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FEDERAL COURT
FEDERAL COURT
Zeta on trial
Could face 10 more years in federal prison
Money laundering among accusations By JASON BUCH
Nayen Borbolla was Miguel Treviño’s top operator in horse racing circles.
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
AUSTIN — After briefly sealing the sentencing of a Zetas operative, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks reopened the courtroom, then delayed proceedings for two weeks to give government lawyers time to decide if they object to continuing in secret. Carlos Miguel Nayen Borbolla’s money laundering and drug smuggling cases have largely taken place behind closed doors, and his Florida attorney Frank Rubino filed a last-minute motion Wednes-
day to keep the sentencing secret as well. That decision came after a morning of handing down sentences against members of a conspiracy that laundered Zetas drug money through the U.S. quarter
horse industry. Two family members of the jailed leader of the gang, Miguel Treviño Morales, received probation, although prosecutors made a point of saying they didn’t cooperate. Eusevio Maldonado Huitron, who along with three others was convicted in May of a money laundering conspiracy, was sentenced to slightly more than three years in prison. Raul Ramirez, a bit player in the conspiracy, was given a year in prison, and two trainers
FEDERAL COURT
Alleged smuggling attempt
See ZETAS
PAGE 9A
Man, a convicted felon, was indicted for being in possession of a firearm By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — A convicted felon has been indicted for having a revolver while being illegally in the country, according to court documents released this week. Martin Puebla-Ollervides was charged with possession
of a firearm by convicted felon. If he’s found guilty, Puebla-Ollervides faces up to 10 years in federal prison, according to the indictment filed Wednesday. On Aug. 13, Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents conducted a “knock
See INDICTMENT
PAGE 9A
WORLD WAR II
SURRENDER FLYOVER
Court: Woman driving five people illegally in country By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — A Zapata woman was arrested in Laredo for allegedly transporting illegal immigrants from Zapata to Laredo for money, according to court documents released Tuesday. Eva Linette Garcia was charged with bringing in and harboring people who had entered the country illegally, according to a criminal complaint. Garcia remains in custody under no bond. On Wednesday, an attorney for Garcia filed waivers for the detention and preliminary hearing set for Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia. At 10:40 a.m. Aug. 30, a U.S. Border Patrol agent assigned to a South Laredo area responded to a call. A Department of Public Safety trooper requested assistance with a vehicle stop along U.S. 83, north of the City of Rio Bravo in southern Webb County. A trooper had pulled over a gray 2004 Ford F-150 because the vehicle did not have its front license plate. Garcia was cited for operating a motor vehicle when unlicensed. During the traffic stop, the trooper noticed five passengers inside the pickup. They could not provide proper identification or speak English, the complaint states. A Border Patrol agent arrived to perform an immigration inspection on the five passengers. All were determined to be illegally in the country, the complaint states. After being cited, Garcia was turned over to Border Patrol. She and the five passengers were transported to the Laredo South Station for further questioning and processing. Garcia talked to the agents during a post-arrest interview. “Garcia also voluntarily stated that she was transporting the undocumented (people) for financial gain from Zapata to Laredo,” a complaint reads. A records check on Garcia revealed she had several narcotics arrests and one resulted in a conviction. On Dec. 7, 2009, she was charged with possession of a controlled substance and later sentenced to 120 days in jail, according to court documents. Two people held as material witnesses identified Garcia as the driver who brought the immigrants to Laredo, according to court documents. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Photo by Rachel Denny Clow/Corpus Christi Caller-Times | AP
Former Lt. Rex H. “Jim” Stever holds a Japanese battle flag at his home in Corpus Christi that he found in New Guinea during World War II. Stever was a navigator for an Army Air Force squadron during World War II.
Corpus Christi man on hand for historic event By MIKE BAIRD CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES
CORPUS CHRISTI — Former Lt. Rex H. “Jim” Stever flew over the Japanese surrender of World War II, 68
years ago. The longtime Corpus Christi geologist navigated the 67th Troop Carrier Squadron above the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay as Japan’s leadership signed surrender docu-
ments. “In old news clips you see cameras pan up to our planes,” Stever, 89, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “But everyone who would remember our mission is now
gone.” After the April battle of Okinawa and the August bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the invasion of To-
See SURRENDER
PAGE 9A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, SEPT. 7
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. St. John Neumann Altar Society’s annual rummage sale. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 102 W. Hillside Rd. Contact Christina Pedraza at 645-5959 or cpedraza@stx.rr.com. Habitat for Humanity’s Donate Your Stuff event. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Accepting appliances, cabinets, furniture, building materials, lighting, home décor and more. All donations tax deductible, and free pickup available. 100 percent of profits benefit Habitat for Humanity of Laredo. Contact 724-3227 or habitatlaredo@aol.com. Paso del Indio Nature Trail cleanup. 8 a.m. to noon. North side of Laredo Community College’s Fort McIntosh Campus. Self-guided tours 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Center will also celebrate birthday of Tasha the American alligator. Admission $4 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens. Free to children 3 and under and TAMIU/LCC students, faculty and staff with valid ID.
Today is Saturday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2013. There are 115 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On September 7, 1963, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio. On this date: In 1533, England’s Queen Elizabeth I was born in Greenwich. In 1812, the Battle of Borodino took place as French troops clashed with Russian forces outside Moscow. (The battle, ultimately won by Russia, was commemorated by composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky with his “1812 Overture.”) In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, bade farewell to President John Quincy Adams at the White House. In 1892, James J. Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan to win the world heavyweight crown in New Orleans in a fight conducted under the Marquess of Queensberry rules. In 1907, the British liner RMS Lusitania set out from Liverpool, England, on its maiden voyage, arriving six days later in New York. In 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London. In 1943, a fire at the Gulf Hotel, a rooming house in Houston, claimed 55 lives. In 1964, the controversial “Daisy” commercial, an ad for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s election campaign featuring a girl plucking flower petals followed by a nuclear explosion, aired on NBC-TV. In 1968, feminists protested outside the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. (The pageant crown went to Miss Illinois Judith Ford.) In 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE’-hohs). In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the first black to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa. In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mortally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later. Ten years ago: In a speech to the nation on Iraq, President George W. Bush said he was asking Congress for $87 billion to fight terrorism and cautioned Americans that the struggle would “take time and require sacrifice.” Five years ago: Troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in government conservatorship. One year ago: The Labor Department reported that employers had added just 96,000 jobs in August, down from 141,000 in July. Today’s Birthdays: Actor Bruce Gray is 77. Singer Alfa Anderson (Chic) is 67. Actress Susan Blakely is 65. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 64. Rock singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) is 62. Thought for Today: “People do not live in the present always, at one with it. They live at all kinds of and manners of distance from it, as difficult to measure as the course of planets. Fears and traumas make their journeys slanted, peripheral, uneven, evasive.” — Anais Nin, American writer (1903-1977).
TUESDAY, SEPT. 10
Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP
Luis Alonzo Alfaro, center, is escorted from a courtroom by sheriffs deputies after a hearing Friday in Houston. Alfaro, 17, has been charged with murder in Wednesday’s killing of 17-year-old Joshua Devon Broussard at a Houston-area high school. He’s jailed on a $150,000 bond.
Suspect appears in court ASSOCIATED PRESS
Using More of Your Mind for a Healthier You: Tension & Migraine Headaches. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Laredo Community College, Fort McIntosh Campus, De La Garza Building, Room 101. Learn techniques to get relief from tension and migraine headaches and control bad habits with Enrique T. De la Garza. $25 per person for general public; $15 per person for LCC students and employees. Register at laredo.edu/edc or call 721-5110.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11 Organizational meeting for Masters of Public Administration. 7 p.m. Hal’s Landing. All MPA alumni welcome to join. Call Dr. Peter Haruna at 3262613 or Anita L. Guerra at 763-0188.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call 727-0589. Meeting of Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association. 1 p.m. Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall, 2219 Galveston St. Call M.B. Kinslow at 7220214.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13 Strength Within Me meeting. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center. Aimed at uniting people with physical disabilities for ages 14 to 35. Contact Ariana Mora at 722-2431 or arianamora@stx.rr.com.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14 Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium: “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” at 2 p.m.; “The Future Is Wild” at 3 p.m.; “Destination Saturn” at 4 p.m.; and “Lamps of Atlantis” at 5 p.m. General admission $4 for children and $5 for adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 326-3663.
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.
HOUSTON — A brief court hearing has been held for the 17-year-old charged in the fatal stabbing of a fellow student at a Houston-area high school. Luis Alonzo Alfaro appeared Friday before a state district judge in a Houston courtroom to review the facts of the case. Defense attorney Milan Marinkovich declined to discuss the case after the hearing. Alfaro has been charged with murder in Wednesday’s killing of 17-year-old Joshua Devon Broussard. He’s jailed on a $150,000 bond. Alfaro told investigators the altercation began when he bumped a male student with his shoulder and shoved him after the two exchanged words, according to a probable cause statement. Another student then
‘Don’t mess with Texas’ credited for less litter
Man sentenced for Medicare scheme
Lubbock home of Buddy Holly drummer restored
AUSTIN — Litterbugs apparently have learned a lesson from years of the iconic “Don’t mess with Texas” campaign. The Texas Department of Transportation on Wednesday credited the anti-litter campaign with helping to reduce visible highway trash by more than a third since 2009. TxDOT started the campaign in 1986.
