The Zapata Times 12/8/2012

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SATURDAY DECEMBER 8, 2012

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LEGISLATURE

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

$2 billion possible

Feds bust 4 in pot smuggling attempt

Speaker eyes putting more money into education

By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday he’s committed to pump-

ing billions of dollars back into the state’s public schools, even though the Legislature approved historically deep cuts just last year.

In an interview with The

Associated Press, the San Antonio Republican said “we will fund enrollment growth going forward,” which he estimated will be a $2 billion item when lawmakers head back to

work Jan. 8.

“The good news is we’re dedicated to doing that, committed to doing that,” Straus

See SCHOOLS PAGE 11A

Men say marijuana would cover smuggling fees

71ST ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR ATTACK

REMEMBERING THE DEAD

Photo by Bruce Lipsky/Florida Times-Union | AP

Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Kmiec, 95, salutes upon departing a ship after a ceremony remembering the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor aboard the USS De Wert on Friday, at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla. See related photo, story, page 10A

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Four men accused of crossing about 870 pounds of marijuana told federal agents they smuggled the load to pay for their crossing fees to come onto U.S. soil, a criminal complaint released Monday states.

Alfenibe Carlos-Hernandez, 18; Carlos Duarte-Benitez, 20; Misael Garcia-Benitez, 20, and Alfonso Pineda-Duarte, 27, are facing charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. All four men remain in federal custody.

At 4 p.m. Nov. 29, U.S. Border Patrol agents observed a black Chevrolet Tahoe bearing Texas license plates traveling north on U.S. 83. Agents witnessed how the Tahoe reduced speed and almost came to a complete stop on a green light.

A complaint states agents noticed how a front passenger tried to hide by crouching into the seat. Agents also noticed how the Tahoe seemed to be carrying excessive weight. To avoid agents, the Tahoe turned north on Sixth Avenue and accelerated, disregarding a stop sign at Sixth and Del Mar Street, the complaint states.

Agents noticed the Tahoe suddenly stopped at the intersection of Carla Street and Seventh Avenue. Occupants quickly exited the vehicle.

“At this time, agents noticed bundles with straps in the vehicle’s backseat,” the complaint states. Agents, assisted by Zapata County deputies, detained four men. A complaint states the men told agents they were all from Nueva Ciudad Guerrero in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, a Mexican town across from Falcon State Park.

“The male subjects stated that they crossed through Miguel Alemán (which borders with Roma) and were instructed

See MARIJUANA PAGE 11A

SUPERSTORM SANDY

Aides: Obama asks for $60.4B in Sandy aid

By ANDREW TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama asked Congress Friday for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy in late October. It’s a disaster whose cost is rivaled only by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist at-

tacks and the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Obama’s request adds a huge new to-do item to a congressional agenda already packed with controversy on how to resolve the nation’s budget woes and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

“Our Nation has an obli-

gation to assist those who suffered losses and who lack adequate resources to rebuild their lives,” Jeffrey D. Zients, deputy director of the budget office, wrote congressional leaders in a letter accompanying the formal request. “At the same time, we are committed to ensuring Federal re-

See SANDY PAGE 11A

Photo by Mark Lennihan/file | AP

Ray Marten, right, and his son, Ray Marten Jr., collect family business records from a filing cabinet in the basement of their flood and fire-destroyed home in Queens, New York, on Nov. 18.

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, DEC. 8

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will present Family Movie Day. “The Muppets Christmas Carol” will show at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. General admission is $4. For more information, call 956-326-3663.

A “Very Merry” Farmers Market is today, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Jarvis Plaza on Salinas Avenue and Matamoros Street. There will be fruits and vegetables, breakfast tacos made from nepales, coffee, baked breads, unique gifts ideas, and hand-crafted aromatic teas, soaps and lotions. Events include Christmas Carolers, a card-making activity booth for the kids and a scavenger hunt. There will be drop boxes for canned goods, toiletries, and blankets.

The first-ever O.S.S. Prader-Willi Syndrome International 5K Run/2K Walk will take place from 8 a.m. to noon at North Central Park. To donate or register, visit http://onesmallstep.fpwr.org/ dw/users/Christopher/laredo2012. All donations will be used for research. For more information, contact Rosie Gonzalez at 744-4819 or rose_spurs@yahoo.com

Today is Saturday, Dec. 8, the 343rd day of 2012. There are 23 days left in the year.

The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins at sunset.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On this date: In 1776, Gen. George Washington’s retreating army crossed the Delaware River from New Jersey into Pennsylvania.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of original sin from the moment of her own conception.

In 1886, the American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1914, “Watch Your Step,” the first musical revue to feature a score composed entirely

by Irving Berlin, opened in New York.

In 1949, the Chinese Nationalist government moved from the Chinese mainland to Formosa as the Communists pressed their attacks.

In 1961, The Beach Boys’ first single, “Surfin’,” was released.

In 1962, the first session of the Second Vatican Council was formally adjourned. Typographers went on a 114-day strike against four New York City newspapers.

In 1972, a United Airlines Boeing 737 crashed while attempting to land at ChicagoMidway Airport, killing 43 of the 61 people on board, as well as two people on the ground; among the passengers who died were Dorothy Hunt, wife of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt, U.S. Rep. George W. Collins, D-Ill., and CBS News correspondent Michele Clark.

In 1980, rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.

In 1982, a man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. (After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives.)

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty at the White House calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

In 1992, Americans got to see live television coverage of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Somalia as Operation Restore Hope began Ten years ago: Iraq’s dossier detailing its chemical, biological and nuclear programs arrived in New York; the U.N. Security Council agreed to give full copies to the United States and the four other permanent council members.

Today’s Birthdays: Actordirector Maximilian Schell is 82. Flutist James Galway is 73.

Singer Jerry Butler is 73. Pop musician Bobby Elliott (The Hollies) is 71. Rock singer-musician Gregg Allman is 65.

Reggae singer Toots Hibbert (Toots and the Maytals) is 64.

Thought for Today: “So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.” — Elbert Hubbard, American author (1856-1915).

SUNDAY, DEC. 9 The Grand Tour of Historic Homes begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Arturo L. Benavides Elementary school gym. Plate sale and house tour tickets, both priced at $6, will be sold separately. The house tour begins at 1:30 p.m.

MONDAY, DEC. 10 The Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting is set for 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.

THURSDAY, DEC. 13 The Zapata Economic Development Council will host a power breakfast at the Zapata Technical & Advanced Education Center at 7:30 a.m.

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center and Planetarium will show “The Little Star that Could” at 3:30 p.m. and “New Horizons” at 4:30 p.m. The special holiday price is two shows for $5.

For more information, call 956-3263663.

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center and Planetarium will show “The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” at 3:30 p.m. and “Star Signs” at 4:30 p.m. The special holiday price is two shows for $5. For more information, call 956-326-3663.

FRIDAY, DEC. 14 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center and Planetarium will show “The Little Star that Could” at 3:30 p.m. and “New Horizons” at 4:30 p.m. The special holiday price is two shows for $5.

For more information, call 956-3263663.

SATURDAY, DEC. 15 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Holiday Music Magic” at 6 p.m. and “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 7 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. For more information, call 956-326-3663.

SUNDAY, DEC. 16 Memorial Bells of the First United Methodist Church will present “Joyous Noel,” a Christmas concert featuring handbells and handchimes, at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary. Included in the repertoire will be “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “What Child is This?”, “Little Drummer Boy,” “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” “Jingle Bells,” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” along with a ringsing-a-long of favorite Christmas carols.

For more information, call the church office at 722-1674.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26 The Zapata County Commissioners Court meets at the courthouse from 9 a.m. until noon.

TUESDAY, JAN. 1 The board of the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce meets from noon until 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 2 The board of the Zapata County Fair Association meets from 6:30-8 p.m.

The location of the meeting is to be announced.

To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com.

Photo by Harry Hamburg | AP

Sen. John Cornyn appears at a photo opportunity in Washington, D.C. Cornyn sponsored a tough federal law signed by President Barack Obama on Friday that increases penalties on those who victimize children.

Feds battle abusers

By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott celebrated a new federal law to fight child pornography, sexual predators and human trafficking that President Barack Obama signed Friday.

Cornyn sponsored the Child Protection Act, which increases the penalties for child pornography, protects child witnesses and gives U.S. marshals new authority to obtain time-sensitive documents. The law also extends federal funding for regional Internet task forces that focus on cyber-crimes.

“It also allows the task forces to prioritize cases where there is strong evidence that the suspect has engaged in human trafficking for the actual production of child pornography,” Cornyn said. “I’m glad to see the presi-

dent quickly singed this measure into law to bring greater justice and protection to victims and allow law enforcement to take immediate steps to stop child predators.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., cosponsored the measure. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, and Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz sponsored it in the U.S. House.

Cornyn said the president’s signature showed that common sense still trumps partisanship.

“Bipartisanship is living and thriving on many issues like this, where I think we can all agree,” he said.

Abbott said the bipartisan law will increase the effectiveness of his Cyber-Crimes Unit, which is a national leader in finding and prosecuting child predators on the Internet.

WWII vet awarded Purple Heart posthumously

No timeline for Bush leaving hospital

Ex-Alice officer guilty of killing common-law wife

EL PASO — A World War II veteran injured in 1944 when he was struck by a German tank in France has been posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

Relatives of Army Pvt. Juan C. Marquez accepted the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars awarded to him.

Marquez was discharged in 1945 but died three years later in an accident.

HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush remains in stable condition two weeks after entering a Houston hospital for treatment of a lingering bronchitis-related cough.

Methodist Hospital spokesman George Kovacik said physicians have provided no timeline for when the 41st president will be discharged.

CORPUS CHRISTI — A South Texas jury has convicted a former Alice police officer in the 2011 fatal shooting of his estranged common-law wife.

Jurors in Corpus Christi convicted Jose Gonzales III of capital murder. Gonzales received an automatic life prison term after being convicted Thursday.

Man linked to Anonymous faces more charges DALLAS — A Texas man who has described himself as a spokesman for the hacker-activist group Anonymous faces new charges over data stolen from the private intelligence firm Stratfor last Christmas.

Federal prosecutors said Friday that Barrett Brown was indicted on a dozen charges that include aggravated identity theft and device fraud.

More DPS workers testing blood to ease backlog AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Public Safety has reassigned about 15 crime lab workers to blood testing to help trim a backlog in drunken driving cases.

The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV reported Thursday that the number of blood samples sent to DPS rose 500 percent in six years as police increasingly use such evidence in DWI cases.

McAllen man convicted of human smuggling MCALLEN — A South Texas man has been convicted in a human smuggling case in which more than 30 suspected illegal immigrants were found in an apartment.

Jurors in McAllen on Thursday convicted 28-year-old Jose Luis Tobias of Edinburg of two counts of conspiring to harbor and transport immigrants and three counts of harboring such immigrants.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION WVU mascot told to stop firing musket at wildlife CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The musket toted by West Virginia University’s Mountaineer isn’t just a prop — it’s a bona fide weapon, and mascot Jonathan Kimble demonstrated that when he brought down a black bear with it in the woods.

