trial in Seminole County circuit court Friday, in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. shot the teen in self-defense during a fight. Late in the afternoon, the prosecution rested after calling 38 witnesses over two weeks. When introducing herself to jurors, Sybrina Fulton described having two sons, one of whom “is in heaven.” During cross-examination, O’Mara suggested — haltingly, in apparent recognition of the sensitivity of the questioning — that Fulton may have been influenced by others who listened to the 911 call, including relatives and her former husband. O’Mara asked Fulton hypothetically whether she would have to accept that it was Zimmerman yelling for help if the screams did not come from her son. “I heard my son screaming,” Fulton answered firmly. The defense attorney also asked Fulton whether she hoped Martin didn’t do any-
thing that led to his death. “I would hope for this to never have happened and he would still be here,” she said. O’Mara asked Jahvaris Fulton why he told a reporter last year that he wasn’t sure if the voice belonged to Martin. Jahvaris Fulton explained that he was “shocked” when he heard it. “I didn’t want to believe it was him,” he said. O’Mara asked to play the TV interview for jurors, but the judge denied his request for the time being. Before testifying, Sybrina Fulton posted on Twitter: “I pray that God gives me the strength to properly represent my Angel Trayvon.” After the mother and brother testified, the doctor who performed an autopsy on Martin took the stand. Associate Medical Examiner Shiping Bao started describing Martin as being in pain and suffering after he
was shot, but defense attorneys objected and the judge directed Bao away from that line of questioning. He later estimated that Martin lived one to 10 minutes after he was shot, and said the bullet went from the front to the back of the teen’s chest, piercing his heart. “There was no chance he could survive,” Bao said. With jurors out of the courtroom, Bao acknowledged under defense questioning he had changed his
opinion in recent weeks on two matters related to the teen’s death — how long Martin was alive after being shot and the effect of marijuana detected in Martin’s body at the time of his death. Bao said last November that he believed Martin was alive one to three minutes. He also said Friday that marijuana could have affected Martin physically or mentally; he said the opposite last year. The judge ruled before
the trial that Martin’s past marijuana use couldn’t be introduced, and so the jury did not hear Bao’s opinion about the drug’s effect. Zimmerman attorney Don West questioned why Martin’s hands weren’t covered to preserve evidence on his fingers and why it took three hours to remove the body from the scene. West and Bao talked over each other at several points, prompting the judge to tell everyone to speak one at a time.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
SÁBADO 6 DE JULIO DE 2013
Zfrontera GOBIERNO
Agenda en Breve
Osorio: mejoría
LAREDO 0706— First United Methodist Church tendrá su venta de libros usados, desde las 8:30 a.m. hasta la 1 p.m. en el 1220 McClelland Ave. Libros de pasta dura: 1 dólar; pasta blanda, .50 centavos; revistas y libros infantiles, .25 centavos. 0706— “Books-A-Million” presenta “Story Time” de 1 p.m. a 3 p.m. Habrá lectura, manualidades y regalos para los niños. El objetivo es motivar la alfabetización, habilidades sociales y valores familiares. 0706— Soccer: Equipos Sub-20 de México participan en Encuentro Internacional de Soccer. Tigres de la UANL (Sub-20) se enfrentará Chivas del Guadalajara (Sub-20), a las 8 p.m. en TAMIU Soccer Complex. 0706— Silverado’s Night Club, 5920 San Bernardo, presenta a Grupo Duelo a las 9 p.m. Informes al 7264347 y 726-1076. 0707— El miembro del consejo del Distrito III, Alex Pérez Jr., invita al torneo de bolos para apoyar la recaudación de fondos para becas escolares en el Jett Bowl North, ubicado en la cuadra 701 de la calle Gale, a las 12 p.m. La inscripción de los equipos tiene un costo de 250 dólares, con cinco integrantes del equipo como máximo. 0708— Entrenamiento del ‘Youth Health Service Corp’ de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. en UTHSC Laredo Regional Campus, 1937 E. Bustamante. Es un programa de dos días para estudiantes de preparatoria a fin de ayudarlos a desarrollar herramientas y que conozcan las oportunidades para hacer una diferencia en la sociedad como voluntarios, en programas comunitarios y ser un miembro activo de la comunidad. Estudiantes recibirán certificado por horas comunitarias. 0710— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “Earth, Moon and Sun” a las 4 p.m.; y, “Destination Saturn” a las 5 p.m. Costo: 3 dólares. 0711— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” a las 4 p.m.; y “Planets Quest” a las 5 p.m. Costo: 3 dólares. 0711— El Laredo Association of Realtors hopedará al Bowl-a-Thon a las 6 p.m. en el Jett Bowl North, ubicado en la cuadra 701 de la calle Gale. La tarifa del evento es de 150 dólares por equipos de 5 personas. Habrá trofeos para los tres primeros lugares. Los jugadores deberán ser mayores de 18 años. Para más información llame al 712-4400. 0711— Soccer: Laredo Heat SC recibe a Oklahoma City a las 8 p.m. en TAMIU Soccer Complex. 0712— Festival Inernacional de Ciudades Hermanas de Laredo en Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Dr., de las 10 a.m. a las 7 p.m. Disfrutará y podrá comprar de más de 200 modulos de exhibición de varias partes de México, todo bajo un mismo techo. Entrada gratuita.
NUEVO LAREDO, MX 0707— 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. 0712— Adeodato Torres, Professional Life Coach, estará impartiendo el Taller express de Coaching Personal a las 10 a.m. en el salón ejecutivo “Yokohama” dentro del hotel Real Inn. Costo: 150 pesos.