DALLAS — A man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a scheme that involved charging millions to Medicare for services either never rendered or needed. Cyprian Akamnonu of Cedar Hill must pay nearly $25.5 million in restitution for a conspiracy that involved his wife and five from 2006 to 2011. The 64year-old was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty earlier to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
LUBBOCK — A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set in Lubbock for the restored childhood home of one the members of Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets. The ribbon-cutting for drummer Jerry Allison’s home was set for Friday. The home has undergone a $148,000 renovation.
College student dies from horse fall FORT WORTH — The funeral is set for a college student who died after falling from a horse. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office says 21-year-old Bailey Gasch, a senior at Tarleton State University, died Aug. 30 in Fort Worth. The medical examiner says the cause of death was “closed head injury” due to falling from a horse.
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.
Dallas Zoo welcomes 2 cheetah cubs and puppy DALLAS — Two male cheetah cubs have joined the Dallas Zoo. Zoo officials have marked the occasion by providing them with a black Labrador puppy. The 8-week-old feline brothers were born July 8 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.
Infant left in back of dad’s car, dies of heat LEAGUE CITY — Police in League City say a 6-month-old girl is dead after spending the day in her father’s hot car. Officer Reagan Peña says the man took his older children to school Wednesday morning and planned to take his infant daughter to daycare. He went home to get his work vehicle, though, and forgot the child in his personal car. Temperatures reached the low 90s in the area Wednesday. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION
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.
punched Alfaro in the face, and Alfaro began punching him back. Other students started to punch Alfaro and that’s when he “pulled a folding pocket knife from his shorts and opened it ... covered his face with his left forearm and held the knife in his right hand,” according to the statement. Alfaro “swung the knife multiple times in a back and forth motion ... then fled the campus as the crowd began to disperse,” the statement said. Harris County sheriff ’s investigators say gang rivalry appears to be the motive in the slaying at Spring High School in Spring, about 20 miles north of Houston. Three other students wounded in the fight were treated at hospitals and released, authorities said Thursday. Classes have been canceled until Monday.
Virgin Mary statue on traffic island smashed WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts pizza shopowner says he’s heartbroken that someone smashed a statue of the Virgin Mary he had placed on a traffic island. Antonio Liquori, owner of Liquori’s Pizzeria, placed the statue on the island last year as part of a city beautification project. But people complained, and the city in May ordered him to take it down because it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. He did, but Mayor Gregory Neffinger allowed Liquori to put it back, pending a legal opinion. Liquori tells The Springfield Republican someone smashed the statue last month.
New Mexico kids kept in school while bear in tree ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A
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 Manuel Balce Ceneta | AP
First lady Michelle Obama joins exercises with pupils at Orr Elementary in Washington on Friday during a visit for a back-to-school event highlighting healthy changes happening in schools and across the country. school in Albuquerque kept students and staff inside until an adult male bear was removed from a nearby tree. Police said the precautionary shelter-in-place order was lifted on Friday at Kennedy Middle School after state game and fish
officers used a tranquilizer dart to subdue the 200-pound bear. Officials said the animal was in good condition and would be returned to the wild. It had not been previously tagged for wandering in the city. — 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, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Man had K2 in car Zapata man arrested during stop: police in Laredo on warrant By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — A Zapatan has been arrested in Laredo for allegedly possessing synthetic narcotics, according to Laredo police. Cesar Humberto Jimenez, 25, got charged with possession of a controlled substance (synthetic narcotics) shortly before midnight Tuesday in the 1200 block of East Saunders Street in Laredo. Jimenez posted a $750 bond Wednesday, according to custody records. At 11:35 p.m., a Laredo police officer conducted a traffic stop on a Lincoln Town Car that had a defective headlight, said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, police spokesman. As soon as the
officer got close to the driver’s side, he could smell the distinct odor of K2 coming JIMENEZ from inside the car. “K2 or ‘Spice’ is a mixture of herbs and spices that is typically sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to the psychoactive ingredients in marijuana,” a Drug Enforcement Administration resource guide states. Identified as the driver, Jimenez allegedly told police he buys K2 or synthetic marijuana and drives back to Zapata to smoke it, Baeza said. Police found five small bags containing K2. Officers took Jimenez
into custody and additionally cited him for the defective headlight. “Psychological effects are similar to those of marijuana and include paranoia, panic attacks and giddiness,” the DEA resource guide states. Consuming K2 increases the heart rate and blood pressure. “It appears to be stored in the body for long periods of time, and therefore the long-term effects on humans are not fully known,” according to the DEA. Common street names for K2 include spice, black mamba, fake weed, among others. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
THE BLOTTER Assault
Burglary
An assault incident was reported at 1:27 a.m. Sept. 1 in the 2200 block of Elm Street. A sexual assault was reported at 3 p.m. Sept. 1 in the 2300 block of Iturbide Street.
A burglary of a building was reported at 5:33 a.m. Monday in the 600 block of Fresno Street.
Animal cruelty An animal cruelty incident was reported at 4:01 p.m. Sept. 1 in front of the bowling alley. No address was listed on the report.
Reckless driving A reckless driving incident was reported at 7:35 p.m. Aug. 31 in the intersection of U.S. 83 and County Road.
Terroristic threat A terroristic threat incident was reported at 7:19 p.m. Aug.
30 in the 2400 block of Carla Street.
Theft A theft of service was reported at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Hawk Quick Pick. A light meter was reported stolen at 11:59 p.m. Thursday in the intersection of Madison Street and Guadalupe Avenue. A barbecue pit was reported stolen at 5:57 p.m. Wednesday near the corner of 19th Avenue and Kennedy Street.
THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — Authorities in Laredo arrested a man wanted out of Zapata County, according to Laredo police. Jorge Alberto Mireles, 30, was arrested at about 8 a.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of East Frost Street. He was served with a warrant issued out of Justice of the Peace Juana Maria Gutierrez’s office for ha-
rassment. The crime is a Class B misdemeanor, which carries punishMIRELES ment of 180 days in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. Mireles was transferred to the Zapata County Jail, where he was later out on bond, according to custody records. At 8:10 a.m., an officer
initiated a traffic stop on Mireles’ vehicle along Frost Street. Identified as Mireles, police found out he had a warrant out for his arrest following a records check on him. Officers transported Mireles to the Webb County Jail to later be transferred to the Zapata Regional Jail. Mireles has been out on bond since Wednesday. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
EDITORIAL
OTHER VIEWS
Ocean oil hunt could hurt sealife THE WASHINGTON POST
Seismic air guns are used to ascertain how much oil and gas lie under certain portions of the ocean floor. They’re towed behind ships that trace grids on the surface of the water, and they shoot blasts of compact air to the bottom of the ocean to track the reflected sounds. The problem is that those underwater blasts, at around 180 decibels, are louder than roaring jet engines, and they might harm ocean mammals, disrupting the feeding and migration patterns of whales, dolphins and other creatures.
Areas to search In 2010, President Obama cleared the way for opening some 330,000 square miles of ocean off the East Coast, from the Delaware Bay to Florida’s Cape Canaveral, to exploration for oil and gas, of which there’s likely an enormous amount. As The Washington Post’s Lenny Bernstein reported recently, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimates that there are some 3.3 billion barrels of oil and 3.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the East Coast, and those figures are based on data collected using outdated technology. The use of seismic guns has become a contentious issue among oil companies, conservationists and members of Congress since the Interior Department announced in March 2012 that it planned to allow them in the Atlantic. In the Gulf of Mexico, a lawsuit over the use of
the guns was settled in June with an agreement delaying their use for 30 months while officials further investigate their effects. But that same month, the House approved an amendment proposed by Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., to require the BOEM to allow oil companies to test seismic air guns in the Atlantic as early as December.
Potential oil finds Proponents of the testing insist that the guns will find far more oil off the East Coast than is known to exist. In the gulf, seismic testing in 2011 revealed five times the oil reserves that had been detected by other methods. Conservationists claim that using the guns off the East Coast would create a “war zone” for whales and dolphins. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and the late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., have complained to Obama that seismic air gun testing is only the first step toward a full embrace of offshore drilling. The truth is that the battle is premature. Apart from the studies underway in the Gulf of Mexico, the government is updating its standards on noise levels that aren’t harmful to ocean life. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to complete them by the end of this year or the beginning of next. The risks of seismic air guns will be clearer then; only when science has spoken should any decision be made on their use off the Atlantic coast.