Now WVU has ordered Kimble to stop using his university-issued weapon on hunting trips after a video of this week’s kill was posted online. He says hunting with the gun is a Mountaineer mascot tradition.

Gun turns up in package of frozen ribs at NM store ROSWELL, N.M. — New Mexico authorities say they’re puzzled by what turned up in a package of meat at a Roswell grocery store.

A worker at Albertsons opened a case of frozen ribs

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Many of the Pearl Harbor survivors share memories before the start of the Commemoration of the 71st Anniversary Pearl Harbor Day on Friday at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. See story, Page 10A Wednesday and found a handgun and ammunition packed with the meat.

Roswell police Sgt. Jim Preston tells Albuquerque television station KRQE that it would be speculation to say how it got thereA police report shows that

the meat came from the Swift Packing Plant in Greeley, Colo..

Authorities say the semi-automatic Rock Island Armory .38 Super had not been reported stolen. A firearms trace could take weeks.

— Compiled from AP reports

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

OTHER VIEWS

COLUMN

The crisis facing us is employment L

et’s get one thing straight: America is not facing a fiscal crisis. It is, however, still very much experiencing a job crisis.

It’s easy to get confused about the fiscal thing, since everyone’s talking about the “fiscal cliff.” Indeed, one recent poll suggests that a large plurality of the public believes that the budget deficit will go up if we go off that cliff.

In fact, of course, it’s just the opposite: The danger is that the deficit will come down too much, too fast. And the reasons that might happen are purely political; we may be about to slash spending and raise taxes not because markets demand it, but because Republicans have been using blackmail as a bargaining strategy, and the president seems ready to call their bluff.

Moreover, despite years of warnings from the usual suspects about the dangers of deficits and debt, our government can borrow at incredibly low interest rates — interest rates on inflation-protected U.S. bonds are actually negative, so investors are paying our government to make use of their money.

And don’t tell me that markets may suddenly turn on us. Remember, the U.S. government can’t run out of cash (it prints the stuff), so the worst that could happen would be a fall in the dollar, which wouldn’t be a terrible thing and might actually help the economy.

Yet there is a whole industry built around the promotion of deficit panic. Lavishly funded corporate groups keep hyping the danger of government debt and the urgency of deficit reduction now now now — except that these same groups are suddenly warning against too much deficit reduction.

No wonder the public is confused.

Meanwhile, there is almost no organized pressure to deal with the terrible thing that is actually happening right now — namely, mass unemployment. Yes, we’ve made progress over the past year. But long-term unemployment remains at levels not seen since the Great Depression: as of October, 4.9 million Americans had been unemployed for more than six months, and 3.6 million had been out of work for more than a year.

When you see numbers like those, bear in mind that we’re looking at millions of human tragedies: at individuals and families whose lives are falling apart because they can’t find work, at savings consumed, homes lost and dreams destroyed. And the longer this goes on, the bigger the tragedy.

There are also huge dollars-and-cents costs to our unmet jobs crisis.

When willing workers endure forced idleness society as a whole suffers from the waste of their efforts and talents. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that what we are actually producing falls short of what we could and should be producing by around 6 percent of GDP, or $900 billion a year.

Worse yet, there are

“

PAUL KRUGMAN

When you see numbers like those, we’re looking at millions of human tragedies: at families whose lives are falling apart. good reasons to believe that high unemployment is undermining our future growth as well, as the long-term unemployed come to be considered unemployable, as investment falters in the face of inadequate sales.

So what can be done?

The panic over the fiscal cliff has been revelatory.

It shows that even the deficit scolds are closet Keynesians. That is, they believe that right now spending cuts and tax hikes would destroy jobs; it’s impossible to make that claim while denying that temporary spending increases and tax cuts would create jobs. Yes, our still-depressed economy needs more fiscal stimulus.

And, to his credit, President Barack Obama did include a modest amount of stimulus in his initial budget offer; the White House, at least, hasn’t completely forgotten about the unemployed. Unfortunately, almost nobody expects those stimulus plans to be included in whatever deal is eventually reached.

So why aren’t we helping the unemployed? It’s not because we can’t afford it. Given those ultralow borrowing costs, plus the damage unemployment is doing to our economy and hence to the tax base, you can make a pretty good case that spending more to create jobs now would actually improve our longrun fiscal position.

Nor, I think, is it really ideology. Even Republicans, when opposing cuts in defense spending, immediately start talking about how such cuts would destroy jobs — and I’m sorry, but weaponized Keynesianism, the assertion that government spending creates jobs, but only if it goes to the military, doesn’t make sense.

No, in the end it’s hard to avoid concluding that it’s about class. Influential people in Washington aren’t worried about losing their jobs; by and large they don’t even know anyone who’s unemployed. The plight of the unemployed simply doesn’t loom large in their minds — and, of course, the unemployed don’t hire lobbyists or make big campaign contributions.

So the unemployment crisis goes on and on, even though we have both the knowledge and the means to solve it. It’s a vast tragedy — and it’s also an outrage.

COLUMN

It will be an ‘odd’ year in next year’s state Legislature A

USTIN — God nailed it by requiring Texas legislators to meet in regular session only in odd-numbered years (with “odd” as the operative and appropriate word).

Looks like next year is an odd one, which means 140 days of makin’ bacon at the Capitol, which means about five months of philosophical fights among various interests, which means it could sound kind of like the 2012 elections that consumed many months and many hundreds of millions of dollars.

I recently heard a 10minute version of the discussion that will pervade the session. It was a basic discussion of basic differences about what government should and shouldn’t do. It’s an important conversation. And because it’s often a contentious conversation, I appreciated the civil tone of the version I heard at a recent conference to help new Texas legislators get up to speed.

(History tells us some never will.)

Taxes Rep. Myra Crownover, RDenton, ignited the discussion by saying that Texas is “by design and by desire a low-tax state” and that ””t wants to be a low-service state.” An audience member asked her to define “low-service state.”

Crownover, now the House

“

KEN HERMAN

GOP Caucus chair, offered a GOP boilerplate response.

“I think Texans respect taking care of themselves.

They want to be independent. They don’t want to be dependent on government,” she said. “That does not mean there (are not) very core functions of government that private industry or private individuals cannot do.

‘Choices’ “But I think Texans ... have respect for the individual, respect for choices that individuals can make, and they don’t want government (as the) be-all and end-all in the lives of Texans,” she said.

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, DAustin, delivered counterpoint by way of Democratic boilerplate.

“It’s probably by design, I would think,” he said of Texas’ low-service status.

“Is it good or bad? It depends if you need those services. If you need those services, and they’re not there, then it’s a bad thing.”

People concerns Rodriguez,

who

has

many low-income constituents, said “taking care of people is not a cheap proposition.” (At this point let’s acknowledge how especially expensive it is to take care of people who opt not to take care of themselves.)

“Government is not there to take care of you every step of the way,” Rodriguez said.

Health care Crownover offered the personal responsibility message in a health care context.

“We know that people have tremendous health challenges. But the thing that all the health insurance and all the medical care in the whole world is not going to address is when we have 14 million people that are obese,” she said. ”There’s not enough money in the world to address that. If you address smoking and if you address obesity, you’re halfway there. Then you have a problem you can manage.”

More respect In the end, what we had was a respectful discussion between two people with different views of government. Good for them. Let’s hope for more of that during the legislative session that begins Jan. 8.

Because they have the numbers (which is because they win elections), the Re-

publicans will prevail. The real battle will be to make sure the GOP victories don’t come at the cost of needed services. And let’s acknowledge the legitimate debate about defining “needed.”

Extremes Political polarization at its most extreme is hazardous to our nation’s health.

While most of us live somewhere in the middle, the most noise comes from the extremes.

I like what Austinite Matthew Dowd, a former George W. Bush adviser and now a political commentator, wrote in National Journal two years ago when the death of his sister from a drug overdose caused him to focus on some things.

Stereotypes “No, President Obama isn’t a socialist. He isn’t trying to ruin the country, and he doesn’t hate America. Sarah Palin isn’t a dimwit without anything valuable to say or contribute to the country. Republicans aren’t all greedy and corporate stooges. Democrats aren’t all Big Government liberals and against capitalism.”

(Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.

Email: kherman@statesman.com.)

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To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The

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Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Zlocal

THE BLOTTER ASSAULT

PAGE 5A

‘Power Breakfast’ is Wed. Dance to greet the new year at center SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Roberto Piedra, 31, was arrested and charged with assault at about 2 a.m. Nov. 30 in the 800 block of Diaz Avenue. Deputies say Piedra was intoxicated and causing trouble at a residence where he was not wanted at. Piedra was released from custody to appear in court at a later date.

Amado Rufino Martinez Jr., 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault at about 3 p.m. Sunday in the intersection of Fourth Street and Zapata Avenue.

Deputies say the man brandished a machete at the complainant. No one was harmed. Martinez is out on bail.

BURGLARY Jose Guadalupe Delgado Jr., 21, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana at about 5:45 p.m.

Tuesday at U.S. 83 and Davis Lane. In addition, deputies served him with a burglary arrest warrant issued by Frio County. He is out on bond.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF A 16-year-old male was arrested and charged with criminal mischief at about 3:15 p.m. Nov. 30 in the 1500 block of Medina Avenue. He caused $200 worth of damages inside a residence, according to deputies. He was taken to Webb County Youth Village.

DWI Mario Alberto Villarreal, 37, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, refusal, at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday at Pety and Monterrey lanes in the Siesta Shore subdivision. He is out on bail.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION Patrick Edward Heaton, 60, was arrested and charged with public intoxication at about 8:45 p.m. Dec. 30 in the 1300 block of U.S. 83. He was given time served.

STABBING Deputies responded to a domestic dispute at 11:09 p.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of South Siesta Lane. A Zapata County sheriff’s spokesman said a man was stabbed during a fight. The victim was taken to a local clinic for treatment. Investigators are looking into the case.

THEFT A theft was reported at 2:32 p.m. Tuesday in the 5200 block of McAllen Lane.

The Zapata Economic Development Corporation will host a “Power Breakfast” on Wednesday at the Zapata Technical & Advanced Education Center multipurpose room at 605 U.S. 83 at 7:30 a.m.

Featured speaker for the event is former Texas state Sen. Hector Uribe. Uribe, a government relations consultant for Zapata County, will discuss the Texas legislative process.

Since 2005, Zapata County Commissioner’s Court has taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the convening of the Texas legislature every two years.

They have adopted a legislative agenda, and instructed their legislative consultant to be an advocate for the county.

These initiatives have led to the funding of $1.5 million for the Zapata Technical and Advanced Education Center, the granting of ordinance and zoning powers to the County of Zapata to help guide development, and the bill that allowed the county to raise the hotel/motel tax to provide for the economic development of the county.

Uribe will discuss why it’s important for each business and person interested in the economic development of Zapata

County to closely follow the actions of the Texas Legislature.

On the second Wednesday of every month, the ZEDC hosts Zapata community leaders from government, education, and business for an informal update of community activities and networking.

