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TEXAS
EDUCATION
Slowing economy
Data: More finish school
Officials eye more cuts despite increasing tax revenues By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Robust oil and gas drilling has the Texas economy humming, but state budget officials said Friday a slowdown is likely on the horizon for 2013. Top Republicans are already signaling that lawmakers will need to carve out another lean budget when they
meet next year. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, back at the Capitol after his failed bid for U.S. Senate, called estimates the state will need to spend $9.4 billion more in the state’s next two-year budget to keep pace with Texas’ rising population and demand for services “sobering.” Most of that money is needed to cover the escalating cost of
education, Medicaid and prison health care. “We’ll see if we can cut taxes again in 2013, but it looks like it’s going to be a challenge just to balance our budget,” Dewhurst said. Predictions of more cost-cutting coming during the next legislative session are nothing new. In June, the Legislative Budget Board told all state
agencies to hold the line on spending for the next two years and to find ways to shave costs by another 10 percent. Those orders came despite growing tax revenues that had raised hopes of restoring public services and government jobs cut by lawmakers last year.
while secretly maintaining their Jewish faith and culture. Included will be a history of the influence of crypto Jews in this region as illustrated by 17th century genealogies of families living in New Spain (Mexico) at the time. Documented family trees were proof of pure Christian blood-lines during a time when the Spanish Inquisition sought to ban Jews from territories controlled by the Spanish crown. “On display will be 16th and
Texas high school students graduated at a record rate in 2011, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. And Hispanics represented the ethnicity that made the largest jump, from 78.8 percent in 2010 to 81.8 percent in 2011. Ed Bueno, a retired educator and volunteer with the League of United Latin American Citizens, has worked on increasing high school graduation rates for years. Bueno said he was encouraged by the results, but more work remains. “Hopefully, we can continue in this direction and improve at a faster rate because some of the students and parents need this,” he said. “This community needs this.” Overall, the state graduation rate improved by 1.6 percentage points, to 85.9 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year. Since the 1980s, Bueno said he has led efforts along with his LULAC colleagues to increase parent involvement in the schools. While he feels that aspect still has a way to go, he said other factors may have led to the bump in the number of students graduating. “Students are starting to realize, especially with the economy right now, that they do need to stay in school, graduate and then go on to college or university because of their financial future, for one,” he said. “Two, it’s a better way of life for them. Three, if they decide to get married, they need to have enough finances to support their family.” A. Marcus Nelson, Laredo Independent School District superintendent, said the district aims to create a college-going environment. That culture, he said, is one factor driving LISD’s push to graduate more students. “For us it is about creating a system (in which everybody) is focused on getting students to graduate,” Nelson said. “We are not going to stop until they go to college or go work.” He said that rising graduation rates, in the face of increased testing standards on the state level, are an encouraging sign. But David Hinojosa, regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, questioned whether the numbers bear any meaning. “(The data) potentially could be a sign that public schools are doing really good work with students and getting them to graduate within four years,” Hinojosa said. He cautioned, however, that some Texas school districts du-
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WEBB COUNTY HERITAGE FOUNDATION
Courtesy photo
Shown is an illustration of a 17th century genealogy of families living in New Spain (Mexico). Documented family trees were proof of pure Christian blood-lines during a time when the Spanish Inquisition sought to ban Jews from territories controlled by Spain. Similar examples will be on display at the Webb County Heritage Foundation’s “Pureza de Sangre,” exhibit opening Friday, Aug. 17, at 6 p.m.
SETTLERS’ JEWISH ROOTS Exhibit: Jews became Catholics to avoid Inquisition By MARK WEBBER THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — The Webb County Heritage Foundation will present an exhibit featuring the founding and settling of deep South Texas and Northern Mexico at the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St., Laredo. Included will be images and discussion of possible links to the settlers’ Jewish faith. Titled “Pureza de Sangre,” the exhibit opens Friday, Aug. 17, at 6 p.m., and will feature the
villas, haciendas and ranchos of the Sephardim in Northeast Mexico (Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas) and South Texas including the unique history, worldview, cuisine, language, impact and influence of the Sephardim in the area. The exhibit will run through the end of September. It will feature hand-painted books and documents, shown for the first time in the U.S. “This regional exhibit is significant for the area,” Webb County Heritage Foundation Executive Director Margarita Arai-
za told The Zapata Times “Historical evidence suggests early settlers of (the South Texas) region were Crypto Jews. This has had an impact on the traditions and culture of the area, not to mention the historical connection to the Jewish faith. This is something worth investigating.” A press release from the heritage foundation explained “Crypto Jew” is a term used to describe those of the Jewish faith who, in the face of unrelenting and systematic oppression and finally expulsion, chose to convert to Catholicism
By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Intocable to collect school supplies at free concert By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
After the group was rained out of its headlining performance at the Zapata County Fair, Intocable is making good on its promise to play a free make-up concert.
And as students gear up for a new school year, the Tejano band with local roots will ask for donations in the form of school supplies from the concertgoers. On Thursday, Aug. 16, the acclaimed musicians return to the Zapata County Fairgrounds,
where the band in March played six songs before the weather proved too inclement for the group to go on. Intocable announced the makeup concert on Facebook, the same method they used to apologize to their fans who had expected to
see the homegrown musicians. “It’s totally free, but we’re collecting school supplies to help the children with few resources,” the band wrote on its Facebook page. Intocable’s manager, Oscar Carrasco, did not return phone calls as of press time Friday.
WHAT: Intocable’s free back-toschool concert WHERE: Zapata County Fairgrounds WHEN: Thursday, August 16 (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2579 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)