COLUMN
Court loses another member AUSTIN — Hey kids, know what time it is? That’s right, it’s quitting time at the Texas Supreme Court. Again. Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, who’s served with distinction, announced his resignation this week, reminding us that voters who think they control judicial selection — as the Texas Constitution says they do — are in denial. For several years now, the state’s highest civil court largely has been populated by gubernatorial appointees who replace quitters. The appointees often become quitters replaced by appointees in a system that compromises ballot-box selection of justices. Turns out Jefferson, like the chief justice before him and lots of justices who’ve served with him, is a quitter. His six-year term ends in December of next year but he’s outta there Oct. 1 of this year. He told my colleague Chuck Lindell that the decision came partly because of financial concerns. The chief has three sons
“
KEN HERMAN
— one in college, a high school senior and an eighthgrader — and has been getting $152,500 a year for chiefing. Lawyers have a name for that salary: “minimum wage.” I appreciate Jefferson’s public service and desire to do right by his family. (I once was going to resign to spend more time with my family. Family members, however, said they were good with the amount of time I was spending with them. So here I am.) Quitting, it seems, has become part of the Supreme Court job description. What do they think this job is, the papacy? The appointees subsequently always win at the ballot box, save for Xavier Rodriguez, a 2001 Gov. Rick Perry pick who, despite the appointment, qualifications and outspending his opponent by a $550,000-$10,000
margin, lost to Steven Smith in the 2002 GOP primary. Rodriguez now is a federal judge, also an appointed gig. Perry put Jefferson on the high court in 2001 when Alberto Gonzales quit to become White House counsel. Gonzales had been appointed by Gov. George W. Bush to replace Raul Gonzalez, who quit. Gonzalez had been appointed in 1984 to replace Charles Barrow, who quit. In 2004, Perry elevated Jefferson to chief justice to replace Tom Phillips, who quit. Phillips had been chief justice since 1988. He was appointed by Gov. Bill Clements to replace John Hill, who quit to try to convince Texans that the judicial selection process was a mess. He failed. Hill was elected chief justice in 1984, the last time we elected a chief justice who hadn’t already been appointed to the job. The Texas Supreme Court culture now seems to include a courtesy under which you quit early so the governor, instead of the voters, initially can pick your
replacement. And because Perry’s been governor so long, that means the governor who picked you also is the governor who’ll be replacing you. Six of the current nine Supreme Court justices initially were appointees. Only two of the nine judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, our highest criminal court, started as appointees. But a September 2012 Texas Office of Court Administration report says 57 percent of the 80 justices on the 14 regional courts of appeal first got there as appointees. Ditto for 38 percent of state district judges. Someone I know that follows such matters says what’s up at the Supreme Court is a feeling the job is too important to leave to uninformed voters. Quick, tell me who you voted for in last year’s Supreme Court races. In 2009, Jefferson told Lindell our judicial selection process is an “irrational system” that “just doesn’t make logical sense.” He’s correct, which makes quitting a rational way to subvert it.
COLUMN
Airlines hopes spending speeds up merger By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON — Those nice people who run two of the largest airlines, U.S. Airways and American Airlines, have this nifty idea: They will merge. But the Justice Department — showing uncommon good sense for once — has said “no” to the merger. So the airlines have done what multibillion-dollar outfits do: They have hired the best lawyers (i.e. the most expensive), the best lobbyists and the top public relations operatives to persuade a judge and the public that the Justice Department is off its rocker and that if the merger happens, the traveling public will be transported on aircraft as comfortable and safe as magic carpets. A new and glorious era in air
travel would be at hand. Don’t you believe it. The last thing we need is a new monster company with monopoly control of many airports and life-anddeath control of the prosperity — even the survival — of small towns. If the merger goes through, go long on bus companies. Airlines, to give them their due, have their problems, starting with the ups and downs in the price of jet fuel, the vagaries of a market that is spooked by terrorism, a downturn in the economy or the difficulty of getting landing rights at top airports, particularly those serving the North Atlantic route. But the vagaries of the commercial space occupied by the air carriers has not brought out their humanity. Instead they have become predatory, turning on their passengers with the viciousness of
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling 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.
hungry snakes. Flights are overbooked with the certain knowledge that customers will suffer extreme discomfort. Likewise, flights are canceled arbitrarily if the passenger load is not high enough, and fees have spread through the industry. The airlines don’t answer their phones and they juggle prices endlessly, so you can’t predict the cost of travel. And if you should even think of modifying your itinerary, you become an economic target. On a recent international flight on one of the two carriers trying to buffalo a judge, the Justice Department and Congress that they should get into bed together, I tried to change the last leg — flying from Philadelphia to Washington instead of Philadelphia to Providence, R.I. My original itinerary said there
would be a change fee of $150, and I had a credit card in hand ready for this extortion. But I underestimated the ingenuity in kleptomania of the airline. Sure there would be a change fee, but there would also be — get this — a much higher fee for re-writing the ticket. Oh, even if I tried to get off the plane in Philadelphia, I would have to pay a fee. But, like the Ginsu knives ads on television, that was not all. To fly the last leg as needed, I would have had to pay more than the original ticket cost. The airline would not check my bag to Philadelphia; nor would it allow my wife to put it on her ticket, while I took a few toiletries in the cabin. That change would cost $100 because they knew I was going to jump ship and take a bus to Washington.
The airlines are simply out of control. They de facto collude to fix prices on non-ticket items. One airline decides to charge for baggage, bang, they all do. One decides that any change in itinerary is a revenue stream, as fast as you can say “cleared to land,” they all have. One decides to charge for food, in days they are all at it. The Justice Department is right to oppose this merger, which has at its heart what economists call “market power” or the ability to gauge their defenseless customers. If Justice loses its suit, Congress should act to block the merger — and it should outlaw non-transport fees and other thievery within the present law. We should be able to see airliners for what they are: the triumph of the ascent of man, not as winged predators.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
National
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Scientists to assess Calif. fire damage By TRACIE CONE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Even as firefighters battle a gigantic wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park, environmental scientists are moving in this weekend to begin critical work protecting habitat and waterways before the fall rainy season beings. Members of the federal Burned Area Emergency Response team will begin hiking the rugged Sierra Nevada terrain before embers cool as they race to identify areas at the highest risk for erosion into streams, the Tuolumne River and the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, San Francisco’s famously pure water supply. Now the third largest fire in California history, the inferno that started Aug. 17 when a hunter’s illegal fire swept out of control has burned 385 square miles of timber, meadows and sensitive wildlife habitat. It has cost $81 million to fight, and officials say it will cost tens of millions of dollars to repair the environmental damage alone. About 5 square miles of the burned area is in the watershed of the municipal reservoir serving 2.8 million people — the only one in a national park. “That’s 5 square miles of watershed with very steep slopes,” said Alex Janicki, the Stanislaus National Forest BAER response coordinator. “We are going to need some engineering to protect them.” So far the water remains clear despite falling ash, and the city water utility has a six month supply in reservoirs closer to the Bay Area. The burned area represents 1 percent of the Hetch Hetchy watershed, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He said that because the sheer walls around the reservoir are granite with little vegetation, he believes that little stabilization work will need to be done. However initial satellite imagery and recent visits to the burned area show that the Tuolumne Canyon above the reservoir
Photo by Elias Funez/The Modesto Bee | AP
Big Bear firefighter Jon Curtis keeps an eye on the flames of an encroaching ‘slop over’ fire in the Stanislaus National Forest in California on Aug. 24 when the blaze was 5 percent contained. “burned pretty hot,” Janicki said. Jue said the utility will await word from the BAER team, which will be made up of hydrologists, botanists, archeologists, biologists, geologists and soil scientists from the U.S. Forest Service, Yosemite National Park, the Natural Resource Conservation and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Abortion clinics to close ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Four abortion clinics are preparing to shutter in the coming months as a result of stricter requirements imposed by a new state law regulating abortion.
One of the main obstacles the clinics face is a requirement that doctors who perform the procedure obtain admitting privileges at hospitals, The Dallas Morning News reported. The law, which was passed last month, will go into ef-
fect at the end of next month. The clinics that will close are in Bryan, Harlingen, San Angelo and Midland. Two others closed earlier this year. The state currently has 37 licensed abortion clinics.
The team also will look at potential erosion and mudslides across the burn area, assess what’s in the path and determine what most needs protecting. “We’re looking to evaluate what the potential is for flooding across the burned area,” said Alan Gallegos, a team member and geologist with the Sierra National
Forest. “We evaluate the potential for hazard and look at what’s at risk — life, property, cultural resources, species habitat. Then we come up with a list of treatments.” In key areas with a high potential for erosion, ecologists can dig ditches to divert water, plant native trees and grasses, and spray costly hydro-mulch across steep canyon walls in the most critical places. Federal officials have amassed a team of 50 scientists, more than twice what is usually deployed to assess wildfire damage. Janicki hopes that with so many people performing assessment they will have a preliminary report ready in two weeks so that remediation can start before the first storms. Burning chaparral damages soil by releasing volatile oils that saturate soil and make it water repellant. When soils become repellant they don’t soak up rain and are washed away in the runoff. Debris flows after fires can be as thick as concrete, taking out everything in their paths. “It looks like a real mosaic right now,” Janicki said. “There’s going to be a lot of ground that has high burn severity, and other areas that don’t.” Within the burned area are 400 miles of unpaved roads with countless culvert crossings, and engineers will be using water flow data that scientists collect to determine how to protect them from potential debris that could clog them and cause roads to wash out. Fire officials still have not released the name of the hunter responsible for starting the blaze. On Friday Kent Delbon, the lead investigator, would not characterize what kind of fire the hunter had set or how they had identified the suspect. “I can say some really good detective work out there made this thing happen,” he told the Associated Press. Delbon said the Forest Service announced the cause of the fire before being able to release details in order to end rumors started by a local fire chief that the blaze ignited in an illegal marijuana garden.