Local and regional leaders will be given opportunities to present brief updates on their respective organizations’ recent activities important to the business community. Expected representatives will include the ZEDC, Zapata County, Zapata Technical & Advanced Education Center, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality-Water Master, Zapata County Independent School District, and the Zapata County Museum of History.

The ZEDC invites all community and business members to participate in the Power Breakfast series, which are free events, open to the public, and do not require RSVP to attend.

The Power Breakfast series will be held at ZTAC, which surrounds the community center. Parking for the event is at the Zapata Community Center parking area for business and community members.

Peggy Umphres-Moffett and staff can be reached at 956-765-1113 or through email at info@zapataedc.com.

Contest seeks photographs featuring Christmas lights

By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

A state-wide Christmas photo contest is being sponsored by an Austin restaurant and coffee roasting company.

The All About Texas Christmas Lights Photo Contest is open to anyone and has three rules: photos must feature at least one Christmas light, must be taken somewhere in Texas and must be taken during the 2012 holiday season.

First prize is an iPad and gift certificate prizes will be given to second place, third place and 15 honorable mentions.

The contest is sponsored

by Hula Hut Restaurant and Mozart’s Coffee Roasters. The photos will be judged by a panel of nine judges.

Contest spokesperson Katrine Formby said this is the second year the Austin businesses have partnered to sponsor the contest.

“We had almost 300 entries last year,” Formby said. “I am shocked at how creative people have been in these submissions.”

She added that a big screen TV at Mozart’s Coffee rotates all the entries with all the information relating to them.

“It’s fun for people, as they’re sipping their coffee, to see a lot Christmas

lights,” said Formby.

The deadline for submissions is midnight Tuesday, Dec. 18. Formby said a block party will be held the following Thursday to announce the winners with free hot chocolate, cookies, and coffee served and free photos with Santa at the restaurants, 3825 Lake Austin Blvd.

Information on how to submit an entry and details about the prizes may be obtained at www.allabouttexaschristmaslights.com. The entries will be uploaded to Google’s photo sharing site, Picasa Web. (Rick Villarreal may be reached at 728-2528 or rvillarreal@lmtonline.com)

By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

A New Year’s Eve dance will be held at the Zapata Community Center on Monday, Dec. 31, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The event is sponsored by the Zapata Environmental Civic Organization and proceeds from the dance will go toward markers and pavers in honor of area musicians, said the organization’s chairperson, Omelia Zapata.

Zapata said this year marks the 60th anniversary of the town’s relocation after the construction of Falcon Dam. A ceremony is planned for Oct. 19, the official anniversary date, to rename Hidalgo Boulevard to Intocable Boulevard. Pavers along the street will feature the names of bands and their members.

There are also plans to install four markers along the boulevard.

“We’re going to have a reunion because we have many people that were from Zapata who played with bands like Little Joe y La Familia, Sunny Ozuna and the Sunliners, Pobreza, Los Peppers and The Silhouettes,” said Zapata. She said the markers will be unveiled on that date.

Zapata said the Environmental Civic Organization was formed last year and is dedicated toward beautification projects and exhibits in the community.

The New Year’s dance will feature several groups, including El Conjunto Diamante de Trey Gonzalez, Potrillo, Klibre, Vizzion and Cindy Sanchez. Tickets are $20 per person and may be obtained by calling 750-1384 or 765-1265. Table reservations are also available.

(Rick Villarreal may be reached at 728-2528 or rvillarreal@lmtonline.com)

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

SÁBADO 8 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2012

Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 8 DE DICIEMBRE LAREDO — El Mercado Agrícola “El Centro de Laredo” es de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en Plaza Jarvis, avenida Salinas y calle Matamoros.

Habrá frutas, vegetales, tacos de nopales, café, pan, regalos, tazas aromáticas, jabones, actividades infantiles, entre otras cosas.

LAREDO — Hoy es la Jornada Sabatina 2012 de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. Se realizan trámites de pasaportes, matrículas consulares, así como asistencia consular en el ámbito de protección.

LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “Día Familiar de Película” proyectando ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’ a las 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. y 6 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares.

LAREDO — El Bazaar es hoy de 2 p.m. a 6 p.m. en French Quarter, 1605 E Del Mar Blvd. Participan artistas locales.

Zfrontera Planes integrales

PÁGINA 7A

SERVICIO

SALVADOR TREVIÑO: Dijo han realizado obras en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero y Miguel Alemán.

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas anunció que tiene contempladas obras relacionadas al servicio de agua potable y para el tratamiento de aguas residuales en varias ciudades.

Actualmente se elaboran los estudios y proyectos para los municipios de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Camargo, Díaz Ordaz, Reynosa, Valle Hermoso, San Fernando, Padilla, González, El Mante, Xicoténcatl, Ocampo, Antiguo Morelos, Nuevo Morelos y Jaumave, informó Salvador Treviño Garza, Secretario de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente.

años el Gobierno de Tamaulipas espera invertir 2.437 millones de pesos.

“En saneamiento realizamos 54 obras y un estudio para 242.800 familias en 12 municipios, con inversión de 404’493.000 pesos”, comentó Treviño.

Tales trabajos permiten que ahora haya un 62% de cobertura en saneamiento del agua en Tamaulipas.

“Con la planta tratadora de aguas residuales de Rio Bravo, en etapa de prueba, y con la planta oeste de Matamoros, en proceso de construcción, lograremos el 70 por ciento de la cobertura”, agregó él.

En cuanto al programa “Agua

Esto lo comentó tras hacer un recuento de los trabajos realizados durante el 2012 en todo el estado.

Por ejemplo, en nueve cabeceras municipales, como son Jaumave, El Mante, Miguel Alemán, Victoria, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Madero, Río Bravo y Altamira, se desarrollaron proyectos integrales con inversión de casi 608 millones de pesos.

Además, a fin de consolidar el servicio de agua potable en tales municipalidades, en los próximos

Limpia” en el pasado año se realizaron 3.000 muestreos de agua para verificar su calidad en 1.5000 localidades. A la vez se impartieron talleres para capacitarlos en el saneamiento básico, se instalaron 47 cloradores en sistemas de abastecimiento de agua y se construyeron 10 estructuras de protección de fuentes de abastecimiento para evitar su contaminación, explicó Treviño.

Finalmente explicó que en cuanto al alcantarillado se realizaron 29 obras para 28.627 familias de 14 municipios con una inversión de 106’255.000 pesos y con ello, alcanzar una cobertura del orden del 87.5 por ciento en Tamaulipas.

NAVIDAD 2012

MAGIA DE TEMPORADA

LUNES 10 DE DICIEMBRE LAREDO — El programa de Asistencia Voluntaria VITA ofrece un curso de entrenamiento para reporte de impuestos, inicia hoy y ontinúa hasta el 14 de diciembre en Goodwill Job Help Center, de 5:30 p.m. a 8:30 p.m. El objetivo es preparar voluntarios como preparadores de impuestos para la temporada 2013. Informes e inscripciones al 726-4462.

LAREDO — Hoy es el Festival “Shoot to Kill”, con los trabajos de estudiantes de cine en TAMIU, de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. en el teatro del Centro Estudiantil de la Universidad.

JUEVES 13 DE DICIEMBRE LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta a las 3:30 p.m., “The Little Star That Could”; y, a las 4:30 p.m., “New Horizons”. Costo: 5 dólares (las dos funciones).

LAREDO — “Noche de Casino”, a las 8 p.m. en Caesars Reception Hall, 5430 Riverside Dr., a beneficio de la familia de Gerardo Montiel Miranda†. Cooperación: 40 dóalres. Informes en 237-1443.

NUEVO LAREDO, México — Concierto para Todos presenta a Rolando Esquivel, a las 6 p.m. en la Sala Sergio Peña. Entrada gratuita.

VIERNES 14 DE DICIEMBRE LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara presenta: a las 6 p.m., “Holiday Music Magic”; y, a las 7 p.m., “Mystery of the Christmas Star”. Costo: 4 dólares, niños, y 5 dólares, adultos.

LAREDO — Presentación del Coro de la Escuela Primaria Newman inicia a las 6 p.m. en la Cafetería de Alexander High School, 3600 E. Del Mar Blvd. Entrada gratuita.

LAREDO — “Expressivo” un show de música y arte será en Caffe Dolce, 1708 calle Victoria, de 6 p.m. a 10 p.m. Música por: Hemingway, Archer Crab y When We Meet. Artistas y vendedores: Erin Shea, George González, y Teresita de la Torre. Cuadros a 5 dólares.

Entrada gratuita.

LAREDO — Baloncesto: Toros vs Aguas (GDA) en Laredo Energy Arena a las 7:30 p.m. Más información en (956) 717-TORO. LAREDO — Umano Aché regresa a Laredo. Se presenta esta noche en Aj’s, 9652 McPherson Rd., a las 9:30 p.m.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El jueves por la noche se realizó el encendido del pino navideño en Ciudad Victoria, capital del estado de Tamaulipas, por parte del Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú y su esposa, María del Pilar González de Torre. El pino, dijo Torre Cantú, refleja “los sueños, las esperanzas, los buenos deseos, la alegría, el esfuerzo y el trabajo de los tamaulipecos”.

De la misma forma dio inicio el programa “Navidad Mágica 2012”. Los 43 municipios de Tamaulipas celebrarán eventos similares durante el fin de semana.

TURISMO

SEGURIDAD

Continúa rescate de espacios históricos en Tamaulipas

Detonan artefactos en capital

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

La Casa de la Batalla en Ciudad Mier, México, que data de 1842, fue uno de los varios edificios restaurados este año por el Gobierno de Tamaulipas.

El rescate de espacios históricos permite la preservación de tales lugares los cuales dan identidad cultural y son un atractivo turístico, dijo en un comunicado de prensa Mónica González García, Secretaria de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo (Sedet).

El presupuesto ejercido de 15’600.000 pesos también incluyó la remodelación del centro histórico de Matamoros.

Otras acciones reveladas durante Segundo Informe de Gobierno de Egidio Torre Cantú, en pro del turismo son: la con-

“

“El turismo cultural es uno de los rubros que representan un potencial para el estado”.

MÓNICA GONZÁLEZ GARCÍA, TITULAR SEDET

clusión de la tercera etapa del mejoramiento de imagen urbana en la cabecera municipal de Gómez Farías, la remodelación de la plaza principal y las fachadas circundantes; en el ejido Alta Cima se rehabilitaron viviendas y se mejoró la imagen urbana; y, en Tula, se lleva a cabo el rescate del centro histórico con obras de mejoramiento de imagen urbana y de señalización tu-

rística.

Entre Gómez Farías, el Ejido Alta Cima y Tula la inversión fue de casi con 33 millones de pesos.

“El turismo cultural es uno de los rubros que representan un potencial para el estado”, sostuvo González, agregando que los recursos aplicados pretenden incentivar el flujo de visitantes.