PÁGINA 7A
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Durante la celebración de la Reunión de Seguridad Zona Noreste destacó que en Tamaulipas se ha registrado una mejoría en el combate a la delincuencia. La reunión permite el análisis de los avances en materia de seguridad en la zona noreste de México. El grupo, reunido en el Centro de las Artes de Ciudad Victoria, México, estuvo encabezado por el
MIGUEL ÁNGEL OSORIO CHONG: Dijo Tamaulipas ha registrado mejoría en combate a delincuencia. Secretario de Gobernación, Miguel Osorio Chong. En la mesa de trabajo se hizo una evaluación de la información referente a la seguridad en cada uno de los estados de esta región. Osorio destacó la colaboración permanente que hay entre el gobierno
de la república y las autoridades de los estados y solicitó redoblar los esfuerzos coordinados entre los diferentes órdenes de gobierno, particularmente en las zonas con mayores índices de delincuencia. Participaron el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, así como los gobernadores de Nuevo León, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas y San Luis Potosí, y el procurador general de la República, Jesús Murillo Karam. Osorio reiteró el compromiso
del gobierno del presidente de la República, Enrique Peña Nieto, de seguir trabajando por el bienestar de todos los mexicanos en coordinación con los gobiernos estatales. Finalmente, se acordó que las autoridades federales continuarán apoyando las estrategias de seguridad de los gobiernos de los estados, con el propósito de brindar mayor seguridad a la ciudadanía y lograr el objetivo de seguir construyendo un México en paz. (Información HTAgencia.mx)
EU
SUEÑO AMERICANO
Foto por Bebeto Matthews | Associated Press
Folletos y una pequeña bandera esperan a inmigrantes que acuden a una ceremonia de nacionalización en las oficinas del Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos, en esta imagen de archivo. La exhaustiva legislación migratoria aprobada por el Senado reduciría la inmigración sin autorización legal a Estados Unidos de un tercio a un medio más de lo que pasaría bajo la ley actual, indicó el miércoles la Oficina Presupuestaria del Congreso.
Cuéllar: es tiempo en que deberíamos derribar muros POR JJ VELASQUEZ
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TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
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proximadamente 11 o 12 millones de personas que viven en EU de manera ilegalmente, están al borde del sueño americano. La semana pasada el Senado de EU pasó una propuesta de ley para que la Cámara de Representantes para que discuta el tema. Si la ley es aprobada, la legislación podría abrir el camino de ciudadanía para millones de inmigrantes indocumentados, y también aumentarían las medidas de seguridad en la frontera. Los votos del Senado, 68 contra 32, pasaron con el apoyo de ambas partes de la Cámara – pero esto incluyó una adición a la enmienda, que algunos demócratas en la Cámara, incluido el Rep. Henry Cuéllar, están llamando “una indignante agresión a la cultura de la frontera”. Cuéllar y otros dos demócratas —Filemón Vela, de Brownsville y Beto O’Rourke, de El Paso— hicieron una declaración hace dos semanas donde denunciaban la enmienda Corker-Hoeven, nombrada así por sus autores, quienes solicitan la adición de 700 millas de valla fronteriza. “Desde un punto de vista económico, la enmienda Corker-Hoeven, desafía toda lógica convencional; en un tiempo en que deberíamos de tirar cualquier muro existente en oposición a construir nuevos, Ésta enmienda ignora la dinámica relación económica entre Estados Unidos y México, la cual registró más de 500 mil millones de dólares tan sólo el año pasado”, dijo el congresista en una declaración conjunta. Cuéllar cree que las relaciones con México podrían verse afectadas si la enmienda es aprobada. El congresista llamó a la construcción de la valla como una solución anticuada a un problema de la nueva era. “Las autoridades en México me preguntan: ‘Hey, Henry, ¿qué está haciendo EU? Somos un amigo, no un enemigo’”, dijo. Poniendo más recursos para reforzar la ley, así como fortalecer los fondos otorgados por los programas como Operación Stonegarden, emplear otros medios tecnológicos, serían algunas de las mejores formas de reducir la entrada ilegal, dijo Cuéllar. La abogada local de inmigración, Norma Nelly Vielma, dijo que los
Las autoridades en México me preguntan: ‘Hey, Henry, ¿qué está haciendo EU? Somos un amigo, no un enemigo’”. REPRESENTANTE HENRY CUELLAR (D-LAREDO)
legisladores deben ver la reforma migratoria como una ventaja económica. No sólo las empresas serán capaces de emplear potencialmente a millones, otorgándole status legal al indocumentado, sino que también se incorporarían al pago de impuestos, dijo Vielma. “Se encuentran en un Catch 22”, dijo. “No pueden pagar impuestos hasta que tengamos algún tipo de reforma”. Entre el espectro de personas que podrían beneficiarse de la reforma migratoria están los trabajadores altamente calificados, aquellos con grados avanzados, quienes pudieran ver reducido el tiempo para obtener sus visas; Trabajadores de baja calificación, quienes pudieran ser elegibles para visas temporales; y los “dreamers”, aquellos que fueron traídos al país ilegalmente cuando eran pequeños y están asistiendo a la escuela, han obtenido un diploma o sirven en la milicia, dijo. Vielma aconsejó a la gente no contactar a abogados o notarios ya que la propuesta no se ha convertido en ley. A diferencia del Senado, se espera que la propuesta en la cámara baja presente una mayor diferencia. Los republicanos en la Cámara se inclinan por dar prioridad a los temas de seguridad en la frontera. La acción comprensiva que espera ver sería la que aborde la seguridad de la frontera, un plan que no retrase las aplicaciones para visa y un camino para otorgar estatus legal a inmigrantes indocumentados.