National
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Photo by Ed Andrieski/file | AP
Homaidan Al-Turki, right, and his wife Sarah Khonaizan arrive for a hearing in Centennial, Colo., on May 12, 2006.
Photo by Richard Drew/file | AP
Smoke rises from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, after hijacked planes crashed into the towers in New York City. The U.S. government is aware of no credible or specific information that points to any terror plot tied to the anniversary of the attacks.
Feds: No 9/11 anniversary threats By EILEEN SULLIVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The government is aware of no credible or specific information that points to any terror plot tied to the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, according to a new confidential threat assessment from the FBI and Homeland Security Department obtained by The Associated Press. The new assessment, dated Thursday, said that intelligence agencies remain concerned that al-Qaida and its affiliates are committed to carrying out attacks on Western targets. But it said there was no information pointing to any known plot. The bulletin made no mention of Syria, even as President Barack Obama sought congressional approval to use military force against the Syrian government. Four Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on last year’s anniversary. Three others were killed and more than 260 others were injured when two men set off bombs near the finish line of the popular Boston Marathon in April. There was no specific
or credible intelligence about those attacks, either. The terror threat to the U.S. is different than it was 12 years ago. In 2001, there was credible intelligence about a terror plot, but that information wasn’t shared with the right people. Today, the threat is more diffuse. Cyberattacks threaten to disrupt major U.S. operations in the government and the private sector. Lone actors represent another threat — one or two people who are not directly affiliated with al-Qaida but who subscribe to the terror group’s ideology and want to strike out because they disagree with U.S. policies. Today, officials are concerned about retaliatory strikes if Obama moves forward with plans to use military force against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, which the administration condemns for the death of 1,429 in a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 near Damascus. Assad’s government blames the episode on rebels who have been seeking to overthrow his government. Iraqi officials and militant groups have said that Iranianbacked Shiite militias are threatening to retaliate against American interests
inside Iraq if the U.S. goes ahead with strikes, as Tehran is a close ally of Assad. The FBI has been reviewing old case files involving Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, reaching out to its sources to see whether they know anything new, a law enforcement official said. The official offered few details about the outreach and spoke on condition of anonymity because the official did not want to publicize the bureau’s investigative strategies. In its intelligence bulletin, the FBI and Homeland Security Department reminded law enforcement of activity that could indicate a planning for an attack, such as surveillance and questions about security operations. They also provided tips to avoid Internet denial of service attacks, such as a warning Aug. 27 from a Tunisian hacker group. The group, called “Tunisian— Hackers II” threatened a 10day denial of service attack against U.S. banks starting Sept. 1. By Sept. 5, law enforcement had seen no evidence that the hacker group carried through with the plan, the bulletin said. Lee Hamilton, the former Democratic congressman from Indiana who co-
chaired the 9/11 Commission report, said Americans should be reassured to know that there is no credible or specific information about a terror attack tied to the 9/11 anniversary next week. But today’s threats are so difficult to detect because they’re often unknown to law enforcement. “The threat has become more spread out, more difficult, more means could be used,” said Hamilton, who currently co-heads the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center, which plans to release a report Monday on the terror threats to the U.S. “Identifying particular individuals who might turn violent is very, very hard to do. It’s a big country — lots of people out there, and it’s a huge challenge to law enforcement.” And it’s difficult to get specific intelligence that an attack will happen at a certain date and time, Hamilton said. “It’s one thing to intercept intelligence which enables you to stop a big attack, which we’ve been successful at doing over the years,” he said. “It’s quite another to identify every lone wolf, every solitary actor.”
Saudi inmate now with feds By COLLEEN SLEVIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — A Saudi man convicted of sexually assaulting his housekeeper and treating her as a virtual slave was moved from a Colorado state prison to a federal prison outside Denver with little explanation Friday. Homaidan al-Turki had been held at the Limon Correctional Facility and was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood, a minimum security prison. State and federal prison officials confirmed the move but wouldn’t discuss specifics about why it was done. One of his lawyers, Henry Solano, said a federal prisons caseworker told his team that the state had requested it for unspecified security concerns and wants al-Turki to finish out his sentence at a federal prison. Solano said the transfer was a total surprise. He said he had a routine meeting with al-Turki in Limon on Thursday and he didn’t say anything about being concerned for his safety. Alison Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections, said the transfer was routine but said the department never discuss-
es reasons for moves. “We transfer inmates utilizing the federal interstate compact for offenders for the business needs of the department and the safe operations of our units,” she said. Al-Turki’s request to serve out his sentence in Saudi Arabia was denied in March by then prisons’ chief Tom Clements. Clements was shot and killed the following week when he answered his front door. Publicity about whether al-Turki could possibly be involved in Clements’ death led to him being placed in solitary confinement three times over his objections. Al-Turki sued over his treatment and alleged that state officials had leaked word that the possibility of Clements being killed in retaliation for the denial was “the main working theory.” A former prison inmate, Evan Ebel, is the only suspect named in Clements’ death but authorities haven’t released the motive for the killing. It was unclear whether the Federal Correctional Institution, where former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is being held, was where al-Turki ultimately would be held or was just a stopover on the way to another federal prison.
SÁBADO 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2013
Agenda en Breve FRONTERA RIBEREÑA 09/07— MIGUEL ALEMÁN, México — FIT 2013 presenta: “Laboratorio Teatro” a las 2 p.m. en la Agencia Volkswagen. 09/07— CIUDAD MIER, México — FIT 2013 presenta: Norteños de Río Bravo a las 7 p.m. en la Plaza Juárez. 09/07— NUEVO GUERRERO, México — FIT 2013 presenta: Rodrigo Valdez “El Zorro” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del Pueblo. 09/08— MIGUEL ALEMÁN, México — FIT 2013 presenta: Periférico Infinito a las 6 p.m. en Museo del Río Centro Cultural. 09/08— CIUDAD MIER, México — FIT 2013 presenta: Los Guyolas de San Pedro de Macoris a las 7 p.m. en la Plaza Juárez.
NUEVO LAREDO, MX 09/07— FIT 2013 presenta “Michael Jackson Lives” danza con Onda Urbana a las 6 p.m. en el Teatro Principal del Centro Cultural. 09/07— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo a Orquesta de Pérez Prado. Charreada a partir de las 6:30 p.m. en el Lienzo Charro Nuevo Laredo. En el Palenque se presentarán “Los Invasores de Nuevo León de Lalo Mora”. 09/08— FIT 2013 presenta danza “Grandes varones del Tango” con Tango VIP a partir de las 6 p.m. en el Teatro Principal del Centro Cultural. 09/08— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo, en el marco del XV Festival Internacional Tamaulipas, a ‘Oldies Band’ con “Tributo a The Beatles” a partir de las 7 p.m.; así como a “Guitarras de Luna” (Guitarras Mágicas) a partir de las 8 p.m. En el Palenque se presentará “Banda Sonaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga”. 09/09— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo a “Mike Laure Jr.” 09/10— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo al grupo ‘Los Ángeles Negros’. 09/11— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo al grupo ‘Costumbre’. 09/12— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo al comediante ‘Teo González’. 09/13— Expomex 2013 presenta en el Teatro del Pueblo a ‘Celso Piña’. En el Palenque se presentará “Paty Cantú”.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
SALUD
Clínica VA abrirá lunes POR RICARDO R. VILLARREAL TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
La nueva Clínica Ambulatoria para Pacientes Veteranos ubicada en la cuadra 4602 de avenida North Bartlett en Laredo está programada para abrir sus puertas el 9 de septiembre. Hugo Martínez, oficial de asuntos públicos para Veterans Administration Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System, explicó los tres servicios adicionales que se sumarán a los que ya se proveen. “Hemos tenido ochos servicios básicos que se proporcionan y entre los que se incluye el servicio de flebotomía que será ampliado para incluir un laboratorio completo. Así mismo ahora tendremos los servicios médicos dentales y de radiología”, dijo él. Los servicios de atención primarios incluyen salud mental, nutrición, podología, trabajo social, medicina interina, flebotomía y servi-
cios de salud para mujeres. “Los servicios dentales se iniciarán con una fase de activación con la que esperamos poder proporcionar estos servicios en los próximos dos meses. Los servicios de radiología y laboratorio estarán disponibles a partir del 9 de septiembre”, agregó Martínez. La antigua clínica ubicada en la cuadra 6551 de Star Court, fue cerrada el viernes. Froy Garza, de la oficina de asuntos públicos de Va dijo que con la apertura de la nueva instalación, no será difícil atraer a nuevos veteranos para que asistan y vean los servicios que están disponibles. “Nuestro mensaje a los veteranos que no están inscritos o que no han aprovechado los beneficios que les corresponden, es invitarlos a platicar con nuestro asesor de beneficios de salud para que les explique los beneficios que tenemos para ellos”, dijo Garza. Dijo que hay un proceso de inscripción que debe ser completado.
Foto por Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
La nueva clínica para veteranos en Laredo está programada para abrir sus puertas al servicio el lunes 9 de septiembre. “Les pedimos que lleven su papeleo DD 214 y su información de ingresos del año anterior, de modo que puedan aprender acerca de todos los beneficios a los que tienen derecho, esperando que se inscriban en el sistema como activos”, explicó Garza.