ATENCIÓN A PAISANOS El Gobierno de Tamaulipas dio inicio al programa “En tu Camino Cuentas con Nosotros” que coordina a dependencias estatales a fin de ofrecer atención y auxilio a los paisanos que ingresan desde los Estados Unidos por los puertos fronterizos de Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa y Matamoros, México. El banderazo de salida estuvo a cargo del Secretario General de Gobierno, Morelos Canseco Gómez, en Reynosa. El programa estará vigente hasta el 9 de enero del 2013.

SÁBADO 15 DE DICIEMBRE LAREDO — Laredo Wrestling Alliance presenta “Seasons Beating II” a las 7 p.m. en Texas Army National Guard, 6001 NE Bob Bullock Loop. Costo: 6 dólares.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Dos artefactos explosivos fueron detonados sobre avenida Tamaulipas en Ciudad Victoria, capital de Tamaulipas, el miércoles 5 de diciembre.

En un comunicado de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública y la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado, indica que los hechos se reportaron a las 12:35 p.m.

Las detonaciones ocurrieron en el Fraccionamiento Villarreal, cerca de un centro comercial. El reporte no indica el nombre del negocio, pero sí aclara que nadie resultó herido aunque hubo “daños parciales a un vehículo y el pavimento”.

Uno de los artefactos detonó a un costado de una camioneta oficial que se encontraba en el estacionamiento exterior, a 60 metros del acceso a Casa de Gobierno, resultando con daños materiales leves, indica el reporte de la PJGE. El otro artefacto detonó sobre avenida Tamaulipas, frente al centro comercial, provocando daños parciales en el pavimento, pero sin lastimar a ninguna de las personas que transitaban por ese sector, aclara el comunicado.

Primeras indagaciones revelan que los sospechosos se desplazaban a bordo de un vehículo Volkswagen Golf, color blanco.

El caso sigue siendo investigado por elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional y la Delegación de la Procuraduría General de la República en Tamaulipas.

Local

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Man jailed after incident

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Deputies have arrested a man accused of breaking into a home Nov. 27.

Johnny R. Scarberry Jr., 27, was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation and theft. He remained behind bars at the Zapata Regional Jail on a combined $35,000 bond set by Justice of the Peace Juan Fernando Muñoz.

During the evening hours of Nov. 27, Zapata County deputies responded to a SCARBERRY “suspicious male” report coming from the 200 block of Los Ebanos Road.

Deputies received information on the man and identified him at the scene as Scarberry, according to Sgt. Mario Elizondo.

He added that deputies recovered a small item valued at less than $50 dollars. Elizondo said the sheriff ’s office encourages citizens to be vigilant with one another to prevent burglaries.

Report suspicious activity to the sheriff ’s office at 765-9960 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 765-TIPS (8477).

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Chase leads to pot find

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Roma police officers and the Zapata County sheriff ’s deputies teamed up to arrest a Zapata man who had led officers in a chase in Starr County.

Sheriff ’s deputies received a request for assistance in a chase from Roma police at about 11:15 p.m. Monday. Officers were chasing a man driving a 2002 Chevy Trail-

blazer, said sheriff ’s Sgt. Mario Elizondo.

The chase ended when deputies GUARDIAN spiked the suspect’s vehicle tires in southern Zapata County. Once the vehicle stopped, authorities seized six cellophane wrapped bundles containing marijuana.

According to Elizondo,

the pot weighed 156 pounds and had an approximate street value of $21,000. Officers identified the driver as Pedro Francisco Guardian, 19, of Zapata.

Roma officers took custody of Guardian and took him to the Starr County Jail. Guardian later posted bond.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Judge grants pot case continuance

RESTAURANT HOSTS MCTEACHER’S NIGHT

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Courtesy photo

Villarreal Elementary recently participated in McTeacher’s night at the McDonald’s Resturant in Zapata.

Pictured are Dalia Garcia; Ana Mariela Martinez, principal; Flor Chavez, manager; and Cynthia Morales.

A federal judge has granted continuance on the case in which an Alice man was detained Oct. 11 while transporting 14,353 pounds of marijuana in Zapata County.

Defense counsel representing Enrique Morin Jr., 36, also submitted a waiver of speedy trail, which U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo granted as well. A pretrial conference has been set for Jan. 14 in Courtroom 2A. Morin was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilo-

grams or more of marijuana, according to an indictment returned Nov. 6.

U.S. Border Patrol agents detained him near Dolores Creek along U.S. 83 when agents spotted a tractor hauling a large flatbed trailer with a large square metal container.

A narcotics detection dog alerted agents to possible contraband in the container. Federal authorities noticed “fresh tool marks” on a tampered electrical box, according to court documents.

Behind two trap doors, agents discovered several bundles containing marijuana. The 14,353 pounds of pot had an estimated street value of $11,482,552.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Graduation announced SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Courtesy photo

McDonald’s gave Villarreal Elementary an opportunity to raise money to benefit students on Nov. 13. At left is Cynthia Morales, and at right is Meli Macias.

Some 600 students will participate in fall commencement exercises at Texas A&M International University next Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Kinesiology-Convocation Building.

Ceremonies for the A.R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business will be at 9 a.m.

College of Education and College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ ceremonies are scheduled at 1 p.m.

College of Arts and Sciences ceremonies are at 5 p.m.

Commencement speaker for the San-

chez School of Business will be Cliffe Killam, partner, Corporate Planning and Business Development for the Killam Oil Company.

Commencement speaker for the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Nursing and Health Sciences will be Dr. Rex H. Ball, Professor of History and founding faculty member.

The university has a dedicated micro site on commencement with information continually updated at www.tamiu.edu/ commencement.

For additional information, contact at 956-326-2250.

National

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Doc gets 20 years in medical fraud

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge on Friday sentenced a doctor to 20 years in prison and ordered her to repay nearly $8.2 million for fraud at a former Mississippi cancer center she ran. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III said he was “appalled” at how Dr. Meera Sachdeva treated patients at a vulnerable time of their lives.

Syringes were re-used and different patients’ chemotherapy drugs were drawn from the same bag at Rose Cancer Center in the small town of Summit, Jordan said. He said prosecutors were unable to prove drugs were watered down, as they originally believed.

“It’s a very small thing to send this woman to jail for the next 20 years when you compare it to the damage she has done,” Jordan said from the bench.

Sachdeva, 50, declined to speak in court Friday.

Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled around her waist and at her ankles, she showed little emotion and did not turn to look at several former patients or their families who were in the courtroom.

Sachdeva founded Rose Cancer Center in Summit in 2005. She pleaded guilty July 13 to one count of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements.

Prosecutors said she submitted claims for chemotherapy services that were supposedly given while she was out of the country.

Jordan also sentenced two others in the case Friday.

The clinic’s office manager, Brittany McCoskey, 26, of Monticello, was sentenced to 13 months in prison and ordered to help pay $55,069 in restitution. She

“

She was my helpmate ... I lost my right arm when I lost her.”

ERNEST WHITTINGTON

previously pleaded guilty May 17 to making false statements.

McCoskey said Friday she knew about a bone marrow biopsy being done by a phlebotomist, whose job is collecting blood. The biopsy should’ve been done by a doctor. McCoskey said she knew it was wrong but she didn’t report it to authorities because, she said, “I was afraid of losing my job.”

Prosecutors said McCoskey blocked nurses from calling ambulances for patients who needed emergency care, and sent away a technician who went to the clinic to repair an important piece of medical equipment. They said she also falsified records.

“I know what I did was wrong, and if I could change all of this I would,” McCoskey said, her voice rising as she sobbed.

Jordan told McCoskey: “I’m not persuaded by the fact that, ‘Somebody told me to do it.’”

Monica Weeks, 40, of Madison, handled the clinic’s billing from her Ridgeland firm, Medical Billing Group. Jordan sentenced her to three months’ house arrest and three years’ probation and ordered her to help pay $19,550 in restitution. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy July 13.

“I’m truly sorry for the mistakes I made, and I promise nothing like this

will ever happen again,” Weeks told the judge.

Attorneys said dozens of people submitted letters of support for Weeks.

“Some of the letters said that she did nothing wrong,” Jordan said. “I disagree with that.”

The judge said that although Weeks voluntarily contacted authorities when she suspected wrongdoing at the clinic, she was involved in more than $19,000 of fraudulent billing.

Relatives of two former Rose Cancer Clinic patients testified Friday.

Rosetta Chairs of Metairie, La., said her older sister, Gloria Chairs, was treated there despite being wrongly diagnosed with cancer. Rosetta Chairs said she believes the treatments contributed to her sister’s death earlier this year at age 49.

Ernest Whittington, a Baptist minister from Liberty, Miss., said his wife of 61 years, Bettie, survived breast cancer but later developed bone cancer and was treated at Rose Cancer Clinic. He said she grew extremely ill while being treated at the clinic, and he believes it was because of the medicine she was given there. She died in August 2011.

“She was my helpmate all those years,” Whittington said. “I lost my right arm when I lost her.”

Civil lawsuits have also been filed against Sachdeva in state court.

The Mississippi Health Department closed Rose Cancer Clinic in July 2011 because of “unsafe infection control practices” after 11 patients were hospitalized with the same bacterial infection. The scare led officials to test nearly 300 cancer patients for infections such as HIV. The department has said none of the patients tested had blood-borne viral infections related to the clinic’s care.

Photo by Nick Ut | AP

A woman walks past a dead male fin whale that washed up Monday on a private beach in Malibu, Calif. on Thursday. The rotting carcass near celebrity homes is causing a gigantic cleanup problem.

Rotting whale becomes spectacle in Malibu

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON ASSOCIATED PRESS

MALIBU, Calif. — The decaying corpse of a huge fin whale was a sad spectacle Friday on the shore of a cove where it washed ashore nearly a week earlier.

With no government agency taking action to remove the rapidly rotting mammal from Little Dume beach, it appeared that the job would be left to decomposition and nature’s scavengers.

A few people wandered down the narrow beach at the foot of a high coastal bluff to look at the remains — white bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes trailing along the water’s edge.

The smell had largely faded away, but still attached to the shoes of those who came near.

Some people took pictures, a boy poked the bones and dogs sniffed it.

“It’s really sad that this is my first time seeing a

whale,” said Ingrid De La O, a Malibu resident. “It’s mind-boggling to see this immense huge thing that lives in the water.”

The 40-foot-long, 40,000pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

The homes and estates of celebrities and other wealthy line the cliffs high above the slender beach. Access is extremely limited and curious beachcombers had to hike on the sand from the few public parking lots farther up the beach.

“From the evidence that we have so far, it appears that it was hit by a ship,” said Jonsie Ross, marine mammal coordinator for the California Wildlife Center.

James Respondek, a real estate agent who lives in the area, worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a

threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove, and to his favorite surfing spot down the beach. He said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

“There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. ‘I don’t have a boat, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources,’ they all told me,” he said.

Looking over the whale on Friday, Malibu resident Ben Dossett suggested there was now no need to try to remove it.

“You look at the difference between what it was on Tuesday to what it is today. I think they can just leave it and let nature take its course,” he said.

Fin whales are endangered, and about 2,300 live along the West Coast.