ALGUACIL
UN BUEN INICIO
Lo acusan por posesión POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Una orden de registro llevada a cabo el 26 de junio envió a una persona a la cárcel, acusada de tener pequeñas cantidades de cocaína crack, informaron esta semana oficiales del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata. Pedro Navarro III, de 20 años de edad, fue arrestado y acusado con posesión de una sustancia controlada en la cuadra 1100 de avenida Bravo. El supuesto crimen es una felonía de tercer grado que se castigo con un periodo de dos a 10 años en
prisión y una multa de 10.000 dólares. Investigadores entregaron la orden de arresto en una casa en Bravo. Autoridades confiscaron aproximadamente 19 envoltorios individuales conteniendo cocaína crack. El contrabando tenía un valor estimado en la calle de 400 dólares. Navarro fue trasladado a la Cárcel Regional de Zapata, donde se le fijó fianza en 75.000 dólares. Él salió libre bajo fianza el martes, de acuerdo a archivos de custodia. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en el 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
Foto de cortesía | LCC
Sesenta estudiantes del programa Zapata Jump Start celebraron el fin de actividades de verano. El programa, patrocinado por Fundación Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez, les ayuda en materias como lectura, escritura y matemáticas. De izquierda a derecha, Mara T. Garza, instructora en Zapata High School; Shannon M. Lopez; Jorge Ramón; y, Diana Gonzalez, instructora en Zapata HS.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
Pope clears John Paul II for sainthood By NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Friday cleared two of the 20th century’s most influential popes to become saints, approving a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II and waiving Vatican rules to honor Pope John XXIII. In a major demonstration of his papal authority, Francis decided that John XXIII could be declared a saint even though the Vatican hasn’t confirmed a second miracle attributed to his intercession. The Vatican said Francis had the power to dispense with such requirements and proceed with only one confirmed miracle to his name. The ceremony is expected before the end of the year. The date of Dec. 8 has been floated as one possibility, given it’s the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major feast day for the church. Polish prelates continue to press for October, to mark the 35th anniversary of the Polish-born John Paul’s election, but Vatican officials have suggested that’s too soon to organize such a massive event. The announcement came on a remarkable day melding papacies past and present: It opened with Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI attending their first Vatican ceremony together, sitting side-by-side on matching papal chairs for the unveiling of a statue in the Vatican gardens. It continued with the publication of Francis’ first encyclical, a meditation on faith that was largely written by Benedict before he retired. And it climaxed with Francis’ decision to canonize two other predecessors. Each event, historic on its own, would have captured headlines. But the canonization announcement capped them all, reflecting the priorities of
this unique pontificate that has already broken so many rules, from Francis’ decision to shun papal vestments to his housing arrangements, living in the Vatican hotel rather than the stuffy Apostolic Palace. To anyone who has been paying attention, Francis’ decision to canonize John Paul and John XXIII should come as no surprise: The Jesuit was made a cardinal by John Paul and is very much a pope of the Second Vatican Council, the ground-breaking church meetings that brought the Catholic Church into the modern world. John XXIII opened Vatican II a year before his death in 1963. “Two different popes, very important to the church, will be announced saint together - it’s a beautiful gesture,” said the Rev. Jozef Kloch, spokesman for Poland’s Catholic bishops, who like most Poles was overjoyed by the news of John Paul’s impending canonization but impatient to know the date. Francis will set the date at an upcoming meeting of cardinals. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that the miracle that brought John Paul to the ranks of saints concerned a Costa Rican woman. The Spanish newspaper La Razon has identified her as Floribeth Mora, and said she suffered from a cerebral aneurism that was inexplicably cured on May 1, 2011 — the date of John Paul’s beatification, when 1.5 million people filled St. Peter’s Square to honor the beloved Polish pontiff. La Razon reported last month that Mora awoke with debilitating head pain on April 8, 2011 and went to the hospital, where her condition worsened to the point that she was sent home with only a month to live. Her family prayed to
Photo by Enrique Martinez | AP
Floribeth Mora looks at a bust of Pope John Paul II while giving her account of a miracle attributed to John Paul, during a press conference at the Archbishop’s office in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Friday. John Paul, and the aneurism disappeared. La Razon quoted her doctor, Dr. Alejandro Vargas, as saying: “It surprised me a lot that the aneurism disappeared, I can’t explain it based on science.” The Associated Press traveled to Mora’s home in Costa Rica this week, but was told that she was bound by secrecy and couldn’t discuss her case. With the miracle now approved by Francis, she planned to tell her story Friday at a press conference organized by the Costa Rican church. Outside her home is a colorful shrine to John Paul, with a photo of the late pope next to a statue of the Madonna and surrounded by flowers, candles and Christmas lights. John Paul, who was pope from 1978-2005, revolutionized the papacy, traveling the world and inspiring a generation of young Catholics to be excited about their faith. He was the first
MUSSELS Continued from Page 1A into United States waters.” The prolifically breeding mussels arrived in Texas in 2009 at Lake Texoma, about two decades after they were first spotted in the U.S. and quickly colonized all five Great Lakes. Since then mussels or their larvae have spread to three other lakes in Texas, most recently Lewisville and Bridgeport lakes. Because there are no large-scale environmentally safe methods for eradication of zebra mussels, wildlife officials are trying to protect other lakes fed by the Trinity River by requiring people to clean, dry and drain their boats after they have been in colonized waters. The mussels — whose larvae are invisible to the naked eye — can expand their range by hitching rides on boats and trailers. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and numerous other entities are also working to educate boaters with an advertising campaign — including press releases, signage and pamphlets available at all marinas. Those caught transporting or possessing the zebra mussel can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor. The program’s success is largely dependent on the public. Because the state lacks the resources to stringently monitor and enforce its regulations, some boaters question whether the mussels’ spread can be stopped. “Mother Nature has been at this for a while, whether it (the zebra mussel) gets delivered by a bird or by a boat,” Pearson said as he swept his boat deck at a Lewisville Lake marina, about 25 miles north of Dallas. “But what you have to do is stem the tide.” The species is originally from the Balkans, Poland and the former Soviet Union. They made their way to the Americas in the 1980s via a ship’s ballast water. They were first found in 1988 in Michigan, and within 10 years had colonized all five Great Lakes and the Mississippi, Ten-
nessee, Hudson, and Ohio river basins. They have infested at least 29 states and more than 600 lakes or reservoirs in the U.S. In Texas, not all lakes have the proper conditions to allow for a sustaining population. Lakes with low calcium levels, for example, don’t support the mollusk. The recent discovery at Lewisville Lake most likely stemmed from contaminated boats. It was made less than a year after the mussels established a population in Lake Ray Roberts, less than 40 miles north of Lewisville Lake. Other high-risk bodies of water being monitored for possible mussel populations are the Red River, the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, Lake Lavon and two lakes downstream from Bridgeport — Eagle Mountain and Worth. The mollusks have already caused problems for some water suppliers in the region dealing with clogged
inflow pipes from the thriving mussel population. Last fall crews with the North Texas Municipal Water District, which serves 60 North Texas cities including Frisco and Plano, had to manually clean pipes at Texoma to the tune of $3.7 million, spokeswoman Denise Hickey said. Businesses that depend on lake visitors could also feel a pinch if the mussels overwhelm nearby beaches and waters with their sharp edges, presenting a danger to swimmers and beach-walkers. Revenue declines could ensue as fewer people bring commerce to the area, but so far few in the Lewisville area appeared overly concerned. “It’s not that big of a deal,” said Rafael Daniel, a manager at Sneaky Pete’s restaurant. “If you drain your boat and rinse it out, you get zero mussels.”