La clínica estará abierta de lunes a viernes de 8 a.m. a 4:30 p.m. Para más información puede llamar al (956) 523-7850 o visitar texasvalley.va.gov. (Localice a Rick Villarreal en 728-2528 o en rvillarreal@lmtonline.com)
COMUNIDAD
MISS TEXAS USA 2013 Lauren Guzmán: deseaba honor de representar a Laredo y Texas POR MATTHEW NELSON TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
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ecientemente coronada como Miss Texas USA 2013, la laredense Lauren Guzmán, de 23 años de edad, dijo estar lista para representar a Texas y está emocionada de traer la corona a su ciudad natal. “Esto es algo por lo que he trabajado con mucho empeño”, dijo Guzmán en una entrevista telefónica. “Éste año realmente creí que estaba lista para esto. Deseaba el puesto. Deseaba el honor de representar a Laredo y a Texas. Guzmán estuvo compitiendo en Miss Texas USA por cuatro años, pero obtuvo su victoria el domingo 1 de septiembre, cuando compitió contra otras 100 participantes en Houston. Se coronó como Miss Texas Teen en el 2008 cuando tenía 16 años. La laredense Daniella Rodríguez, de 16 años, ganó como Miss Texas Teen 2013. “Nunca ví el perder como algo malo, sino como una experiencia de aprendizaje”, dijo Guzmán. “Cada año que regresaba y cometía, crecí como persona”. Guzmán dijo que tiene presentaciones programadas en diferentes organizaciones de caridad, y que después regresará a Laredo. “Estoy emocionada de traerla a Laredo y
Foto de cortesía | Select Studios
Lauren Guzmán, representante de Laredo, en el centro, tras haber sido seleccionada como Miss Texas USA 2013, la semana pasada. mostrarla a todos”, dijo acerca de su corona. “Todavía es como un torbellino para mí en este momento. Se siente grandioso”. Guzmán representará a Texas en el concurso Miss USA 2014 el siguiente verano en el
Trump National Doral Hotel y Spa en Miami. “Si realmente deseas algo y estás dispuesta a perseguirlo, puedes alcanzar tus metas” dijo. (Localice a Matthew Nelson en 728-2567 o en mnelson@lmtonline.com)
LAREDO 09/07— El Centro de Ciencias Ambientales Lamar Bruni Vergara de LCC invita a su primer campaña de limpieza del semestre de Otoño, de 8 a.m. a 12 p.m. en el Paso del Indio Nature Trail, ubicado al lado norte del Campus Fort McIntosh. Igualmente abrirán el centro para visitas del público de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares, adultos y 2 dólares para estudiantes y adultos mayores. Niños de 3 años y menores entran gratis. 09/09— Soccer: El equipo varonil de fútbol soccer de TAMIU recibe a University of Texas at Brownsville a las 7:30 p.m. en el Soccer Complex de la Universidad. Costo: 5 dólares. 09/10— Celebre el Mes de la Herencia Hispana con KLRN conforme presentan el documental “Latino Americans” en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU a las 5:30 p.m. 09/13— El Consulado General y el Instituto Cultural Mexicano de Laredo invitan a la “Fiesta Mexicana” para celebrar el CCIII (203) Aniversario del Inicio de la lucha por la Independencia de México, a las 6 p.m. en la Plaza San Agustín de Laredo.
COMUNIDAD
TAMAULIPAS
Inician informes anuales en municipios Foto de cortesía | Humberto Benavides Photography
Renato Ramírez y Patricia Ramírez, a la izquierda, fueron los Presidentes del 18o Laredo Wine Tasting en Laredo, en beneficio de KLRN, el pasado 27 de agosto. A la derecha, Mario Vázquez, Presidente y CEO para KLRN.
Canal público logra cifra récord en evento TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Un evento celebrado casi a finales de agosto, con la intención de recaudar fondos para el canal de televisión pública, fue todo un éxito. El Laredo Wine Tasting, llevado a cabo el 27 de agosto en el IBC Annex Ballroom, logró recaudar 62.000 dólares, con el apoyo de residentes en Laredo y Zapata, según anunció el canal KLRN en un comunicado de prensa.
“Se trató de la mayor recaudación en la historia del Laredo Wine Tasting”, agrega el comunicado. Ése día más de 200 personas asistieron al evento que por décimo-octavo año consecutivo ayudó a recaudar fondos para KLRN, la estación de PBS que cubre el área. “No podemos agradecer lo suficiente a las personas de Laredo y Zapata”, expresó Mario Vázquez, Presidente y CEO de KLRN. Presidentes del evento fueron Renato y Patricia Ramírez.
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CALENDARIO INFORMES
A partir del jueves pasado inició la presentación de lo que es el último informe de gobierno de los Presidentes Municipales de los 43 Ayuntamientos de Tamaulipas, informó el Secretario General de Gobierno de Tamaulipas, Herminio Garza Palacios. “El calendario de informes de los actuales presidentes municipales (quedó) conformado”, sostuvo Garza. El jueves fue el turno en Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, mientras que el viernes correspondió a Altamira, Camargo, Casas, González, Jiménez y San Fernando. Hoy sábado se rinde el informe en El Mante y el domingo en Jaumave y San Carlos. Posteriormente, el lunes 9 en Bustamante, Guerrero, Llera y Tampico; martes 10 en Güemez, San Nicolás, Soto la Marina y Tula; miércoles 11: Gómez Farías, Miguel Alemán, Miquihuana, Ocampo y Xicoténcatl. El jueves 12 tocará el turno en Cruillas, Méndez, Padilla, Palmillas, Reynosa, Valle Hermoso y Victoria; y el viernes 13 de septiembre en Abasolo, Aldama,
7 de septiembre: El Mante 8 de septiembre: Jaumave y San Carlos. 9 de septiembre: Bustamante, Guerrero, Llera y Tampico 10 de septiembre: Güemez, San Nicolás, Soto la Marina y Tula 11 de septiembre: Gómez Farías, Miguel Alemán, Miquihuana, Ocampo y Xicoténcatl. 13 de septiembre: Abasolo, Aldama, Burgos, Madero, Hidalgo, Matamoros, Mier, Nuevo Laredo, Nuevo Morelos, Río Bravo y Villagrán. Fuente: Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Burgos, Madero, Hidalgo, Matamoros, Mier, Nuevo Laredo, Nuevo Morelos, Río Bravo y Villagrán. Garza dijo que la presentación del último informe de los actuales presidentes municipales, se acordó se hiciera antes de los festejos del Inicio de la Independencia de México programados para el domingo 15 de septiembre en todos los municipios de Tamaulipas. Los presidentes municipales continúan en tanto con el proceso de entrega-recepción con los presidentes municipales electos.