They’re the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

National

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Fights lock down school

By OSKAR GARCIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Jud Burkett/The Spectrum & Daily News | AP

World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor Garth Sawyers talks about his experiences in Worthen Park during a Pearl Harbor Day memorial remembrance ceremony Friday, in St. George, Utah.

30 survivors attend Pearl Harbor attack observance

By AUDREY MCAVOY ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — More than 2,000 people at Pearl Harbor and many more around the country are marking the 71st anniversary of the Japanese attack that killed thousands of people and launched the United States into World War II. The USS Michael Murphy, a recently christened ship named after a Pearl Harbor-based Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan, sounded its ship’s whistle Friday to start a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., marking the exact time the bombing began in 1941.

Crew members lined the edge of the Navy guidedmissile destroyer in the harbor where the USS Arizona and USS Utah, battleships that sank in the attack, still lie. Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 fighter jets flew overhead in a special “missing man” formation to break the silence.

“Let us remember that this is where it all began.

Let us remember that the arc of history was bent at this place 71 years ago today and a generation of young men and women reached deep and rose up to lead our nation to victory,” Rhea Suh, Interior Department assistant secretary, told the crowd. “Let us remember and be forever grateful for all of their sacrifices.”

About 30 survivors, many using walkers and canes, attended the commemoration.

Edwin Schuler, of San Jose, Calif., said he remembered going up to the bridge of his ship, the USS Phoenix, to read a book on a bright, sunny Sunday morning in 1941 when he

saw planes dropping bombs.

“I thought: ‘Whoa, they’re using big practice bombs.’ I didn’t know,” said Schuler, 91.

Schuler said he’s returned for the annual ceremony about 30 times because it’s important to spread the message of remembering Pearl Harbor.

Ewalt Shatz, 89, said returning to Pearl Harbor “keeps the spirit going, the remembering of what can happen.”

Shatz, who now lives in Riverside, Calif., was on board the USS Patterson that morning when the alarm sounded. His more experienced shipmates were down below putting a boiler back together so Shatz found himself manning a 50-caliber machine gun for the first time. The Navy credited him with shooting a Japanese plane.

“That was some good shooting,” said U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Cecil Haney, who recounted Shatz’ experience in the keynote address. “Thank you for your courage and tenacity — our nation is truly grateful.”

Online, Pearl Harbor became a popular topic on Facebook and other social networks, trending worldwide on Twitter and Google Plus as people marked the anniversary with status updates, personal stories of family and photos.

The Navy and National Park Service, which is part of the Interior Department, hosted the ceremonies held in remembrance of the 2,390 service members and 49 civilians killed in the attack.

Friday’s event gave special recognition to members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, who flew

noncombat missions during World War II, and to Ray Emory, a 91-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor who has pushed to identify the remains of unknown servicemen.

The ceremony also includes a Hawaiian blessing, songs played by the U.S. Pacific Fleet band and a rifle salute from the U.S. Marine Corps.

President Barack Obama marked the day on Thursday by issuing a presidential proclamation, calling for flags to fly at half-staff on Friday and asking all Americans to observe the day of remembrance and honor military service members and veterans.

“Today, we pay solemn tribute to America’s sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu,” Obama said in a statement. “As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright — whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free.”

Daniel Inouye, Hawaii’s senior U.S. senator and a member of an Army unit of Japanese-Americans who volunteered to fight in World War II, said the Pearl Harbor attack evoked anger, fierce patriotism and racism.

“Our way of life has always, and will always be, protected and preserved by volunteers willing to give their lives for what we believe in,” the Democrat said.

The Navy and park service resumed taking visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits atop the sunken battleship, after the ceremony.

HONOLULU — A high school on Hawaii’s Big Island was temporarily closed after officials say racial tension and multiple fights this week culminated in a brawl involving 20 to 30 students, with eight arrests.

Police and state education officials said Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona was closed Friday as teachers and administrators figured out how to get control of problems with students as they begin finals next week.

Nobody was seriously hurt in a Thursday fight that led to a campus lockdown at the school of 1,600 students, Hawaii County police said. Police said eight students — seven boys and a girl — were arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and re-

leased.

The principal, Wilfred Murakami, said the fights resulted from ongoing “bullying through racial and cultural taunts.”

“The result overflowed on the Micronesian side where there was frustration, yelling and screaming — a reaction,” Murakami told West Hawaii Today. He didn’t immediately return calls and email seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Hawaii Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz noted no one was seriously hurt but said there had been concerns about “social issues” at the school.

“Kids are taunting each other. Some resulted in physical altercations,” Dela Cruz said. “Not many — no major injuries — but enough where it’s caused disruption for the last two days.”

Dela Cruz said a smaller fight on Wednesday prompted another campus lockdown, where students were told to go back inside classrooms and stay there.

Immigrants from the Federated States of Micronesia are a small but fastgrowing group in Hawaii as a result of a 1986 pact that allows citizens from three Pacific Island nations to come to the United States in exchange for allowing the U.S. to use defense sites.

School officials are not just concerned about fighting, but posturing and students anticipating fights.

“People gather to watch and that needs to stop,” she said.

Kailua-Kona, on the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island, is known for fishing tournaments and hosting the yearly Ironman World Championship triathlon.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A said.

Texas’ booming population means its current 5 million-plus public school enrollment increases by as much as 80,000 every year. But the 2011 legislative session failed to provide enough new funding to keep up with enrollment, instead passing $5.4 billion in overall cuts to public education and classroom grant programs for things such as pre-kindergarten programs — sparking the state’s first decrease in per-student spending since World War II. Straus wouldn’t say he will push to find the additional $5.4 billion necessary to roll back all of those funding cuts. He did say, though, that since Texas’ economy has weathered the recession and is strong again, lawmakers have more options.

“Growing economy, growing revenues, growing population,” Straus said.

“There’s an ability to keep up now, but how far we can go in restoring certain decisions that we made last time remains to be seen. I hope we can. We’re certainly going to try to do everything we can to improve public education.”

More than 600 school districts have sued the state for failing to meet Texas’ constitutional mandate to fund public schools. Most observers expect them to win, but it could be years before the case works its way through the appeals process.

Straus said his other top priorities will be increasing investment in state infrastructure and resources like reservoirs to ensure Texas has enough water for the future. He also wants to put an end to accounting tricks that have for decades let lawmakers claim to have balanced the budget by simply moving money around, and to pass legislation that will encourage growth in the state’s manufacturing sector.

The speaker said he was encouraged by a number of water proposals, including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst recently floating the idea of taking $1 billion from the Texas Rainy Day Fund to start a water infrastructure development bank, which would help cities and counties pay for environmental studies, permits and other ground-

work for new construction.

“I think it’s very encouraging that the discussion is beginning now and in advance of the session to address one of the issues that we absolutely have to seriously address,” Straus said.

In the past, maintaining the Rainy Day Fund’s $8.1 billion has been a top priority for Gov. Rick Perry and many tea partybacked lawmakers who often oppose Straus. Last session, Democrats called for spending some of the fund rather than cutting public education so much — but many Republicans said doing so was fiscally unwise.

The tea party has been largely silent on the Dewhurst proposal, however, and Straus said he doesn’t expect the issue to inflame them.

“Tea party, liberals, conservatives, everyone lives because of water,” he said.

“Every industry relies on it, and if there’s an overarching theme for this session for the House, it’s ‘how do we prepare for growth, growth that’s already occurred, growth that is continuing.’”

SANDY Continued from Page 1A sources are used responsibly and that the recovery effort is a shared undertaking.”

The measure blends aid for homeowners, businesses, and state and local government walloped by Sandy and comes with just a few weeks to go before Congress adjourns.

Whether it passes this month or gets delayed in whole or part until next year is unclear.

The massive request comes after protracted discussions with lawmakers and officials from impacted areas. Officials from the affected states had requested significantly more money, but they generally praised the request and urged Congress to enact it as quickly as possible.

“Today’s agreement on the administration’s request to Congress would authorize more than $60 billion in funding that will enable our states to recover, repair, and rebuild better and stronger than before,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said in a joint statement.

“We thank President Obama for his steadfast commitment of support and look forward to continuing our partnership in the recovery effort.”

Cuomo, a Democrat, and Christie, a Republican, came to Washington on Thursday to press for as large a disaster aid package as possible. Friday’s request was at the top end of what had been expected.

The aid request could face a turbulent path on Capitol Hill, especially from tea party House Republicans who are likely to press for budget cuts elsewhere to offset whatever disaster aid is approved. The looming fiscal cliff of expiring Bush-era tax cuts and automatic spending cuts to the Pentagon and domestic pro-

“

We should not shortchange nor add strings to the support residents, businesses and communities in my district and across the region desperately need.”

REPUBLICAN REP. FRANK LOBIONDO

grams complicates prospects for action in the next few weeks.

As is traditional in natural disasters, the request was not accompanied by offsetting spending cuts to defray its cost.

The aid will help states rebuild public infrastructure like roads and tunnels and help thousands of people displaced from their homes. Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

The request also comes with little time left in the final days of a congressional session dominated by an impasse in negotiations between the White House and Republican lawmakers over how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, a combination of expiring tax cuts and automatic spending cuts that total $500 billion for the first nine months of next year alone.

The measure contains $11.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s chief disaster relief fund and $17 billion for community development block grants, much of which would help homeowners repair or replace their homes. Another $11.7 billion would help repair New York City’s subways and other mass

transit damage, while $9.7 billion would go toward the government’s flood insurance program. Another $ 5.3 billion would go to the Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate flood future risks and rebuild damaged projects.

“While more may be needed in the long term, this robust package is a major first step that we will work to pass as quickly as possible in Congress to help devastated communities, families and businesses,” said Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., in a joint statement.

The praise was not universal, however.

“We should not shortchange nor add strings to the support residents, businesses and communities in my district and across the region desperately need,” said Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo, whose southern New Jersey district includes hardhit Atlantic City. “I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure the federal aid package passed

by Congress realistically matches the needs identified by the states on the ground.”

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio, said the speaker had received the request and would review it.

The late October storm

Even though 2011 was perhaps the Legislature’s most conservative session ever, Straus has been criticized by some grassroots groups for failing to get behind a few of their pet projects. Now, he faces a challenge from the right for the speakership by Rep. Bryan Hughes, a tea party favorite from Mineola. Straus has spent weeks traveling the state and meeting with lawmakers, however, and says he has broad bipartisan support for a third term.

If he retains his post, Straus will preside over a House where inexperience is the norm. The 150-member body will have more first- and second-term lawmakers than any Texas House in 40 years.

The speaker said he was excited about working with new legislators, but noted they’ll have a lot to learn.

“It’s easier and it’s more difficult in some ways,” Straus said. “This is the second cycle in a row of significant turnover and new faces, and it brings with it some new ideas, fresh faces, fresh thinking and a lot of members who don’t know what’s impossible.”

MARIJUANA Continued from Page 1A flooded parts of the East Coast when it roared ashore, creating a storm surge that left parts of New York City underwater and millions of people in several states without heat or electricity for weeks.

Superstorm Sandy is blamed for at least 125 deaths, including 60 in New York, 34 in New Jersey and 16 in Pennsylvania. At least seven people died in West Virginia, where the storm dropped heavy snow.