Polish pope and the first non-Italian in 455 years — a legacy that continued with the German-born Benedict XVI and Argentine Francis. On the anniversary of John Paul’s death this year, Francis prayed at the tombs of both John Paul and John XXIII — an indication that he sees a great personal and spiritual continuity in them. Benedict spent much of his pontificate trying to correct what he considered wrong interpretations of Vatican II, insisting it wasn’t the break from the past that liberals believed. The council opened the church to people of other faiths and allowed for Mass to be celebrated in the languages of the faithful, rather than Latin. While not disagreeing outright with Benedict, Francis seems to take a more progressive read of Vatican II and its call to go out into the world and spread the faith — a prior-
ity in the first months of his pontificate. The two popes, however, clearly get along. “Your holiness, good day and thank you!” Francis beamed on Friday as he greeted Benedict in the Vatican gardens for the unveiling of the statue. Benedict, 86, appeared in good form, walking slowly but on his own and greeting wellwishers. The Vatican’s complicated saint-making procedure requires that the Vatican certify a “miracle” was performed through the intercession of the candidate — a medically inexplicable cure that is lasting, immediate and can be directly linked to the prayers offered by the faithful. One miracle is needed for beatification, a second for canonization. Benedict put John Paul on the fast track for possible sainthood when he dispensed with the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed the beatification process to begin weeks after his John Paul’s death. Benedict was responding to chants of “Santo Subito!” or “Sainthood Immediately” which erupted during John Paul’s funeral. There has been some concern that the process has been too quick. Some of the Holy See’s deep-seated problems — clerical sex abuse, dysfunctional governance and more recently the financial scandals at the Vatican bank — essentially date from shortcomings of his pontificate. Thus the decision to canonize John Paul along with John XXIII can be seen as trying to balance those concerns, as well as the shortcomings of each pope. Such was the case in 2000, when John Paul beatified John XXIII, dubbed the “good pope,” alongside Pope Pius IX, who was criticized by Jews for condoning the seizure of a Jewish boy and allegedly referring to Jews as dogs.
As soon as the announcement was made, John Paul’s critics came out: Juan Vaca, one of the victims of notorious pedophile priest the Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ religious order, said the decision to canonize John Paul was “appalling and shocking” given the thousands of victims of sex abuse who were ignored under his 27-year pontificate. The Vatican has argued that sainthood cases are based on the record of the person, not the pontificate. The Rev. James Martin, a Catholic author, said the joint announcement could be seen as a clever move on Francis’ part to cover his political bases. “The two popes are seen to appeal to different types of Catholics, and so this announcement will serve to unite these groups,” he wrote on the website of the Jesuit magazine America. Asked how John XXIII, elected in 1958, could be canonized without a second miracle, the Vatican spokesman insisted that many theologians believe that a second miracle isn’t required. He said Francis had approved a decision by the cardinals and bishops of the Vatican’s saint-making office. “Certainly the pope has the power, in a certain sense, to dispense of the second miracle in a cause, and this is what happened,” Lombardi said. He stressed that this decision didn’t represent any relaxing of the Vatican’s overall standards for canonization, but represented a unique situation, given that the church this year is marking the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. “John XXIII is someone who we know is beloved in the church, we’re in the 50th anniversary of the Council which he started, and I don’t think any of us have any doubts about his virtues,” Lombardi said.
