INSIDE: Hurricane season lands the first blow, Page 5 Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Southwest Journalist The University of Texas at Austin
Dow Jones News Fund Center for Editing Excellence
OIL LEAK
Spill fix 2 months away
BP planning relief wells Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — The best hope for stopping the flow of oil from the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico has been compared to hitting a target the size of a dinner plate more than two miles into the earth, and is anything but a sure bet on the first attempt. Bid after bid has failed to stanch the nation’s worst-ever spill, and BP PLC is readying another attempt as early as Wednesday, this one a cutand-cap process to put a lid on the leaking wellhead so oil can be siphoned to the surface. But the best-case scenario of sealing the leak is two relief wells being drilled diagonally into the gushing well — tricky business that won’t be ready until August. “The probability of them hitting it on the very first shot is virtually nil,” said David Rensink, incoming president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, who spent most of his 39 years in the oil industry in offshore exploration. “If they get it on the first three or four shots, they’d be very lucky.” For the bid to succeed, the bore hole must precisely intersect the damaged well. If it misses, BP will have to back
up its drill, plug the hole it just created, and try again. The trial-and-error process could take weeks, but it will eventually work, scientists and BP said. Engineers will then pump mud and cement through pipes to ultimately seal the well. As the drilling reaches deeper into the earth, the process is slowed by building pressure and the increasing distance that well casings must travel before they can be set in place. Still, the three months it could take to finish the relief wells — the first of which started May 2 — is quicker than a typical deep well, which can take four months or longer, said Tad Patzek, chair of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin. BP already has a good picture of the different layers of sand and rock its drill bits will meet because of the work it did on the blown-out well. On the slim chance the relief well doesn’t work, scientists weren’t sure exactly how much — or how long — the oil would flow. The gusher would continue until the well bore hole collapsed or pressure in the reservoir dropped to a point at which oil was no lon-
Please see WELLS, Page 2
Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press
Hentzel Yucles, left, wife Christina, and their two sons enjoy a visit to the beach Monday in Biloxi, Miss.
Despite spill, tourists still heading to beaches Associated Press BILOXI, Miss. — Tourists along the Gulf coast are enjoying the beaches despite the nation’s worst oil spill. Tourism officials from Mississippi to Florida have fought the perception that oil has come ashore, and hotels have offered lower rates and other incentives to vacationers. On Biloxi beach, Paul Dawa and his
Obama event canceled
friend Ezekial Momgeri sipped Coronas after a night gambling at the Hard Rock Casino. Both men drove from Memphis, Tenn., and were chased off the beach by a storm, not oil. “We talked about it, and we decided to come down and see for ourselves” whether there was oil, Momgeri said. “There’s no oil here.” Though some tar balls have been found on Mississippi and Alabama barrier islands, oil from the spill has not significantly fouled the shores. Still, the perception that it has soiled white sands and fishing areas threat-
ens to cripple the tourist economy, said Linda Hornsby, executive director of the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association. “It’s costing a lot of money to counter that perception,” Hornsby said. “First it was cancellations, but that evolved to a decrease in calls.” Yet there was fear the oil would eventually hit the other Gulf coast states. Hentzel Yucles, of Gulfport, Miss., hung out on the beach with his wife and sons. “Katrina was bad. I know this is a different type of situation, but it’s going to affect everybody,” he said.
MIDDLE EAST
At least 9 killed in attack on aid flotilla
Netanyahu: Soldiers had to defend their lives or be killed Associated Press JERUSALEM — Israeli commandos rappelled down to an aid flotilla sailing to thwart a Gaza blockade on Monday, clashing with pro-Palestinian activists on the lead ship in a botched raid that left at least nine passengers dead. Bloodied passengers sprawled on the deck and troops dived into the sea to save themselves during several hours of hand-to-hand fighting that injured dozens of activists and six soldiers. Hundreds of activists were towed from the international waters to Israeli detention centers and hospitals. International condemnaCharles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
President Barack Obama’s Memorial Day ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., was washed out by a severe thunderstorm and high winds. Obama, who had taken the podium before the storm hit, asked people to return to their cars for safety. He later boarded a bus to greet military families. More on Memorial Day tributes, page 3.
WWII dog tags return home Associated Press
BUDA — Dog tags and other items belonging to a Texas soldier wounded during World War II were found on an old Italian battlefield and returned to his family by a man who recently took up metal detecting as a hobby. The son of Oscar F. Glomb, who died in 1998, said his father never forgot about his dog tags. “You just don’t separate a soldier from his dog tag,” Steve Glomb, 60, of Buda, told the Austin American-Statesman. “He always talked about them. He’d say, ‘I need to go back and find those dog tags.’” Retired Italian police inspector Daniele Bi-
anchini tracked down Steve Glomb last month after finding Oscar Glomb’s tags and other objects, including his ring and a medallion. In an e-mail, Bianchini said he was thrilled to learn Oscar Glomb had survived the battle. “This will be … above all a gesture of thanks to (Oscar Glomb) and all the American soldiers during World War II who fought in Italy in order to crush a dictatorship and give us longed-for freedom,” Bianchini wrote. Soldiers traditionally get two dog tags with information such as their name and home address. When they are killed on the battlefield,
Please see TAGS, Page 2
activists headed for Gaza. Instead of carrying their regular automatic rifles, the Israelis said they went in with nonlethal paintball guns and pistols they never expected to use. Israel intercepted the six ships carrying some 10,000 tons of aid for the isolated seaside territory, which has been blockaded by Israel for three years, with Egypt’s cooperation. The Israeli government had urged the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade before the ships set sail from waters off Cyprus on Sunday and offered to take some aid in for them. Key regional ally Turkey
Please RAID, Page 2
EDUCATION
States shun Texas texts Associated Press
MILITARY HISTORY
tion was swift and harsh as Israel scrambled to explain how what was meant to be a simple takeover of a civilian vessel went so badly awry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled a planned meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington to rush home. The global reaction appeared likely to increase pressure to end the embargo that has plunged Gaza’s 1.5 million residents deeper into poverty. The high-seas confrontation was a nightmare scenario for Israel, which insisted its soldiers were simply unprepared for what awaited them on the Mavi Marmara, the ship carrying 600 of the 700
SAN ANTONIO — Pop quiz: Does the school curriculum adopted in Texas really wind up in textbooks nationwide? If you answered yes, you might get a failing grade. As the second-largest purchaser of textbooks behind California, the Lone Star State historically wielded enormous clout in deciding what material appears in classrooms across the county. That’s why the state school board’s recent decision to adopt new social studies standards was closely watched far beyond Texas. Critics feared the new, conservative curriculum in Texas
would spread elsewhere, but publishing experts say those concerns are overblown. After months of discussion, the Texas Board of Education last week approved placing greater emphasis on the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation’s Founding Fathers and teaching schoolchildren that the words “separation of church and state” do not appear in the Constitution. In Washington, Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the process a case of politicians deciding curriculum. California lawmakers proposed that state education officials comb through textbooks to ensure Texas material isn’t twisting
the history curriculum This year, as states weigh which textbooks to buy, many “are going to be asking whether this was the book that went to Texas,” said Kathy Mickey, an analyst at Simba Information, a market research firm. Technology has made it easier and more affordable for publishers to tailor textbooks to different standards. That’s especially true in 20 other states where education boards also approve textbooks for statewide use. Substitutions are an easy fix, and publishers won’t gamble on incorporating one state’s
Please see BOOKS, Page 2