Sandy damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses affected.

While lawmakers say more money is needed — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut together are seeking about $83 billion in aid — lawmakers praised the administration for listening to suggestions on ways to make sure projects aren’t delayed by bureaucratic rules or a congressional ban on targeted spending.

“There is a great deal of flexibility that better allows us to help homeowners, small businesses, hospitals, beach communities, and localities rebuild, repair and protect themselves,” said a joint statement from New York and New Jersey’s senators — Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

On Tuesday, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, said the government’s disaster relief fund still has $4.8 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring.

So far, the government has spent about $2 billion in the 11 states struck by the storm.

to carry the bundles inside the vehicle,” a complaint states.

The marijuana weighed approximately 870 pounds.

It had an estimated street value of $695,200, according to Agent Efrain Perez, Border Patrol spokesman. Drug Enforcement Administration agents responded to the scene to take over the case.

In a post-arrest interview, the detainees told DEA agents they were being stashed at a home in Mexico waiting to be crossed.

“While at the stash house, several unknown male subjects advised them that in order for them to cross over to the United States, they had to transport marijuana into the United States,” a complaint states. The unidentified men told the suspects that by crossing the marijuana, their fees for crossing into the United States would be covered, according to court documents.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

RAYMUNDO ALVARADO Raymundo Alvarado, 87, passed away Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo.

Mr. Alvarado is preceded in death by his wife, Angela Alvarado; grandsons, Adrian R. Alvardo, Juan F. Alvarado and Juan A. Guzman Jr.; and a son-in-law, Faustino Buentello.

Mr. Alvarado is survived by his sons, Javier (Manuela) Alvarado, Antonio Alvarado, Eloy (Irma) Alvarado and Raymundo Alvarado; daughters, Natividad (Jesus) Campos, Matiana Buentello and Maria De Los Angeles (Luis Eduardo) Martinez; grandchildren, Carmen (Ruben) Olivo, Leticia (Roel) Melgoza, Marisol (Mario) Del Bosque, Griselda (Isac) Acuña, Edith Alvarado, Rosio (Leopoldo) Rodriguez, Javier Jr. (Lucia) Alvarado, Marcos R. (Irene) Alvarado, Jose Luis (Alta Gracia) Alvarado, Veronica (Venancio) Hernandez, Linda (Luis) Garcia, Brenda (Jorge) Ventura, Victor E. Alvarado, Irma G. Alvarado, Magda K. Alvarado, Cristobal Alvarado, Lupita Alvarado, Raymundo Alvarado, Daniela G. (Rogelio) Rodriguez, Karla M. Campos, Mayra A. (Josue) Lopez, Maria De Los Angeles San-

chez, Mario Alberto Buentello, Adalia A. (Lauro), Diana L. Martinez and Lizbeth Martinez; 36 greatgrandchildren; five greatgreat-grandchildren; stepbrother, Rosalino (Teresa) Alvarado; and by numerous nephews, nieces and many friends.

Burial was held at Panteon Municipal in Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. 83, Zapata.

International

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Tsunami warning lifted for Japan quake

By ELAINE KURTENBACH ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO — A strong earthquake Friday struck the same Japanese coast devastated by last year’s massive quake and tsunami, generating small waves but no immediate reports of heavy damage.

Several people along the northeastern coast were reportedly injured and buildings in Tokyo and elsewhere swayed for several minutes.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at 5:18 p.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The epicenter was 6.2 miles beneath the seabed and 150 miles offshore.

The area was shaken by repeated, smaller aftershocks, the agency said.

After the quake, authorities issued a warning

that a tsunami potentially as high as 2.2 yards could hit. Sirens whooped along the coast as people ran for higher ground.

Ishinomaki, a city in Miyagi, reported a tsunami 1 yard high and other towns reported smaller tsunamis.

About two hours after the quake struck, the tsunami warning was cancelled. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center earlier said there was no risk of a widespread tsunami.

Aiko Hibiya, a volunteer for the recovery in Minami-Sanriku, a coastal town devastated by last year’s tsunami, said she was at a friend’s temporary housing when the quake struck.

“It shook for such a long time,” she said.

She said other volunteers who had been in coastal areas were evacuated to a square and a parking lot as they waited

“

It shook for such a long time” VOLUNTEER AIKO HIBIYA

for the tsunami warning to be lifted.

Japan has barely begun to rebuild from last year’s magnitude-9.0 earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that swelled to 20 meters high in some areas, ravaging dozens of coastal communities in Miyagi and elsewhere.

About 19,000 people were killed and some 325,000 people remain displaced from their homes, living in barracks and other temporary quarters.

Damage reports Miyagi prefectural police said there were no immediate reports of

damage from Friday’s quake and tsunami, although traffic was being stopped in some places to check on roads.

Public television broadcaster NHK reported that five people were injured, including a 75-year-old woman in Miyagi who fell while fleeing the tsunami.

Police said they could not immediately confirm those reports.

Shortly before the earthquake struck, NHK broke off regular programming to warn that a strong quake was due to hit. Afterward, the announcer repeatedly urged all near the coast to flee to higher ground.

The Meteorological

Nurse in Kate hoax dies

By DANICA KIRKA AND CASSANDRA VINOGRAD

Agency has an early warning system that, using data from seismographs scattered across Japan, enables it to provide advance warning of the estimated intensity and timing of a major quake. The warning for Friday’s quake was issued six minutes before it struck, according to an unnamed official from the Meteorological Agency who spoke on national television more than an hour after the quake.

2011 quake The magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, killed or left missing some 19,000 people, devastating much of the coast.

Last year’s earthquake and tsunami also caused meltdowns at the Fukush-

ima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl in 1986.

Immediately following Friday’s quake, there were no problems at any of the nuclear plants operated by Fukushima DaiIchi operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., said a TEPCO spokesman, Takeo Iwamoto. Only two of Japan’s 50 nuclear plants are currently operating; the rest have been shut down for maintenance and safety checks while the country re-examines the future of nuclear power there.

All Nippon Airways spokesman Takuya Taniguchi said government officials were checking on the runways at Sendai airport. The two jets that were in the air went to other airports and all seven flights scheduled to go to Sendai for the day were cancelled, he said.

13 bodies found in Mexico

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ LONDON — The news that Prince William and the former Kate Middleton were expecting their first child — joyous news for a couple looking forward to starting a family — immediately turned bittersweet with the simultaneous announcement that the duchess was being hospitalized for acute morning sickness. Then there was an invasion of her privacy by two disc jockeys who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to gain information on her condition.

By Friday, the sadness merely deepened, with the news that the nurse who unwittingly took the hoax call had died.

The royal couple quickly issued a statement expressing their condolences over the death of Jacintha Saldanha, the 46-year-old mother of two duped by the Australian DJs, who had suddenly found herself at the vortex of a global incident. They stressed they had not complained about the hoax call, and indeed offered praise for the staff.

The hospital, too, stressed that Saldanha had not been reprimanded.

And yet the week can only be described as tragic, with the happiness so tarnished by the latest developments.

Saldanha was found dead early Friday at apartments affiliated with King Edward VII hospital in central London, where she worked for four years.

Police didn’t release a cause of death, but said they didn’t find anything suspicious. A coroner will make a determination on the cause.

2DayFM, the Australian station that performed the prank early Tuesday, said

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by San Tan | AP

Police Officers stand guard outside the King Edward VII hospital in central London where Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted with a severe form of morning sickness. in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that the two disc jockeys, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, would not return to the station until further notice. They had apologized for the hoax Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the station did not return messages seeking further comment. Greig and Christian’s Twitter accounts were deactivated following the news of Saldanha’s death.

Saldanha took the hoax call by the pair, who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess, the hospital said. She later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the duchess, who was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends,” hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said

in a statement. “Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague.”

St. James’s Palace, the office of the duchess and her husband Prince William, also expressed sadness at the death.

“On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times,” the palace said in a statement.

Saldanha’s family asked for privacy in a statement issued through police.

“We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha,” the statement said.

Australia’s media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Au-

thority, said it was looking into the hoax.

“These events are a tragedy for all involved, and I pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased nurse in London,” the authority’s chairman, Chris Chapman, said in a statement. “The ACMA does not propose to make any comments at this stage but will be engaging with the licensee, 2DayFM Sydney, around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call.”

MEXICO CITY — Police found the mutilated bodies of 13 people inside two vehicles abandoned in separate towns of the northern border state of Tamaulipas, an official said Friday.

Authorities first found the cut-up bodies of two women and three men late Thursday in a potato chip delivery truck abandoned in the parking lot of a supermarket in the town of El Mante, a Tamaulipas state official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk about the case.

The official said police also found a threatening message allegedly signed by the Gulf drug cartel.

An hour later, police found eight bodies in the town of Soto la Marina along with a message alleging the victims were members of the Gulf cartel.

Tamaulipas has been a war zone of shootouts and gruesome mass killings as the Zetas and Gulf drug

cartels battle each other in the state, which is home to cattle ranches, sorghum fields and the industrial city of Monterrey.

The Zetas were hit men for the Gulf cartel until they split in 2010, unleashing a bloody battle for control of northeastern Mexico.

In the border state of Coahuila, police found the bodies of four men hanging from a highway overpass in the capital city of Saltillo.

Coahuila state security spokesman Sergio Sisbeles said the victims found Friday had been tortured and had their feet and hands bound with duct tape. None had been shot and authorities were still trying to determine the cause of death, he said.

On Sunday, police found the mutilated bodies of seven men in Torreon, a city in southern Coahuila.

As does Tamaulipas, Coahuila state abuts Texas and it has seen a spike in drug-related violence from the Zetas fighting the Sinaloa drug cartel for territory.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL

JUNIOR TENNIS

Serving success Photo by Mary Altaffer | AP

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, left, and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel pose with the Heisman Trophy during a media availability on Friday in New York.

Manziel could make history Quarterback looks to be first freshman ever to win the Heisman

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Johnny Manziel certainly has the statistics worthy of a Heisman Trophy winner. He plays in the powerful Southeastern Conference. He has a signature win — all things Heisman voters typically look for.

The only question is whether the voters will give the award to a freshman for the first time.

Adrian Peterson, star running back for the Vikings and the only freshman to finish second in the voting, is hoping the jinx ends Saturday night.

“Hopefully, they don’t rob him like they did me,” Peterson, who lost by 328 votes to junior Matt Leinart in 2004, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I hope he

Courtesy photo

Sofia Ramirez, left, placed second in the Girls 10 and under division at the United States Tennis Association Laredo Junior ZAT Tennis Tournament. Trey Alvarez, right, took second place in the Boys 18 division.

Local tennis players excel at tournament

By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata is starting to produce some outstanding tennis players thanks to the efforts of coach Robert Alvarez. Two local players alone this early in the year have already produced a pair of runner up trophies at a major tournament in Laredo.

Zapata tennis players Trey Alvarez and Sofia Ramirez are get-

ting ready for the upcoming season as they made their rounds at a preseason tournament.