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
Obama wants backing for Syria attack By JOSH LEDERMAN AND VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Beset by divisions at home and abroad, President Barack Obama candidly acknowledged deep challenges Friday in winning support for a military strike against Syria from international allies and the U.S. Congress. He refused to say whether he might act on his own, a step that could have major implications for the U.S. as well as for the remainder of his presidency. The White House laid out an intense week of lobbying, with Obama addressing the nation from the White House Tuesday night. “I did not put this before Congress just as a political ploy or as symbolism,” Obama said, adding that it would be a mistake to talk about any backup strategy before lawmakers vote on a use-of-force resolution. The president spoke to reporters at the end of a two-day international summit, where he sought backing for a strike against Syria in retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack against civilians. But Obama appeared to leave the summit with no more backing than he had when he arrived. In fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said he was the one with support from the majority of countries attending the Group of 20 meeting. Putin insisted anew that Obama seek approval from the United Nations before taking military action, despite the fact that Russia has blocked previous Security Council efforts to punish Assad throughout Syria’s bloody 2 1/2-year civil war. The White House tried to counter Putin’s assessment by releasing a joint
Photo by Eraldo Peres | AP
An effigy representing President Barack Obama burns during a protest organized by the National Union of Students outside the U.S. embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on Friday. Students are protesting possible U.S. military action against Syria. statement from the U.S. and 10 other countries announcing support for “efforts undertaken by the United States” to enforce an international prohibition on chemical weapons use. The statement did not specify military action against Syria, but administration officials said the intent was to show international support for that type of response. The countries signing the statement with the U.S. were Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Putin said the U.S. push for military action has been supported only by Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France. “The use of force against a sovereign nation is only possible as self-defense — and Syria hasn’t attacked the United States — and on approval of the U.N. Security Council,” Putin said. “Those who do otherwise place themselves outside the law.” Indeed, Obama’s coalition appeared anything but strong. Britain’s Parlia-
ment has already voted against military action. Even French President Francois Hollande, who has expressed willingness to form a military coalition with the U.S. against Syria, displayed sudden caution, saying he would wait until a United Nations investigation into the Aug. 21 sarin gas attack was released before deciding whether to intervene militarily. The U.N. report is not expected to be released until mid-to lateSeptember. Obama and Hollande discussed strategy during a meeting at the summit Friday. The U.S. president also held a surprise meeting with Putin. The two leaders, who have a strained relationship, said their conversations were candid, but yielded no new agreement on Syria. The burden of undertaking military action appeared to be weighing on Obama throughout his 50minute post-summit question-and-answer session. He made several references to the immense responsibility the world places on the United States in responding to humanitarian crises,
saying that the first question often asked is, “Why isn’t the United States doing something about this?” The president departed Russia Friday night, bound for Washington where he also faces tough going in rallying support for military action, including from fellow Democrats. Force-authorization resolutions face an uncertain future in Congress, and a significant segment of the American public opposes a strike. In addition to Obama’s Tuesday night speech, administration officials scheduled new classified briefings for lawmakers and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough was making the rounds on all five Sunday talk shows. The president admitted his campaign may fail. “It’s conceivable at the end of the day I don’t persuade a majority of the American people that it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “And then each member of Congress is going to have to decide.” The options facing the U.S. and the international community are neither convenient nor appetizing,
Obama said. But he appealed for action on moral grounds, citing U.S. estimates that the chemical weapons attack killed more than 1,400 people, including 426 children. Other estimates are somewhat lower. “There are times where we have to make hard choices if we’re going to stand up for the things that we care about,” he said. “And I believe that this is one of those times.” Two recent polls show Americans oppose airstrikes, with a Pew Research Center survey showing 48 percent opposed to 29 percent in favor and a Washington Post-ABC News poll showing 59 percent opposed and 36 in support. Both surveys were taken over the recent Labor Day holiday weekend as the U.S. released its assessment of whether the Syrian government used chemical weapons and Obama announced he would seek congressional approval. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the public sentiment might be different if
Americans could see the evidence from the chemical weapons attack, including the convulsions and other side effects of the nerve gases. “They don’t know what I know. They haven’t heard what I’ve heard,” she said. An Associated Press survey found 34 senators in support or leaning in favor of authorizing military action, 32 against or leaning that way and 34 undecided ahead of votes next week. Tallies in the House show a significant number of Republicans and Democrats are also opposed to military action or leaning against it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday formally introduced the resolution, which would authorize the “limited and specified use” of the U.S. armed forces against Syria for 90 days while prohibiting American ground troops from combat. Lawmakers return from their five-week recess on Monday and will begin to debate, with a Senate vote to move ahead on the resolution expected Wednesday. “I think we’re going to get 60 votes. It’s a work in progress,” Reid said. Obama’s unexpected decision last week to seek congressional approval halted what had seemed to be a march toward quick military action in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack the U.S. says was perpetrated by Assad’s government. Obama has repeatedly said the deployment of the deadly gases would cross a “red line” and change his thinking regarding a bloody civil war in which he has been reluctant to intervene.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
ZETAS who had testified in this spring’s trial were given probation as well. Ramirez and the trainers had pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of making structured cash payments to avoid federal reporting requirements. On Thursday, two of the money laundering organiza-
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tion’s leaders were given 20year prison sentences for their role in laundering tens of millions of dollars through the U.S. quarter horse industry. Nayen, who was Miguel Treviño’s top operator in horse racing circles, has admitted to helping the gang smuggle drugs into Texas as well as laundering
INDICTMENT and talk” at a Zapata residence where they met with a man identified as Puebla-Ollervides, a criminal complaint filed Aug. 15 states. Agents obtained written consent to search the home. Then, Puebla-Ollervides told agents he had a weapon in the bedroom and claimed ownership of it. The complaint goes on to say that Puebla-Oller-
kyo was planned for November 1945 — dubbed Operation Downfall, according to the Army history website. Stever’s 5th Air Force 433rd Group operated about a year in the Southwest Pacific, transporting supplies, equipment and evacuating wounded personnel during numerous campaigns. The group was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its 1944 role in the liberation of the Philippines.
Fate intervened As one of two navigators among about 80 pilots, Stever credits fate for his surviving the war. On Sept. 2, 1945, during the surrender, the group was taking aircraft fuel from Hiroshima to a Tokyo air base. Stever photographed the remains of atom-bomb-ravaged Iwo Jima from 3,000 feet, while there to fetch fuel. “It was different from anything we had seen,” he said, lowering his eyes. “There were no shells of buildings, just one steel girder of a multistory hulk poking upward in complete devastation.” It’s among memories published in Stever’s 2011 book: “How the Lord Smiled on Me During World War II.” Stever was born in Ohio, but his father, Ben H. Stever — who fought in France during World War I — moved the family to Corpus Christi in 1939 to begin a jewelry business. Stever and his younger brother attended Corpus Christi High School, now Miller High School. “Rex was kind of shy in
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vides stated he was an illegal immigrant. Agents found a Rossi .357 Revolver Model 971. Furthermore, agents located a black canister containing 17 individually wrapped white rocks believed to be crack cocaine, court documents state. Puebla-Ollervides said the 2.2 grams of narcotics belonged to him. Agents determined that the fire-
SURRENDER
money, has remained a mystery during proceedings, not appearing in court although often referred to by witnesses. He was dressed in prison garb during his brief public appearance Friday, sporting long, curly hair and waving to family members. jbuch@express-news.net
arm seized had previously traveled in and affected interstate commerce. Authorities took Puebla-Ollervides into custody. He’s set for arraignment at 11 a.m. Sept. 12 in courtroom 3C before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
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high school,” said former classmate Phyllis Yochem. “We had a good time in school despite the war beginning.” Stever graduated in 1942. He moved to College Station to enroll at Texas A&M, then a military school. He didn’t like school there and quit. It prompted his father’s first intervention, wanting to deter him from the draft, to send Stever to Culver Military Academy in Indiana.
Loud wake-up call Through the fall of 1942 at the junior college, he recalls mostly white glove inspections and a 20 mm cannon blast sounding 6 a.m. reveille daily, he said. In November the commandant told him the draft board was seeking him, so Stever enlisted through the school into the Army as Pvt. Rex H. Stever. After the semester he returned to South Texas to report for service in January 1943. His first orders sent him to Dallas with infantry ranks, fading his aviation aspirations. His father’s intervention, by happenstance, changed his destiny. He was in Dallas for business as his son’s infantry training was concluding. Having missed two Rotary meetings, and risking losing membership if he missed a third, the elder Stever attended one in Dallas. He was seated next to a colonel in aviation headquarters, and after describing his son’s assignment misfortune, the officer arranged Stever’s transfer the next day. Stever went to Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls for flight cadet training in-
stead of Europe alongside his infantry comrades. He still faced prospective peril as a fly guy. One close call followed the battle of Okinawa. Stever’s plane was towing a glider with a jeep, cannon and troops to be released for landing. They hit heavy rain, and the glider was stalling the airplane as it lost altitude. “We cut the pilot loose, and our big plane flipped into a spin,” Stever said, swirling his arm. “I could see the lights of Manila Bay spinning around me. The glider pilot went into the bay, killing everyone, and we barely pulled out at 400 feet. It’s about as close to a violent death as I came.” Stever brought home some reminders of the war. In New Guinea he got jungle rot, a skin rash common to tropical climate, which still flares on his ankles. “It’s a service-related reminder of World War II,” Stever said. He has other reminders. He found one wartime souvenir in New Guinea. Stever wandered into a jungle near the barracks, where he saw an abandoned campsite. “Among debris was a field radio that I poked with a stick before opening it,” he said. He found two things: a military map of U.S. troops in New Guinea, which he gave his commander; and a Japanese battle flag with names of soldiers in the unit, and characters on the bottom he later learned predicted a Japanese victory. “Didn’t quite work out that way for them,” he said. “I often wonder about their lives.”
DA checking judges on contempt charge ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — The Dallas County district attorney who recently beat a contempt charge has opened an investigation into whether the charge was triggered by conversations between three judges, according to emails obtained by a newspaper. A prosecutor in District Attorney Craig Watkins’ office has requested an investigative interview with state District Judge Lena Levario, according to emails. Levario held Watkins in contempt in March after he refused to testify in a hearing related to a mortgage fraud case his office was prosecuting. The mortgage fraud case was against Al Hill III, an heir to an oil fortune, and concerned a $500,000 loan he sought. Hill’s attorneys accused Watkins of pursuing the
case as a favor to friend and political donor Lisa Blue, who had been mired in a fee dispute with Hill in an unrelated case. Levario was the judge on the mortgage fraud case, and she ordered Watkins and Blue to testify in response to the attorneys’ allegations. When neither Watkins nor Blue would testify, Levario dismissed the charges against Hill and cited Watkins for contempt. Another judge eventually dismissed the contempt charge against Watkins. In February, Levario sent an email to prosecutors and defense attorneys in the mortgage fraud case informing them that she had discussed the case with other judges. In later emails she identified them as Julia Hayes and Angela King. “Most were just casual conversations regarding
the stress associated with the cases and not the legal issues or outcome,” Levario wrote. “However, 2 judges did leave me with the impression that they are not on Mr. Watkins’ side in this matter.” She added that, “their opinion regarding the DA’s office is irrelevant to me or to this hearing. I informed them at the time that I was not going to and I did not comment on their statements to me.” On Thursday, Hayes declined to comment and King’s attorney said conversations with another judge would be privileged. Watkins’ office also declined comment. Levario told attorneys in the mortgage fraud case that she wouldn’t discuss it or related cases with Watkins’ office because the cases were on appeal and could end up back in her court.