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
CUELLAR Amendment, named for its authors, that calls for the addition of 700 miles of border fencing. “From an economic standpoint, the Corker-Hoeven Amendment defies all conventional logic; at a time when we should be tearing down existing walls as opposed to building new ones, this amendment ignores the dynamic economic relationship between the United States and Mexico which accounted for more than $500 billion in trade last year alone,” the congressmen said in the joint statement. Cuellar said he thinks ties with Mexico would be frayed if the provisions under the amendment pass. The congressman called construction of border fencing an antiquated solution to a new-age problem. “Officials in Mexico are asking me, ‘Hey Henry, what is the U.S. doing? We are a friend, not an enemy,’” he said. Putting more resources into law enforcement, for example bolstering funds provided by programs like Operation Stonegarden, as well as employing other means of technology would be better and more cost-effective ways to reduce ille-
Continued from Page 1A
gal entry, Cuellar said. Local immigration attorney, Norma Nelly Vielma, said lawmakers should see immigration reform as an economic boon. Not only will businesses be able to employ potentially millions more, giving legal status to the undocumented would add them to the tax rolls, Vielma said. “They are in a Catch 22,” she said. “They can’t pay taxes until we get some kind of reform.” Among the spectrum of people that could benefit from immigration reform are high-skilled workers, such as people with advanced degrees, who could see the wait time to receive their visas reduced; lowskilled workers, who would be eligible for temporary visas; and “dreamers,” those who were brought here illegally when they were young and are attending school, earned a diploma or served in the military, she said. Vielma advised people not to enter contracts with attorneys or notaries as the bill has not become law. Unlike in the Senate, the bill in the lower chamber is expected to be broken down into separate mea-
sures, the congressman said. Republicans in the House are likely to prioritize border security issues. Many Democrats have shown a willingness to make concessions on certain issues in the interest of bipartisan effort. “There are some parts that we don’t like,” Cuellar said. “But then again, you have to look at the ultimate goal: to have comprehensive immigration reform.” The comprehensive action he hopes to see taken would address border security, a worker plan that does not create a backlog for visa applications and a path to legal status for the roughly 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants. Should the bill die or critical parts of it be removed, it will be another several years until another opportunity could arise, Cuellar said. “I feel we have a shot,” he said. “It’s a long shot, but I think we can get something done this year. If we don’t get something done this year, then the window closes.” (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2579 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
ARABELA G. BISHOP Aug. 1, 1931-July 1, 2013 Arabela G. Bishop, Aug. 1, 1931 – July 1, 2013, resident of Zapata. After a courageous two year battle with cancer, Mrs. Bishop passed away peacefully at Doctor’s Hospital in Laredo, surrounded by her family. Mrs. Bishop was born and raised in Zapata County. She graduated from Rio Grande City High School in Rio Grande City. Her first teaching job was a oneroom schoolhouse at the tender age of 15 in La Soledad, where her students ranged from kindergarten to 12th grade. She told stories of how she and her students would walk to the river to get buckets of water and gathered firewood for the furnace during recess. She stated that she remembers everyone drinking water from the same tin cup and no one getting sick from germs. She held a Bachelor’s of Science teaching degree from Texas A&I University at Kingsville. She taught in the Zapata County Independent School District for 52 years until her retirement in May 2003 at the age of 71. She was born in Lopeño. Arabela was one of four children born to Precinct 3 County Commissioner (Lopeño) Guillermo and Barbarita B. Gonzalez. She is preceded in death by her parents Guillermo
and Barbarita, sisters Rosa Ena and Maria Esperanza Gonzalez and her beloved husband Darwin Merritt Harrison Bishop. Arabela will forever be remembered by devoted sister, Maria Socorro Gonzalez, daughter Egna Arabela, son-in-law, Derly Villarreal Jr. and treasured grandchildren Javier Adan, Angela Dolores and Norma Michelle Ramirez and by countless friends, family and students whom were blessed to have known her. Mrs. Bishop loved laughing, being with her family, having fun with friends and teaching elementary school children. Mrs. Bishop was the recipient of the Zapata County 2006 Sesquicentennial Award of the longest teaching degree tenor. Arabela touched the lives of many people with her smile, and maintained her trademark sense of humor all the way to the end. Friends and family were
invited to attend her funeral service Thursday, July 4, 2013, at 8 a.m. at the Rose Garden Funeral Home followed by a 10:30 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Zapata. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. The family wishes to express their gratitude to her personal physician and dear friend Dr. Ernest and Mrs. Hilda Cabrera as well as Mrs. Denise Bearden, Champion Care Nurse; Mr. Rafael Garcia Jr., Amistad Home Health Nurse; and Miss Yolanda Villarreal, LMC Nurse for all their love and care of our beloved sister and mother. Pallbearers were Derly Villarreal Jr., Javier Adan Ramirez Jr., Joe Arellano, Wayne Boatright, Jose Luis Morales and Cecilio Jasso. Honorary pallbearers were Derly Villarreal Sr., Dr. Ernest Cabrera, Lupe Castañeda, Dr. Sergio Garza, Raymundo Garza, Commissioner Jose Emilio Vela and Enoch Lopez. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.
IMMIGRATION Continued from Page 1A with other revenue, would outpace new spending for government benefits and other costs under the bill. The measure, if enacted, would cost the government about $23 billion to implement over the first 10 years. The legislation would double border patrol agents stationed along the U.S.Mexico border while calling for hundreds of miles of fencing and requiring all businesses to check their workers’ legal status. Some 11 million immigrants already here illegally would be able to attain citizenship over 13 years, if they pay fines and taxes and meet certain requirements. New and expanded worker visa programs would allow tens of thousands of new workers into the country for high-skilled and low-skilled professions. “CBO once again vindicated immigration reform and shows how the amendment process improved the bill,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement, referring to the border security amendment championed by Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota. “CBO has reaffirmed that immigration reform reduces the debt and grows the economy. It also shows that the Corker-Hoeven amendment further substantially reduces the flow of illegal immigrants, even using a methodology that underestimates how effective immigration reform will be in reducing that flow,” Schumer added. The bill is a top second-term priority for President Barack Obama. Under the legislation as passed, the report found, there would be about 2.4
“
The Senate bill with all its promises about extra enforcement would still allow half the illegal immigration flow to continue.” ROY BECK, NUMBERSUSA
million fewer immigrants coming illegally into the country or illegally overstaying their visas over the next 10 years than would happen under current law. Despite that reduction, with new visa programs bringing many more workers to America, the bill would increase the U.S. population by 9.6 million people over a decade, the report said. Opponents said the report showed the bill doesn’t do enough to stem illegal immigration. “CBO says that the Senate bill with all its promises about extra enforcement would still allow half the illegal immigration flow to continue,” said Roy Beck, head of NumbersUSA, in a statement. “This CBO finding suggests that by 2020 the illegal population will have grown big enough that presidential candidates will once again be pressed to promise yet another amnesty.”
FEDERAL COURT Continued from Page 1A a detention hearing. Gallegos said his client, a lifelong U.S. resident, is not a flight risk and requested a reasonable bond be set. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Hacker said he would make a decision next week on setting bond. Contreras was one of 24 Laredoans arrested June 20 on drug money and money laundering charges following a four-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI. All but one, Contreras’ wife, who faces a money laundering charge, are accused of participating in a conspiracy that involved selling or distributing heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Most are affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, said one of the defendant’s attorneys.