Alvarez and Ramirez made a trek north as they played in the United States Tennis Association Laredo Junior ZAT Tennis Tournament this past weekend.

Junior players from across the state of Texas descended on Laredo for this major zone tennis tournament.

Alvarez is no stranger to Zapa-

ta tennis and has been a force for the Hawks in the past two years.

He took second in the Boys 18 division while his up and coming younger teammate held her own.

Ramirez, who is only a fifth grader, placed second in the Girls 10 and under division to come away with hardware.

Zapata also was well represented by members of the Hawks and

See TENNIS PAGE 2B

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

wins.”

Manziel may be a favorite this year, but who knows?

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o are the other finalists and both can make strong cases, too.

But neither caught the attention of the fans quite like Johnny Football, who led the Aggies to an upset of No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Manziel accumulated 4,600 yards of total offense in 12 games to break the Southeastern Conference record for total yards in a season. The record was previously held by 2010 Heisman winner Cam Newton, who needed 14 games to pile up 4,327 yards.

The Aggies, who went 10-2 in their first season

See HEISMAN PAGE 2B

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Cowboys hanging on

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING, Texas — Tony Romo threw 13 interceptions in the first seven games and has just two since. He was booed lustily in two mistake-filled home losses, then broke Troy Aikman’s franchise record for touchdowns in the most efficient outing of his career.

The Dallas quarterback has used phrases such as “exhausting my brain” while the Cowboys have lived on the edge of the playoff chase, and their penchant for falling behind looked like it might wear out his right arm.

Romo won’t call this upand-down grind tougher than any other in six years of trying to get the Cowboys even remotely close to a Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.

It sure looks like it, though — even sounds like it.

“I constantly analyze what our team needs or what can help our football team, what we may need to change to help what or who we are and what this team needs to do to get better,” said Romo, who is a year away from the end of his

Photo by Joe Howell | AP

Houston running back Arian Foster (23) runs against the Titans in the third quarter on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

Texans perfect on road Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

By KRISTIE RIEKEN

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo passes against the Eagles on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys won 38-33.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

contract and now the married father of an 8-month old boy. “That’s always in my brain. How can I do it?

How can I help others? You think about it constantly.”

Because of the games and throws that got away, the Cowboys (6-6) may not survive another loss as they begin the final quarter of the season Sunday at Cincinnati (7-5). Dallas hasn’t reached the postseason

since 2009, when Romo had his only playoff victory and just the second for the Cowboys since their last Super Bowl win.

If the Cowboys are going anywhere, Romo will probably have to be the one leading them.

One of his classic scrambles and completions was the most important play in

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are the only NFL team that hasn’t lost on the road this season.

The Texans, 6-0 away from Houston, will face a big test Monday night when they travel to New England, a place where a visitor hasn’t won in December since 2002.

The Patriots have won 19 straight home games in December, with their

last loss at Gillette Stadium in the month coming in a 30-17 setback to the New York Jets on Dec. 22, 2002 The Texans are one of the many teams the Patriots have handled during that streak, with Houston losing 40-7 on Dec. 17, 2006 in its only visit there.

Coach Gary Kubiak said the Texans are playing with confidence and don’t panic on the road.

He preaches a simple mantra before each road game.

“It’s about how you play,” he said he tells them. “It’s not where you play.”

The Texans (11-1) have already secured a playoff spot, and need a win over the Patriots combined with a loss by the Colts to clinch their second straight AFC South title.

Kubiak likes how Houston has handled the noise on the road and thinks the team pulls together a bit more when faced with

See TEXANS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Crosby mulls options as NHL lockout drags on ASSOCIATED PRESS

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Sidney Crosby just wants to get back to work. At this point, where he takes the ice hardly matters.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star said Friday the prospect of lacing up his skates in Europe is growing more appealing as the NHL lockout nears the three-month mark. The latest round of talks between owners and players broke down Thursday night, leaving Crosby “disappointed” and considering other opportunities.

“I just want to play hockey,” Crosby told reporters after an informal workout with some of his teammates on Friday morning.

“As far as whatever option is best there, I’ll start thinking of it a lot more because this stuff is getting ridiculous.”

Crosby spent three days in New York this week as part of the negotiations and felt progress was being made until NHL commissioner Gary Bettman shot down any growing optimism during an emotionally charged press conference in which the commissioner scoffed at the idea the sides were close to a deal.

With no deal in the works, Crosby ended up taking a late-night flight back to Pittsburgh wondering what else the players could have done to move things along.

“I think we knew what the issues were and we moved on

Photo by Mary Altaffer | AP

Penguins’ Sidney Crosby speaks to reporters on Thursday in New York. Talks in the NHL labor fight broke down after just one hour Thursday night, and it isn’t known when the league and the players’ association would get back together. those,” Crosby said. “I think if it’s the case there like Gary said in his press conference, where they’re going to draw a line in the sand, just say that, don’t waste guys’ times there.”

The lockout has become another setback in a maddening two years for the game’s most popular player. The 2007 NHL MVP and

2010 Olympic gold medalist has been limited to just 28 games since January 2011 due to a series of debilitating concussions. He’s healthy now and signed a 12-year contract extension last summer that would keep him in Pittsburgh until his late-30s.

Yet instead of focusing on getting the Penguins back to the

Stanley Cup, Crosby has spent the last three months trying to help salvage at least part of the season.

All games through Dec. 14, along with the New Year’s Day Winter Classic and the All-Star game, have been canceled. The last NHL lockout resulted in the 2004-05 season getting wiped out.

“The foundation (for a deal) is

HEISMAN Continued from Page 1B in the SEC after moving from the Big 12, certainly hope Manziel is the one to finally break the freshman curse (Manziel is a redshirt freshman, not a true freshman).

On a website the school created to promote Manziel for the award, they point out that he’s different than many freshman.

Manziel enrolled in college in January 2010 and will be a junior academically this spring.

He turns 20 on Thursday, making him older than Mark Ingram was when he took home the Heisman as a sophomore in 2009.

He would also be just the second Aggie to win the award and the first since John David Crow in 1957. Crow got a push from his famous coach before the voting was done that season.

“If John David Crow doesn’t win the Heisman Trophy,” thenA&M coach Paul “Bear” Bryant said, “they ought to stop giving it.”

Crow got a good laugh this week when asked if he believed the same was true of Manziel.

“I don’t have near the audience that coach Bryant had,” he said, still chuckling. “I’m not sure how big that would go over.”

Then the 77-year-old former halfback got serious.

“He is very, very deserving,” Crow said. “I don’t care what age he is, whether he is righthanded or left-handed, wears a 17 shoe or nine shoe, he is very, very deserving of being named the outstanding player in college this year.”

Manziel’s whirlwind season had a modest beginning with him having to beat out two other quarterbacks to win the starting position in mid-August.

As his numbers grew, so did the legend of Johnny Football, a nickname Aggies bestowed him with as he settled in at College Station. When the Aggies beat the defending champion Crimson Tide on national television behind an outstanding performance by Manziel, the phrase seemed to be everywhere.

It’s a name that still amuses him.

“I don’t know if I really see it as a legend,” he said. “It’s more of a folk tale, I guess.”

His numbers alone seem like the stuff of some exaggerated Texas football folk tale. He has thrown for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns and run for 1,181 yards and 19 more scores to become the first freshman, first SEC player and fifth player overall to throw for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in a season.

But his eye-popping numbers don’t tell the whole story. The improvisation is what really sets him apart. Manziel has a knack for evading defenders, staying on his feet and finishing plays that seem impossible.

Kind of like Robert Griffin III, the Baylor star who won the Heisman last year. Or Fran Tarkenton, another wizard at avoiding defenders.

“I don’t think there’s many people in this world that could do some of the things he did,” Crow said. “He was born to run around back there — at least it looks that way to me.”

Manziel was so disappointed when he came out of spring practice as a backup that he enlisted the help of quarterback guru George Whitfield to refine his skills this summer. He spent a week at Whitfield Athletix in San Diego, training up to five hours a day with Whitfield, who has worked with scores of players including Newton, Vince Young and Andrew Luck.

Whitfield was struck by Manziel’s competitiveness and his desire to soak up every bit of knowledge that the coach had for not just him, but all of the quarterbacks in training.

Whitfield said the only other quarterback he’s seen who can improvise like Manziel is Newton. But he said the 6-foot-1 Manziel might be tougher to deal with than the 6-5 Newton.

“Cam poses a lot of problems because he’s so imposing,” Whitfield said. “Johnny, on the other hand, causes as many problems and it’s more overwhelming to defensive players because they think: ‘If I can just catch him, I can get him on the ground.’ But you can’t get him.”

He’s enjoyed watching Manziel develop this season, and saw some flashes of what he could be when the pair worked this summer.

“He’s got this great sense of awareness and vision. He’s so creative,” said Whitfield, who then offered a James Bond analogy. “There’s always some kind of 007 escape route in mind. If Cam is Superman, I would say that Johnny is like 007.”

Growing up in Kerrville, Texas, Manziel didn’t dream of football stardom. He always pictured his path leading to a baseball diamond.

“I always thought since I was a little kid that I would play pro baseball,” said Manziel, who also starred on his high school baseball team. “My biggest dream was that I wanted to play in the MLB. I wanted to play for the Rangers and wanted to play shortstop.”

But fate stepped in and altered his dream.

“Then football came along and took center stage,” he said.

Manziel’s success on the field seems almost too good to be true. And when he rescued a kitten from the middle of a busy, four-lane road near Kyle Field earlier this season, it only added to the mystique of Johnny Football. (The semi-daring rescue is referenced on his Heisman page.) .

He’s proud to have helped put the Aggies back in the spotlight and knows winning the Heisman would only add to it.

He’s got a fan in Peterson, who ran for an NCAA freshman record 1,925 yards at Oklahoma in 2004 and believes the only reason he didn’t win the Heisman was because he was a firstyear player.

“It’s sad when you think about it, because the Heisman goes to the best player in the country so the voters shouldn’t look at it and go over what they’ve done over their career,” Peterson said. “If he’s the best player that year? Then that’s what it needs to be.”

there and I don’t think we can move any more,” Crosby said.

“We’ve done everything from our side to make this work” Though any foreign team that signs Crosby would also have to take out an expensive insurance policy, Crosby maintains playing overseas is a “practical” alternative.

TENNIS Continued from Page 1B Lady Hawks teams as they hit the Laredo courts.

Making the trip and competing in the boys 18 division were juniors Alex Reyes, Chris Davila and Carlos Poblano.

All four boys advanced to the quarter finals, giving Zapata four players deep in the tourna-

ment with Alvarez breaking through to the championship game.

Zapata does not swing into their tennis season until the spring and is looking to build on last year’s success that ended at the regional tournament with Alvarez leading the way.

TEXANS Continued from Page 1B such adversity.

“It’s really kind of your 53 against 80,000 when you show up,” he said referring to the road crowds. “I think they take that as a challenge and they take it personal and they know if they protect the football our team is going to have a good chance to win.”

The Texans have had a great turnover margin away from home this season. They’ve lost the ball just six times and forced 15 turnovers on the road. Their best performance in that area came last week against the Titans when they didn’t turn the ball over and forced Tennessee to cough it up six times.