Guard boss asks AG for opinion By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The commander of the Texas National Guard is asking the state’s attorney general for a legal opinion about whether he can process applications for military benefits for same-sex couples under a Pentagon directive even though gay marriage is banned in Texas. Major Gen. John Nichols wrote a letter seeking guidance on how to reconcile the difference between the Texas Constitution, which defines marriage as a between a man and a woman, and federal regulations that grant full benefits and privileges to legally married same-sex couples enlisted in the military. The letter, dated Thursday, was posted Friday on the website of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office. The Department of Defense on Tuesday began allowing same-sex couples to apply for identification cards and benefits that previously had only been extended to married heterosexual couples. The partners of active duty, reserve and national guard troops are eligible if they married their spouse in a U.S. state where gay marriage is legal. But Nichols ordered the Texas Military Forces, the umbrella command of all National Guard units in Texas, not to process any applications from same-sex couples, saying the guard was a state agency bound by Texas law. He told guard members to go to a federal installation to get their identification cards — the key to benefits — after which they would be treated the same as any other spouse. Nichols noted in his letter that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, enabling the federal government to begin extending benefits to same-sex couples, but the law still permitted states
to decide whether to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. “Accordingly, not all federal benefits will be given to same-sex couples residing in states where same-sex marriages are not recognized,” he wrote. “The law seems well settled that members of the National Guard of the various states are under the control of the state, except in times of war.” Nichols then asks what actions his agency can take in order to fulfill the Pentagon’s policy “of extending spousal and dependent benefits to same-sex spouses without violating the Texas Constitution and Texas State Law?” Under Texas law, state agencies seek advisory opinions from the state attorney general when they are uncertain about the law. Abbott has been a vocal critic of attempts to grant gays and lesbians the right to marry and has issued advisory opinions criticizing local authorities for extending benefits to same-sex couples. He has also threatened to sue San Antonio after the city passed an ordinance Thursday outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation. As attorney general, Abbott does not comment on requests for advisory opinions until he makes a formal decision, a process that can take months. Thirty-three states have banned gay marriage, while 19 offer benefits for same-sex spouses. Texas and Louisiana guard units have refused to process requests for benefits filed by same-sex spouses, referring applicants to federal facilities. Mississippi will only process requests for benefits on federally-owned installations. But no state has said it would completely bar same-sex couples from receiving benefits once they are enrolled by the Department of Defense as military dependents.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
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Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NCAA FOOTBALL
Prepared for BYU By PAT GRAHAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
PROVO, Utah — This wasn’t exactly the type of start the Texas Longhorns’ new fast-paced offense envisioned: Fumbling the football on the first drive and then stalling out the rest of the opening quarter. Just a minor glitch, though, as the No. 15 Longhorns soon got things revved up in routing New Mexico State 56-7 last weekend as they rolled up a school-record 715 yards of offense. Texas quarterback David Ash led the way by throwing for 343 yards and four touchdowns, along with running for another score. “Started off slow. Turned the ball over. Didn’t look good,” Ash said. “Then, we got together and we played like we’re capable of. There (were) a lot of points, a lot of yards, we left out on the field.” This weekend, Texas faces a stingy BYU defense that was one of the country’s best last season. Led by linebacker Kyle Van Noy, the Cougars held Virginia’s offense largely in check during a
See TEXAS PAGE 2B
File photo by Sharon Ellman | AP
Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant’s potential game-winning catch against the Giants last year didn’t count after his fingers landed out of bounds.
Photo by Michael Thomas | AP
Texas running back Johnathan Gray and the No. 15 Longhorns face a stingy BYU defense on Saturday.
MANZIEL, A&M TO FACE SAM HOUSTON
Bryant looks back on Giants Still thinks about his near catch By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — Dez Bryant still thinks about his miracle catch that wasn’t against the New
York Giants last season. The Dallas receiver can see the tips of his fingers landing out of bounds on Tony Romo’s
See BRYANT PAGE 2B
File photo by Josh Reynolds | AP
Former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge.
Hernandez pleads not guilty Former Patriots tight end faces first-degree murder charge By ERIKA NIEDOWSKI Photo by Eric Gay | AP
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel and the No. 7 Aggies look to go to 2-0 after winning their season opener 52-31 against Rice.
Johnny Manziel to make first start of 2013 By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE STATION — Johnny Manziel only played the second half of No. 7 Texas A&M’s seasonopener after serving a suspension for what the school called an “inadvertent” violation of NCAA rules involving signing autographs. If Saturday’s game against Sam Houston State goes the way last
year’s did, the Heisman Trophy winner will probably only play about a half again this week. Manziel was unstoppable last year in Texas A&M’s 47-28 win over Sam Houston State, the FCS runner-up the last two seasons. He threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and added 100 yards rushing with two more scores in little more than a half. He was solid in his de-
but, throwing for 94 yards and three touchdowns in less than a half last week. Manziel also made headlines for taunting the Rice defense. Not long after he entered the game in the third quarter he jawed with a Rice defender and appeared to mimic signing an autograph while getting up from a tackle. He drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he pointed at the scoreboard after throwing his third
touchdown pass and was benched by coach Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin said he spoke with Manziel and several other players about playing smarter this week. But he added that there’s a fine line between getting his quarterback to tone things down and still maintaining his intensity. “What you don’t want to do is kill that emotion
See TEXAS A&M PAGE 2B
FALL RIVER, Mass. — Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge Friday following his indictment in the killing of a friend authorities say was shot five times in an industrial park. Hernandez firmly answered “not guilty” to six charges, including murder and weapons and ammunition possession charges. His attorneys agreed ahead of the hearing that Hernandez, 23, will continue to be held without bail, but reserved the
right to request bail later. The next court hearing was set for Oct. 9. Defense attorney Charles Rankin said outside the courthouse that Hernandez’s legal team is confident the ex-Patriot will be exonerated during a trial. “Not one shred of evidence has been presented yet,” he said. The arraignment “is like the opening kickoff,” Rankin said. And, he encouraged people to keep an open mind and let the lawyers and the justice system do their work. Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter said, in fact, a “tremendous
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HERNANDEZ Continued from Page 1B amount” of evidence has already been presented. He cited 500 pages of documents released to the press and public, including search and arrest warrants, affidavits and photographs taken from a surveillance system at Hernandez’s home. “I think that evidence speaks for itself,” he said. Sutter said he hopes the case will go to trial within a year but that it can sometimes take two years or more. A Massachusetts grand jury last month returned the indictment against Hernandez in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-professional football player from Boston who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend. Hernandez was arrested in June and pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in district court. The indictment moved the case to superior court, where jury trials in murder cases are held. Hernandez, who was cut from the Patriots within hours of his arrest, has been held at a county jail without bail. Prosecutors say the former NFL star orchestrated Lloyd’s killing because he was upset at Lloyd for talking to some people with whom
Hernandez had problems at a nightclub a few days earlier. Defense attorneys say the evidence is circumstantial and that the state’s case won’t hold up. More than a dozen members of Lloyd’s family attended Friday’s hearing, most of them wearing purple. Among them was Ursula Ward, the mother of Odin Lloyd, who had tears streaming down her cheeks at one point during the hearing. Hernandez’s girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, and his mother, were seated on the opposite side of the courtroom. Some people who appeared to be fans of Hernandez gathered outside the courthouse, including one woman with a “Team Aaron” shirt bearing his old jersey number. Two other men who prosecutors say were with Hernandez when Lloyd was killed are also facing charges. Ernest Wallace was indicted on a charge of accessory to murder after the fact. He earlier pleaded not guilty to the same charge in district court and was ordered held on $500,000 bail. Carlos Ortiz pleaded not guilty to a firearms charge and is being held without bail. He has not been indicted.
Lloyd’s body was found by a jogger on June 17 in an industrial park in North Attleborough, about a mile from Hernandez’s home. Authorities say Lloyd was killed with a .45-caliber Glock, which they have said hasn’t been recovered. But prosecutors say they have video footage of Hernandez at his home holding what appears to be a Glock, in the hours before and just after the killing. Prosecutors have not identified the triggerman, but according to court documents, Ortiz told police Wallace said it was Hernandez. Hernandez’s cousin, Tanya Singleton, also was indicted on a criminal contempt charge after prosecutors say she refused to testify before the grand jury hearing evidence in the case, even after they offered her immunity. Her attorney has agreed she be held without bail. Hernandez is also connected to the investigation of a 2012 double homicide near a Boston nightclub. While probing Lloyd’s death, police found an SUV, sought in the earlier killing, at the home of Hernandez’s uncle in Bristol, Conn., the former football player’s hometown. It had been rented in Hernandez’s name.