Three of the defendants — Pablo Contreras Jr., 41, Jaime Tomas Hernandez-Rocha, and Mario Alberto Rodriguez, 26 — have yet to enter a plea. The rest have pleaded not guilty. Bond has not yet been set for the majority of the defendants. The U.S. attorney’s office said the indictment indicates that Carlos and Juan Pablo Contreras mainly organized the distribution of heroin and meth to other alleged members and associates of the Mexican Mafia. Of the cases documented by law enforcement from September 2009 to May 2013, the majority involved selling or distributing heroin, according to the indictment. In total, eight Contrerases — believed to be all related to each other — have been charged in connection with the case.
ENEDINA L. BUSTAMANTE Feb. 2, 1946 - July 1, 2013 Enedina L. Bustamante, 67, passed away on Monday, July 1, 2013, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo. Ms. Bustamante is preceded in death by her husband, Ricardo M. Bustamante; sons, Ricardo Rene Bustamante and Jaime Javier Bustamante; and parents Octavio and Micaela Lopez. Ms. Bustamante is survived by her daughters Myrna (Juan Jose Benavides) and Marelda B. (Jose Luis) Orta; grandchildren, Kassandra Saldaña, Bryana Saldaña, Amabely Orta and Jose Luis Orta Jr.; sisters Irene L. (†Lauro) Busta-
mante and Aminta L. (David) Morales; and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Visitation hours were held Tuesday, July 2, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose
Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession departed Wednesday, July 3, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NBA : FREE AGENCY
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
He’s back Photo by Reed Saxon | AP
Lakers center Dwight Howard eliminated the Dallas Mavericks from contention for his services next season.
Mavs out in chase for Howard Golden State lands Andre Iguodala, Tyreke Evans to New Orleans Photo by AP
Manny Ramirez talks to media at the airport in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Friday before departing to the U.S. He will join the Rangers Triple-A affiliate this weekend.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Manny returns to baseball, signs with Rangers
DALLAS — It’s Plan B again for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tweeted Friday that it was “time to get back to work” amid multiple media reports that Dallas was out of the running for free agent center Dwight Howard. “The Mavs are back open for business,” Cuban wrote on Twitter. It’s the second straight summer Dallas has missed on a big name in free agency after declining to bring back key pieces of the 2011 championship team in the name of salary cap space. Deron Williams chose to stay with the Brooklyn Nets last year. Howard met earlier this week with his current team, the Los Angeles Lakers, along with Houston, Golden State, Atlanta and Dallas. WARRIORS GRAB IGUODALA OAKLAND — Two people with knowledge of the situation say the Golden State Warriors and free agent Andre Iguodala have reached an agreement on a $48
By KEVIN SHERRINGTON MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
COMMENTARY
ROUND ROCK — Exhibit 1 in Manny Ramirez’s case that he’s a changed man: He showed up here Thursday. And on time. "I never thought I was going to get another chance," he said, greeting a modest media contingent. "God is good, and I’m here." Yes, He is good. As to whether Manny still is, we won’t begin to know until he officially swings a bat for the Triple-A Express, which will be Sunday at the earliest. Until then, his punctuality ranks as a
milestone in his third comeback over the last four years. Let’s just say Manny wasn’t always dependable in his former life, when he was one of the greatest hitters in history, as well as one of the game’s biggest enigmas. You don’t inspire a character description of "Manny being Manny" without effort. Occasionally that was putting it mildly. Some would tell you he quit on Boston in 2008 to force a trade. Suspended twice after testing positive for PEDs. Charged with domestic violence two years
NHL: DALLAS STARS
ago. And now here he is - fresh from Taiwan, no less - the latest in a long line of Ranger reclamation projects. Will he be another Vlad Guerrero or Sammy Sosa? Can he still swing a bat at 41? Can he stay clean? Why should this comeback be any different? "Why not?" he says, smiling. Give him this: Judging by a 15minute interview, he talks a good game. He was pleasant, fairly humble and repentant, talking freely about his recent spiritual conver-
See RAMIREZ PAGE 2B See NBA FREE AGENCY PAGE 2B
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: AARON HERNANDEZ
Jury to hear from shooting victim ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Harry How | AP
Center Tyler Seguin (19), a former No. 2 overall pick, joins Dallas this offseason along with Rich Peverley, Ryan Button and Shawn Horcoff.
Stars making an impact in the NHL’s offseason ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Tyler Seguin is headed to the Dallas Stars in a trade less than a week after Boston’s general manager criticized the former No. 2 overall pick as needing to be a “better pro.” Seguin was sent to the Stars
on Thursday in a seven-player deal also highlighted by steady forward Loui Eriksson joining the Eastern Conference-champion Bruins. Dallas got forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Ryan Button, while the Bruins acquired forwards Matt Fraser
See STARS PAGE 2B
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut man who says he lost an eye after being shot by Aaron Hernandez in February was ordered Friday to appear before a grand jury in Massachusetts that is considering the murder case against the former New England Patriots tight end. Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander in Hartford ordered Alexander Bradley to appear July 17 in Fall River, Mass., where a grand jury is looking into allegations Hernandez orchestrated the shooting of Odin Lloyd. Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17 near Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough, Mass. Prosecutors say Hernandez arranged Lloyd’s shooting because he was upset at him for talking to certain people at a nightclub. Hernandez has been charged with murder in district court in Massachusetts, but a grand jury indictment or probable cause hearing would be necessary for him to face trial on felony charges. Hernandez, 23, has pleaded not guilty. The Bristol County district attorney’s office in Massachusetts said it could not comment on any grand jury investigation.