Monday night’s game will be the last of three straight road games for Houston. Although the Texans have won all of their road games, they haven’t been without some drama. Four of the six wins have been by a touchdown or less, including their controversial 34-31 overtime victory over the Lions on Thanksgiving.

Officials missed the call on an 81-yard touchdown run by Justin Forsett in that one. But Detroit coach Jim Schwartz threw the challenge flag so the play couldn’t be reviewed, the touchdown stood and Houston held on for the win.

Houston receiver Andre Johnson said people talk about how close they’ve come to losing on the road, but that he doesn’t listen to any of that.

“We’ve been able to go out on the road this season and win games no matter the circumstances,” he said. “When they ask you your record, they ask how many games you’ve won and how many games you’ve lost, not what

was the score or anything like that. So whatever we need to do to go in and get the W that’s what we’ll do.”

A win over the Patriots, who have already clinched the AFC East, would help the Texans maintain the top record in the AFC and move them closer to a coveted first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

But facing Tom Brady and Wes Welker with a banged up secondary will be one of Houston’s toughest challenges to date. Top cornerback Johnathan Joseph has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. He returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday. Kubiak said how he looks in practice in the next two days will determine whether he plays Monday night.

Along with Joseph’s injury, the Texans are also dealing with the loss of nickel cornerback Brice McCain, who had surgery on his left foot on Monday. Alan Ball, who filled in for Joseph two week ago, missed last week’s game and is still struggling with a sore foot and didn’t practice Thursday.

They signed veteran cornerback Stanford Routt, who was released from the Chiefs last month, to shore up the group. Kubiak said he “has no choice” but to suit him up on Monday night, but knows it will be difficult for him to absorb the entire playbook in less than a week.

“He’s got a lot of skill,” Kubiak said. “In our situation right now he’s a veteran player that could help us quickly, and pick up what we’re doing quickly. He’s covered a lot of good players in this league.”

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B a win over Philadelphia that started the current 3-1 stretch.

The injury-depleted Dallas defense couldn’t stop the Eagles in the rematch, but Romo kept pace until a big defensive touchdown gave the Cowboys a cushion.

One of Romo’s two interceptions in the past five games helped Washington take a 28-3 halftime lead on Thanksgiving, but he came back with three second-half touchdowns and had the Cowboys within seven when a defensive letdown put the Redskins back in control.

In the second halves of his past two games, Romo has thrown for 513 yards and six touchdowns

with one interception, and he now has 168 career TDs, three more than Aikman, a three-time Super Bowl winner.

“I think more than anything else, he’s taking care of the ball and still making plays,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “When Tony’s playing his best, he’s able to do that. We never want to stifle him, but we believe that he can play the way he plays and still minimize the bad plays.”

The turnovers are down even though defenses targeted Romo while not having to worry as much about a compromised Dallas running attack. DeMarco Murray missed six games with a

sprained right foot, and the Cowboys rushed for more than 100 yards just once without him.

Murray’s first play back Sunday against Philadelphia snapped a streak of 52 straight snaps where Romo didn’t hand off, and he carried for 14 yards. Murray ended up getting the ball the first three Dallas plays and finished with 23 carries for 83 yards. Oh, and the Cowboys rushed for 100 yards again — and would have approached 150 if not for a couple of fluky negative plays.

It may not be a coincidence that with Murray behind him again, Romo was 10 of 10 in the second half of a 38-33 win over

the Eagles. Plus, he didn’t have to throw as much. He was 22 of 27 after tossing 112 passes in a span of five days.

“He’s a smart quarterback,” Murray said. “You definitely have to have your ‘A’ game with him because there are times he’s calling the play and he’ll change it up to another play, a different protection he wants you to stay in. So you definitely have to know what you’re doing when you’re out there with him.”

The Cowboys have had injury issues in the offensive line all season, and while the number of sacks on Romo isn’t overwhelming — 28, or slightly more than

two per game — he has been on the run and knocked down a lot.

Romo was sacked a career-high seven times against Cleveland, but still led a tying drive in the final minute of regulation in the 23-20 overtime win. He threw for 257 yards on 50 attempts without an interception.

With Murray back and the offensive line as healthy as it’s going to get, Romo’s ride to a possible playoff berth could be steadier if nothing else.

“We’re lucky to have him as our quarterback,” tight end Jason Witten said. “He gives us an advantage anytime we go out there.”

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

HINTS | BY HELOISE QUALITY CANNING Dear Heloise: I’ve noticed that when I go to the store, I see lots of CANNING SUPPLIES. I guess people are starting to do it again. I have done it for years. It can be some work, but in the end, it is worth it. My family loves to come over and sample my canned items, especially the jellies and fruits.

I just wanted to say that if someone is interested in canning, he or she should buy a reliable guide first.

Some of the supplies you will need are goodquality jars, rings and seals, and a water-bath canner or a pressure canner. There also are items like funnels, a magnet to use to remove seals from water when sterilizing, and specialized jar-holding tongs. Here are my hints: Never tap a metal spoon or utensil on the rim of a jar.

When unsealing a jar for the first time, use a bottle opener to pop off the lid.

Wash empty jars, screw a ring loosely on to protect the rim, and store upside down.

Don’t use jars that have not been made for canning for pressure or boiling-water processing.

“

HELOISE

— A Reader, via email You may want to be careful if you buy jars secondhand, since you can’t be sure how they were cared for. — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Stephanie R. in New Braunfels, Texas, sent a photo of her cat, Big Mike, lying ever the gentleman on his favorite pillow. Stephanie says that Big Mike is the most chill cat she has ever had. To see cool Big Mike, visit my website, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” — Heloise TOOTHBRUSH CLEANING Dear Heloise: The handled toothbrushes, manual and electric, can become grimy with residue from toothpaste, etc. I use vinegar, my favorite cleaner, to wipe the surface. A toothpick can be used to clean the unreachable areas of an electric-toothbrush grip. Make certain all electric appliances are unplugged while cleaning them. — Margarette in Texas

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Sports

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012

Heat say things will change after losses

By TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Wade Payne | AP

Butch Jones, Tennessee’s new head football coach, speaks during a news conference on Friday in Knoxville, Tenn. The Vols’ introduced Jones on Friday as its successor to Derek Dooley.

Tennessee hires Jones

By STEVE MEGARGEE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Butch Jones wasn’t Tennessee’s first choice as its next football coach. The Volunteers believe the former Cincinnati coach will prove he’s the right choice.

Tennessee introduced Jones on Friday as its successor to Derek Dooley, who was fired Nov. 18 after going 15-21 in three seasons.

Jones becomes the Volunteers’ fourth coach in six seasons, ending a tumultuous couple of days for both parties. The new Vols coach said he was taking over “the best college football program in America.”

“We’ll be working to be champions each and every day,” Jones said. “We will be a champion in everything we do. That’s not only on the field but off the field.”

Jones, 44, has a 50-27 record in six seasons as a head coach. He went 27-13 in three seasons at Central Michigan and was 23-14 at Cincinnati the last three years. He now faces the task of rebuilding a former Southeastern Conference power that has posted three

consecutive losing seasons.

Tennessee went after at least two other candidates before hiring Jones.

During the 19-day search to replace Dooley, the Volunteers contacted ESPN analyst and former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden, who indicated he wasn’t interested. The Vols then pursued Charlie Strong, who said Thursday he had turned down their offer and would stay at Louisville.

“Rarely in life is anything exactly what it seems to be,” Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said.

“Life doesn’t throw us all fastballs. It throws us curves, and then you’ve got some screwballs. ... You’ve got to be able to adjust.”

Jones, meanwhile, was apparently waiting for a job like Tennessee.

On the same day Strong made his announcement, Jones rejected an offer to take over Colorado’s program. He also had been linked to the Purdue coaching job before withdrawing his name from consideration.

Jones jumped at the Tennessee offer. He called it his dream job and didn’t par-

ticularly care that he wasn’t the Vols’ first choice.

“I think I was my wife’s third choice, and it’s worked for 20 years,” Jones said.

Cincinnati athletic director Whit Babcock said Jones told him Thursday morning that he was rejecting Colorado’s offer. Mere minutes later, Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart called Babcock to express his interest in contacting Jones. Babcock said he gave Jones 24 hours to make a decision on whether to stay or go, if Tennessee offered. Babcock said Jones notified him of his decision Friday at 5:15 a.m. and informed Cincinnati’s players at a 7:30 a.m. team meeting.

“It’s been kind of a whirlwind,” Jones said.

Jones’ hiring means each of the four Southeastern Conference teams that fired coaches this year has filled its vacancy. Jones will be Tennessee’s fourth coach in a six-season stretch, not including offensive coordinator Jim Chaney’s stint as interim head coach in the 2012 season finale after Dooley’s dismissal.

MIAMI — LeBron James and four teammates chatted for several minutes under a basket after the Miami Heat finished practice on Friday afternoon, each player sporting a serious look for the entirety of the conversation.

For the first time this season, the reigning NBA champions are dealing with some real trouble.

Back-to-back losses — at Washington on Tuesday, then by 20 points at home against a New York Knicks team that didn’t even have Carmelo Anthony on Thursday — have soured the Heat mood.

Add that to some poor defensive numbers and Miami already needing six late rallies before closing out wins so far this season, and it’s easy to see why no one seemed to be laughing at work on Friday.

“When you win everything’s great. When you lose everything’s bad,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “That’s how it works.”

As Wade spoke, James was chatting about 50 feet away with Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and James Jones, a few of them sometimes gesturing at spots on the court as if to mimic how a play is or is not supposed to work. Typically, when the Heat are done with their actual practice, it’s a light-hearted time, one filled with shooting contests and things of that nature.

That wasn’t the case on Friday.

“There is a cloud over our team because we’re not defending like we know we’re capable of de-

Photo by Alan Diaz | AP

Miami’s LeBron James (6) is fouled by New York’s J.R. Smith (8) in the first half on Thursday in Miami. The Knicks won 112-92. fending,” James said. “We have some room for improvement.

The good thing is we can be great.

But right now, we’re not good. We’re not very good right now as a team and we’ve got to get to that point.”

Miami’s next chance to start getting to that point comes Saturday, when the Heat play host to New Orleans.

The Heat saw the Knicks make 18 shots — on 44 tries — from 3-point range on Thursday night, which became the latest entry on a list of events where Miami believes opponents have thrived simply by getting up to play against last season’s champions.

So far this year, the Heat have seen opponents score at least 100 points 11

times in 17 games. Last season, that happened 16 times in 66 regular-season games.

Some of the highlights, or lowlights, include the following: — Washington scored 105 points against Miami on Tuesday, the most the Wizards have managed in regulation against anyone all season, and remember, they had one win all year entering that game.

— Wayne Ellington made seven 3-pointers for Memphis in a win over Miami on Nov. 11. He’s 3 for 21 from beyond the arc since, entering Friday.

— Raymond Felton had a season-high 27 points, and tied a career-high with six 3-pointers in the Knicks’ win Thursday.

“Never seen anything like this,” Bosh said.