TEXAS A&M Continued from Page 1B
File photo by Bill Kostroun | AP
Wide receiver Dez Bryant is hoping to take the next step in the upcoming 2013 season. desperation pass that looked as if it would give the Cowboys their first win over the Giants in their fancy $1.2 billion stadium. Instead, replay turned it into just another disappointment in just another loss. “It’s out the window now,” Bryant said. “Like I said, it’s all about Sunday. It’s all about this upcoming game.” There’s talk of Bryant as an MVP candidate with the Cowboys set to open 2013 against the Giants at home. Such talk has its roots in all the exhilaration and exasperation tied into that one play because Bryant bounced back to become one of the most productive receivers in the league in a second half that defined his breakout season. “I honestly felt like you’ve got to make up for that,” said Bryant, who had 879 of his 1,382 yards and 10 of his 12 touchdowns in the final eight games. “I started just understanding everything better. That’s what’s been going on this whole year as well.” There was something else about that Giants game a year ago that bothered Bryant. He acknowledged running an imprecise route and costing Romo an interception that helped dig a 23-0 hole in a 29-24 loss. The Cowboys actually led 24-23 before two late field goals by New York. “I think that could have been a game that could have jump-started just the whole light bulb going on, confidence,” said cornerback Brandon Carr. “He realized just the effect that he can have on a game, just the ability that he has over other defenders out there and once the guy sees that in himself and his confidence is up there, the sky’s the limit.” Carr certainly sees that ability up close in practice because he’s often battling Bryant in team drills. There were plenty of moments in training camp when Carr was right with him, and Bryant simply jumped over the Cowboys’ $50 million cornerback to make the catch. The preseason just looked like a continuation of Bryant’s standout second half, and there’s significance in that, too. It means Bryant made it through the offseason without any problems a year after the most serious of several off-the-field
issues when he faced a family violence charge over an incident with his mother. From the first day of camp, Bryant played like he was ramping up for the Super Bowl. In fact, one of the things his coaches have to do is make sure Bryant doesn’t get too hyped too early. “I’m kind of amped up now,” Bryant said Thursday. “I’m trying to watch my words, to be honest. I just love the game, man. I remember last year, sometimes I used to go so hard before the game that I’m in a full sweat. I know some of the coaches didn’t like that. I had to tone it down a little bit.” Bryant had a career high in yards receiving three times in the last seven games of 2012, capped by a 224-yard game against New Orleans two weeks after he broke a finger against Cincinnati and returned from the injury to catch a critical touchdown in a come-from-behind win over the Bengals. Bryant practically begged coach Jason Garrett not to put him on season-ending injured reserve after the Cincinnati game, and spent a night in the hospital when he returned from a season-ending loss at Washington that kept Dallas out of the playoffs. It was the second straight year the Cowboys lost to an NFC East rival with a playoff berth on the line. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett likes to say Bryant has been productive since his rookie year, so he’s less inclined to view last year’s game against the Giants — and the nearmiracle that went with it — as a tipping point in the fourth-year receiver’s career. But it was a notable moment, even in Garrett’s eyes. “Made an outstanding play on that, gave us a chance to win, and it’s a great illustration that it is a game of inches and every inch counts and unfortunately that didn’t go out way,” Garrett said. “But Dez is a mentally tough guy, he’s a physically tough guy, he’s competed a lot throughout his career and he knows how to respond. He certainly responded in that game and responded over the course of the rest of the season.” Now Bryant gets a chance for a fast start in the opener against the same team in the same stadium.
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel will make his first start of the season after being suspended a half in the season opener.
and passion because that’s what separates Johnny from a lot of different players,” Sumlin said. “But what we can do is set him down and say: ’That same emotion and passion can be used positively in this way.”’ Here are five things to know about the game: SHORTHANDED DEFENSE Texas A&M will be without several starters on defense on Saturday because of suspensions. Cornerback Deshazor Everett will have to sit out the first half after being ejected in the second half against Rice for targeting. The Aggies will also be without cornerback De’Vante Harris, linebacker Steven Jenkins and defensive end Gavin Stansbury, who will finish two-game suspensions for violating team rules. RUNNING KATS Houston State ran for 365 yards in a 74-0 win over Houston Baptist last week. Senior Timothy Flanders gained 51 yards on nine carries before sitting down after the first quarter. He scored a 4-yard touchdown early in the quarter to give him 53 career rushing touchdowns, which set a Southland Conference record. Flanders is the Bearkats all-time leading rusher with 4,285 yards rushing in his career. IMPRESSIVE DEBUT Texas A&M’s offensive line had a solid start to the season with Mike Matthews making his first career start at center. Matthews, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, joined his older brother left tackle Jake Matthews on the line. “We got what we expected from our offensive line,” Sumlin said. “One of the positives of the whole game was Mike Matthews. I think he did a great job of being able to get us targeted in his first game. He played extremely
well and that was evident in our ability to rush the football effectively.” TAKING ON THE BIG GUYS Since becoming an FCS team in 1986, the Bearkats are 3-26 against FBS. Their last win over an FBS opponent came when they beat New Mexico in 2011. Eight FCS teams beat FBS teams in the first week of the season, and one of those upsets was plenty to get A&M’s attention. “Seeing North Dakota State go in to Kansas State and win last weekend is all you need to see to be prepared,” Sumlin said. “Willie Fritz is a heck of a coach leading them to back to back championship game appearances. They won’t be intimidated coming in here just like they weren’t last year.” Fritz knows Saturday’s game won’t be easy for the Bearkats. “It’s a huge challenge for our football team,” Fritz said. “They are a tremendously talented team led by a Heisman Trophy winner. But playing in front of a crowd of more than 88,000 again will be a great experience for our players and good exposure for Sam Houston State.” WHAT A LEG Sophomore punter Drew Kaser averaged 62.7 yards a punt on his three punts in A&M’s opener to help the Aggies lead the nation in net punting. It was the first start for Kaser, who was a soccer player who didn’t take up football until he was a sophomore in high school. “At the end of my sophomore year, I went to camp and I think that was the moment I thought I might actually be good,” Kaser said. “I’ve been a soccer player since I was three years old.” Sumlin was impressed with his work, saying: “the kicking game might have been the best kicking performances I’ve ever seen.”
TEXAS Continued from Page 1B season-opening loss. “They pride themselves on being a tough team,” said Texas coach Mack Brown, who can tie Woody Hayes for 10th place on the NCAA all-time wins list with a victory Saturday. “I’m challenging our team because I think Brigham Young is as tough as anybody in the country.” One thing’s for certain: The Longhorns have BYU’s attention. “We feel like if we just cut down on some of the mistakes and keep executing and do what we need to do, they’re going to get tired,” running back Jamaal Williams said. “They’re going to bow down to our will and we’re just going to go out there and do our thing.” Here are five things to watch when the Longhorns meet BYU: MATURING ASH Ash received his first significant playing time in a 17-16 win over BYU in 2011. He split snaps with Case McCoy against the Cougars in ’11 as Ash completed just two passes and ran for 36 yards. Now the undisputed No. 1 quarterback, Ash passed for four TDs to four different receivers and ran for another score last weekend. “The feel I had wasn’t like I had played a great game. I felt like I played good, but made some mistakes that didn’t need to happen,” Ash said. “I feel like I have a lot to improve.” STRONGER UP THE MIDDLE Linebacker was a weak spot for Texas last season
as Jordan Hicks missed most of the year with a hip injury. The Longhorns will be counting on Hicks and Steve Edmond to contain a mobile, dual threat quarterback such as BYU’s Taysom Hill. HERE’S THE CATCH The Cougars were missing one of their top offensive threats in the season opener against Virginia as wide receiver Cody Hoffman sat out with a hamstring injury. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall is hopeful Hoffman will be ready by Saturday. Hoffman needs just 19 catches to eclipse Dennis Pitta’s school record in receptions. Hoffman also is three TDs away from breaking Austin Collie’s career mark. BOUNCING BACK Williams is trying to forget about the pass he tipped that led to a late Virginia interception, setting up the decisive touchdown. “It’s over now. I had my boo-hoos after the game,” Williams said. “I should have caught it. It touched my hands. I should have caught it.” HILL TO CLIMB Mendenhall isn’t reading too much into Hill’s final numbers. In a rain-drenched game, Hill was 13 of 40 for 175 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “I don’t think delivering the ball was as much an accuracy issue as the guys catching it,” Mendenhall said. “I thought he had a good game. A strong game.” Said Hill: “Our passing game needs to get better. We need to be on the same page — receiver and quarterback — so we know exactly what we’re seeing.”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE Whose Recipe Is It? Dear Heloise: I have inherited RECIPE FILE BOXES from my mother, both grandmothers and a great-aunt. All contain recipe cards from the original owners, friends and relatives. I can no longer be certain who the authors are. I suggest that readers sit down with relatives and discuss who wrote the recipe card and anything interesting. It will be a wonderful gift for the next generation! — Diane, via email How right! I have some treasured recipe cards and slips of paper, etc., from my mother, the original Heloise, and her mother, Amelia Bowles, both identical twins! They have their handwritten notes on them. If you want to see them (and try the recipe for Matzo Meal Pancakes, or my grandmother’s Favorite Gelatin Salad), please visit my website, www.Heloise.com. — Heloise NO GIFTS
Dear Heloise: We were invited to a birthday party for a family friend. The invitation read “No Gifts Please.” Of course, there are always a few who bring gifts and embarrass those who did not. I solved the problem by enclosing in her card a handmade gift certificate for “Dinner With the Renningers.” The honoree named the place and time. She asked if I would make a home-cooked meal for her. We had a wonderful time one on one talking about the “good old days.” Last month, we were invited to a “No Gifts Please” 50th wedding anniversary party. I enclosed a “gift certificate,” and we enjoyed dinner at their favorite restaurant. We talked about how they met and the different places they had lived prior to meeting us. — Charlotte Renninger in Newton Hamilton, Pa. Brilliant! And no one but the recipient is the wiser. This sure beats an oddball gift or another scented candle. — Heloise
DENNIS THE MENACE
FAMILY CIRCUS
PEANUTS
GARFIELD
DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
DILBERT
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2013