File photo by Mike George | AP
Aaron Hernandez, left, stands with his attorney, Michael Fee, right, during arraignment in Attleboro District Court in Attleboro, Mass. Bradley, 33, has filed a civil lawsuit against Hernandez, asserting he was shot in the face by the former player in February as they were driving in Florida after arguing in a Miami strip club. At the time, he told police he did not know who had shot him. Bradley had been fighting an interstate grand jury subpoena, asserting he needed to return to Florida for medical treatment on July 10. Attorney Robert Pickering ar-
gued Friday that Bradley’s civil case has nothing to do with the Massachusetts investigation. “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is relying on a statement of a lawyer of Mr. Bradley that these crimes are strikingly similar to the crime in the Hernandez matter,” he said. “Clearly this petition states that my client has never stated that.” Alexander found that Bradley’s medical treatment should not prevent him from being in Massachusetts a week later.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
NBA FREE AGENCY Continued from Page 1B million, four-year deal. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday because NBA rules prevent confirmation of moves until July 10. One said the Warriors cleared more than $24 million in salary cap space by sending Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush to the Utah Jazz along with unspecified draft picks. Yahoo Sports first reported the deal. Iguodala averaged 13 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets last season. He spent his first eight years in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers. EVANS A PELICAN AFTER THREE TEAM TRADE People familiar with the trade say Sacramento, New Orleans and Portland have agreed to a three-team deal sending guard Tyreke Evans to the Pelicans, center Robin Lopez to the Trail Blazers and guard Greivis Vasquez to the Kings. The people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because NBA rules prevent confirmation of trades until July 10, say Portland is sending second-round draft pick Jeff Withey to New Orleans and a future draft pick to Sacramento as part of the deal, which was first reported by ESPN. Evans, a former Rookie of the Year and restricted free agent, averaged 15.2 points with the Kings last season, his fourth. The 7-foot Lopez averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Vasquez averaged 13.9 points and nine assists. KNICKS KEEP SMITH NEW YORK — J.R. Smith and Pablo Prigioni are staying in New York to help the Knicks
Photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP
Lakers center Dwight Howard is still deciding between Houston, Golden State and staying in Los Angeles.
build on their best season in nearly decades. The Sixth Man of the Year and the point guard from Argentina both agreed to multiyear deals Thursday, their agents confirmed. Smith helped shoot the Knicks into and then out of the playoffs, having the best season of his career but then struggling through the postseason. The product of nearby New Jersey wanted to stay and the Knicks needed to keep him. They worked out a deal that will pay him about $25 million over four years. Smith averaged 18.1 points dur-
ing the regular season, second on the team behind Carmelo Anthony. But he momentarily lost his head and then his shot during the postseason, getting suspended a game for elbowing Jason Terry late in Game 3 of a first-round series against Boston and making only 29 percent of his shots in the final eight playoff games. Still, it was a strong season for Smith, who showed much more maturity and better shot selection than during most of his career. The Knicks were unlikely to find anyone better with their spending limitations and made re-signing Smith a top priority.
A former teammate of Anthony’s in Denver who developed a good relationship with Knicks coach Mike Woodson, Smith posted a picture of himself in a Knicks jersey in front of the team logo on social media Thursday morning. Exact terms of the deals won’t be known until July 10, after next season’s salary cap has been set and contracts can be signed. Prigioni finally came to the NBA this season at 35 after playing in Spain. He played limited minutes as a reserve most of the season but moved into the starting lineup down the stretch and
STARS Continued from Page 1B
RAMIREZ Continued from Page 1B
File photo by Bruce Bennett | AP
Boston Bruins center Tyler Seguin (19), a former No. 2 overall pick, was sent in a trade to Dallas in a seven-player trade highlighted by forward Loui Eriksson. and Reilly Smith, and defenseman Joe Morrow. It was the first major move for new Stars general manager Jim Nill, who addressed the team’s need at center with Seguin, the No. 2 pick in 2010, and Peverley. The trade will allow Dallas’ leading scorer, Jamie Benn, to move to his more natural spot at wing. “Tyler is a dynamic player that will be a part of our core group for a long time to come,” Nill said. “A player at his age, position and talent level are extremely difficult to acquire and we’re thrilled to bring him into our organization.” Seguin won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins as a rookie and was their leading scorer and an All-Star a year later. He dropped to a tie for third on the team in scoring during this past season’s run to the Stanley Cup finals. Boston lost to Chicago in six games.
At the draft last weekend, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli essentially said that Seguin wasn’t focused enough on hockey, although he made it sound like the 21-yearold would be back by saying he was expecting “big things from him.” Instead, the Bruins have added Dallas’ second-leading scorer in Erikkson, a 2011 All-Star who turns 28 this month. He and Ray Whitney were second to Benn with 29 points. Seguin leads all players from the 2010 draft class in games played (203) and is third in goals (56), assists (65) and points (121). Peverley is viewed as a No. 2 center who is strong in the faceoff circle, while Button will join a veteran blue line that recently added 39year-old Sergei Gonchar on a two-year, $10 million contract. Smith had nine points in 37 games for the Stars
while shuffling between Dallas and the Texas Stars of the AHL. Fraser appeared in nine games for Dallas, while Morrow has yet to make his NHL debut. Stars acquire Horcoff The Dallas Stars have made another move in their rebuilding process. Dallas acquired center Shawn Horcoff from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Philip Larsen and a 2016 seventh-round pick in the NHL draft. Stars general manager Jim Nill confirmed the trade to The Associated Press on Friday, a couple hours before teams could begin signing free agents. The 34-year-old Horcoff has spent his entire career in Edmonton. He has 162 goals and 447 assists in 796 games since making his debut during the 2000-01 season. The 23-year-old Larsen has five goals and 19
the Knicks took off, going 16-2 with Prigioni among the first five. The point guard for Argentina’s national team averaged 3.5 points in 78 games. He could make about $6 million over three years. The Knicks still are trying to hold onto another key player, Chris Copeland, from the team that went 54-28 and won the Knicks’ first Atlantic Division championship since 1994. CAVS ADD CLARK CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have landed one of the Lakers’ front-line free agents. No, not that guy. Cleveland has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with forward Earl Clark, who played alongside Dwight Howard last season in Los Angeles. Clark, who spent two days visiting with the Cavs earlier this week, is getting a deal worth $9 million, said the person who spoke to the Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because NBA teams can’t officially sign players until the free agent period ends on July 10. The Sporting News first reported Clark’s deal. The 6-foot-10 Clark set careerhighs in scoring (7.3), rebounds (5.5) and minutes (23.1) in 36 starts last season. Before joining the Lakers, Clark played for Orlando and Phoenix. With Tristan Thompson and No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Bennett playing power forward, the Cavs needed an experienced small forward and believe Clark can compete for that starting role. Clark, 25, was drafted in the first round (No. 14 overall) by the Suns in 2009 after playing at Louisville.
points in 95 NHL games. Ellis returns to Dallas Free agent goaltender Dan Ellis has signed a twoyear, $1.8 million contract with Dallas, where he made his NHL debut nine years ago. The deal announced Friday was the latest in a busy week for the Stars, who have made two trades to acquire three centers. The 33-year-old Ellis was 6-8-2 in 19 appearances with Carolina last season. He has a 2.73 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 184 career games. Ellis, a second-round pick by Dallas in 2000, was on the roster behind Marty Turco when he played his only game for the Stars, a 4-3 win at Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2004. This time he’s likely to be behind Kari Lehtonen. He has also played for Nashville, Tampa Bay and Anaheim.
sion. People in the game say he’s a changed man. They loved him in Taiwan, where a Wall Street Journal correspondent says he left a "trail of broken hearts" when he left the EDA Rhinos abruptly June 19. He certainly was good for sales of dreadlock wigs. And if the four-team Taiwan league - which he tore up with a .352 average, eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 182 at-bats - is about the caliber of independent ball, well, as Manny would tell you, "Baseball is baseball." Which is true, I suppose, except that in Taiwan there was no home ballpark, no air conditioning or buffet in the clubhouse, and it takes a monsoon, practically, to get a game canceled. "Let me tell you," Manny said, "once you’re in Taiwan, and you come to Triple-A, this is like the big leagues." How bad did you want to get back? "Bad, bad, bad," he said. "Like I always say, you gotta go through the fire first, then when you come out, blessings come. I went through a tough time, I learned from it and I’m moving on. "Everything in life is attitude. You could be in the worst place but you gotta have a nice attitude. I said to myself, ’Something good is gonna come outta this. I’m not gonna give up. I’m gonna keep on trying.’." If all this sounds fairly foreign, coming from a guy with Manny’s background, he says the turning point came during the suspensions and assault charges. His wife, Juliana, told police in September 2011 he slapped her, causing her to fall backward and hit her head. She didn’t pursue charges, which were dropped. "One time I wake up in the mirror and I say, ’I need a change,’-" he said. "That’s what I did. I started going to church, going to groups in people’s houses. "Learning and doing the right thing." David Segui, who played with Manny in Cleveland, told the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo the transformation was obvious. "I think he realized how close he came to losing his family and he changed," Segui said. "He loves the game of baseball and he’ll play for the love of it. He’s made all
the money he ever needs." Did we mention that Manny intends to donate his salary to charity? If it’s not for money, which would be a prorated share of $500,000 if he makes the Rangers, why keep trying? "Why do you want to keep on doing what you’re doing?" I’ve got no other way to make a living. "I wanna keep playing because I love the game." But can he hit? Nelson Cruz saw him in the Dominican Republic last winter and says he can. Josh Byrnes, San Diego’s general manager, said the same. Segui, who runs a hitting academy, says all it took was a tweak to keep him from loading up on his back leg. Maybe it explains why Manny, a student of hitting, wanted to play in Asia. Even called it "a dream." A dream? "I like the way they hit," he said. "Their mechanics. They hit like Ichiro. Nice balance." Not Ichiro. "Why not? How many years Ichiro got in the big leagues?" You’ve got big league years. "I’m gonna be like Ichiro," he said, smiling, "but with more power." Let’s not get carried away. The Rangers would be happy if Manny looked anything like his old self. The hitting, anyway. Chances aren’t good at 41. Expectations should be zero. If Manny plays well here, the Rangers might not have to add a right-handed bat before the deadline. If he doesn’t hit, or screws up, he’s gone, probably for good this time. Most of the two-foot long dreadlocks are already gone. The haircut was one of the Rangers’ tonsorial requirements for all minor leaguers. A tuft of dreadlocks remains on top, with nothing but gray stubble on the sides. A little bit of a paunch also defines who he is now. And with any luck, maybe this does, too: Asked if it was hard to cut his hair, he said, "Not really. I don’t mind. They’ve got rules, and you’ve got to follow the rules." At some point, everyone must come to terms with that simple maxim. If Manny can, maybe it’s not too late after all.
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE FURRY PHOTOS Dear Readers: Last week on my website (www.Heloise.com, click on “Pets”), the pet photo was of an adorable partSiamese cat that had a perfect silhouette of a BUNNY in its fur. Heloise Central was wondering how many other readers out there have a pet that has this same type of phenomenon. There have been photos of pets with hearts, diamonds or even spotted like a cow! If your pet has an animal or object that shows up in its fur, send (via postal mail) a photo. It’s better to have a hard copy of the photo to reproduce. Some of the photos will be randomly picked to share, and those readers will receive a set of Heloise pamphlets while their pet gets the Heloise spotlight! Send your photo to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. We look forward to looking through the photos. — Heloise
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HELOISE
SYMPATHY CARDS Dear Heloise: I read the column that talked about full names and addresses on sympathy cards. In addition to writing my full name, I put a self-addressed label on the back, usually in the upper lefthand corner. I find that envelopes get lost, and this way they know my address. I do this when sending a card of any kind to someone I don’t usually write to. They have my address in case they want to reply. It also is a good way to use up these labels that seem to arrive in the mail. I read your column each day in the (Waterbury, Conn.) RepublicanAmerican. — Carolyn A. McDonough, Canaan, Conn.
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DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013