SATURDAY MAY 18, 2013 FREE DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY A HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM TO 4,000 HOMES CONFERENCE FINALS SAN ANTONIO PREPARES TO TAKE ON THE GRIZZLIES, 1B A ribbon-cutting cere- mony was held Friday af- ternoon for SureFind Pipeline Markers, cement- ing a business headquar- ters for a product first de- veloped more than a dec- ade ago. The device, which origi- nally went on sale in Sep- tember 2011, promises “complete and total accu- racy” in finding under- ground utility lines. It in- dicates the location and depth of underground gas, water, communications, electrical and sewer lines. Mario Garza, company president and inventor of the SureFind Pipeline Marker, said that technol- ogy was limited to “a stick in the mud” when finding utility lines. “Ours is different. It sits on your pipe. Starting at zero, it goes on up to a depth of 20 feet, and it tells you who it belongs to,” Garza said. The markers were origi- nally developed with the oil field industry in mind, according to the compa- ny’s website, but are ver- satile enough for multiple uses. Garza, who has worked in the oil field industry for 36 years, said he first be- gan developing his prod- uct about 11 years ago. “We filed for a patent, got it approved and im- proved it to its present composition of a durable polyurethane that lasts forever,” he said. “We built our place of business last week, and here we are.” Each utility is color coded for determining the line’s function at a glance. Yellow is for gas, blue for water, orange for techno- logical communication, red for electricity and green for sewer. An additional feature allows a utility company’s sticker or logo with con- tact information to be dis- played for immediate iden- tification. Company literature states about 34 percent of serious incidents involv- ing all pipeline systems were caused by excavation damage, and the new de- vice is designed to de- crease such incidents. Zapata Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Paco Mendoza said he was pleased the compa- ny is based in Zapata. “We’re very happy that Mario and his wife, Ama- da, both life-long residents of Zapata, have been suc- cessful with their product. We know there will be a demand for it,” Mendoza said. Amada V. Garza is the vice-president of the com- pany. (Rick Villarreal at 728- 2528 or rvillarreal@lmton- line.com) OIL AND GAS New business SureFind Pipeline Markers owners Mario J. and Amada V. Garza cut the ribbon for their business Friday afternoon. The markers, which were conceived 11 years ago, aid in finding underground utility lines to prevent serious incidents. Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times Pipeline marker finds home in Zapata By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES Owners Mario J. and Amada V. Garza react after cutting the ribbon to their business Friday after- noon. They were joined by family, friends and well wishers. Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times As Congress this week considers possible changes to the nation’s food stamp program, an advocacy group released a report on Monday that estimates only two-thirds of Texas resi- dents who were eligible for food stamps received them in 2011 — costing the state more than $3 billion in un- used federal aid. The Texas Food Bank Network’s report used new state and federal data to es- timate participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — also known as food stamps. The report also showed how much money was "left on the table" in counties across the state because of under- enrollment. In Zapata County, more than 5,500 people were eligi- ble for food stamps last year, but 1,160 weren’t en- rolled in the program - leav- ing more than $1.7 million in unused aid, according to the report. Lawmakers should be discussing how to increase enrollment in the program, not reducing it, a network official said. "We’re astounded that Congress would consider cuts of more than $20 bil- lion from this crucial nutri- tion program," Celia Cole, CEO of the network, said in a press release. "Clearly SNAP is a targeted benefit that helps the most deserv- ing among us. We shouldn’t tighten our belts around our most vulnerable neigh- bors." The report also highlight- ed the demographics of food stamp recipients in Texas, the majority of which are children, seniors and per- sons with disabilities. More than half of recipients — 55 percent — are children. Food stamps primarily serve the working poor and those who’ve recently lost employment, according to the report. More than 80 percent of Texas households that received food stamps last year had members who were employed at some point during the 12 months, it said. The House Agriculture Committee will vote on Wednesday on a new farm bill that includes a proposal that would eliminate state flexibility rules regarding who can enroll in the pro- gram and other guidelines. That change could poten- tially take aid away from up to 300,000 people in Texas, Cole said. "Our Texas representa- tives in Washington need to show leadership by reject- ing these cuts, even as a procedural maneuver to keep the farm bill moving," said Cole. "They need to send a clear message that cuts to SNAP are not up for debate." The Texas Food Bank Network is composed of food banks across the state, including the San Antonio Food Bank. ( The Zapata Times con- tributed to this report. Me- lissa Fletcher Stoeltje may be reached at mstoeltje@ex- press-news.net) FOOD STAMPS State has billions in unused aid 1,160 residents eligible are not enrolled for food stamps in Zapata By MELISSA FLETCHER STOELTJE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS A Texas-based energy company is offering reward money for information lead- ing to the arrest of those re- sponsible for stealing 792 tractor-trailer tires May 3. Key Energy Services in Zapata will pay up to $20,000, states an advertise- ment posted in Monday’s Laredo Morning Times. Key representatives did not re- turn calls to comment on this article. On May 3, Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office deputies re- sponded to the company’s yard located in the 3000 block of U.S. 83, a mile north of Zapata, for a theft report. A sheriff ’s office spokes- man said tires and rims worth approximately $332,000 were unaccounted for at the yard. Key repre- sentatives posted in the ad the tires were delivered by Tire Center Inc. No suspects have been named. Sheriff ’s office Chief Ray- mundo del Bosque Jr. said investigators are following leads to arrest the people re- sponsible for the theft. Sher- iff ’s officials encouraged the community last week to come forward with informa- tion regarding the case. Key representatives did the same this week. “Key will not seek to prosecute anyone providing information,” the ad reads. “The anonymity of all sources will be carefully protected.” Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the sheriff ’s office in Zapata at 765-9960. Members of the public can also call Key’s loss prevention department at 866-902-3438. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or ce- [email protected]) CRIME Company offers reward in tires theft By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES Zapata County Sher- iff ’s officials announced this week they detained three juveniles responsib- le for several burglaries and acts of vandalism in San Ygnacio. Sheriff ’s investigators charged three male juve- niles — aged 13, 14 and 16 — with burglary and criminal mischief charg- es. Each juvenile was re- ferred to the Zapata County Juvenile Proba- tion and later transport- ed to a juvenile detention facility in San Diego. Sgt. Mario Elizondo said the property damag- es were estimated to be in the several thousands of dollars. It’s alleged the juveniles targeted areas around Grant, Lincoln, Morelos, Santa Maria, Treviño and Washington streets. “Investigators are mak- ing contact with victims, and an investigation is still ongoing,” Elizondo said. Sheriff ’s office Chief Raymundo del Bosque Jr. said many factors con- tributed to the detention of the juvenile trio. Del Bosque said investigators put their tools to use and discovered some stolen items had been pawned at shops in Webb County. “The guys are doing a good job,” del Bosque said. He encouraged people to report suspicious ac- tivity. For people who purchase items, he sug- gests they should write down the serial numbers. By having the serial numbers, this allows the investigators to trace down the stolen item. Del Bosque also sug- gested people mark their property in areas where only they would know. People with information leading to the recovery of stolen items can call the sheriff ’s office at 765- 9960. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728- 2568 or cesar@lmton- line.com) CRIME Officials detain three connected to burglaries By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata Times 5/19/2013
Mar 30, 2016
The Zapata Times 5/19/2013
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SATURDAYMAY 18, 2013
FREE
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
A HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
TO 4,000 HOMES
CONFERENCE FINALSSAN ANTONIO PREPARES TO TAKE ON THE GRIZZLIES, 1B
A ribbon-cutting cere-mony was held Friday af-ternoon for SureFindPipeline Markers, cement-ing a business headquar-ters for a product first de-veloped more than a dec-ade ago.
The device, which origi-nally went on sale in Sep-tember 2011, promises“complete and total accu-racy” in finding under-ground utility lines. It in-dicates the location anddepth of underground gas,water, communications,electrical and sewer lines.
Mario Garza, companypresident and inventor ofthe SureFind PipelineMarker, said that technol-ogy was limited to “a stickin the mud” when findingutility lines.
“Ours is different. Itsits on your pipe. Startingat zero, it goes on up to adepth of 20 feet, and ittells you who it belongsto,” Garza said.
The markers were origi-nally developed with theoil field industry in mind,according to the compa-ny’s website, but are ver-satile enough for multipleuses.
Garza, who has workedin the oil field industry for36 years, said he first be-gan developing his prod-uct about 11 years ago.
“We filed for a patent,got it approved and im-
proved it to its presentcomposition of a durablepolyurethane that lastsforever,” he said. “Webuilt our place of businesslast week, and here weare.”
Each utility is colorcoded for determining theline’s function at a glance.Yellow is for gas, blue forwater, orange for techno-logical communication,red for electricity andgreen for sewer.
An additional feature
allows a utility company’ssticker or logo with con-tact information to be dis-played for immediate iden-tification.
Company literaturestates about 34 percent ofserious incidents involv-ing all pipeline systemswere caused by excavationdamage, and the new de-vice is designed to de-crease such incidents.
Zapata Chamber ofCommerce president andCEO Paco Mendoza said
he was pleased the compa-ny is based in Zapata.
“We’re very happy thatMario and his wife, Ama-da, both life-long residentsof Zapata, have been suc-cessful with their product.We know there will be ademand for it,” Mendozasaid.
Amada V. Garza is thevice-president of the com-pany.
(Rick Villarreal at 728-2528 or [email protected])
OIL AND GAS
New business
SureFind Pipeline Markers owners Mario J. and Amada V. Garza cut the ribbon for their business Friday afternoon. The markers, whichwere conceived 11 years ago, aid in finding underground utility lines to prevent serious incidents.
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
Pipeline marker finds home in ZapataBy RICARDO R. VILLARREAL
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Owners Mario J. and Amada V. Garza react after cutting the ribbon to their business Friday after-noon. They were joined by family, friends and well wishers.
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
As Congress this weekconsiders possible changesto the nation’s food stampprogram, an advocacygroup released a report onMonday that estimates onlytwo-thirds of Texas resi-dents who were eligible forfood stamps received themin 2011 — costing the statemore than $3 billion in un-used federal aid.
The Texas Food BankNetwork’s report used newstate and federal data to es-timate participation rates inthe Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program — alsoknown as food stamps. Thereport also showed howmuch money was "left onthe table" in counties acrossthe state because of under-enrollment.
In Zapata County, morethan 5,500 people were eligi-ble for food stamps lastyear, but 1,160 weren’t en-rolled in the program - leav-ing more than $1.7 millionin unused aid, according tothe report.
Lawmakers should bediscussing how to increaseenrollment in the program,not reducing it, a networkofficial said.
"We’re astounded thatCongress would considercuts of more than $20 bil-lion from this crucial nutri-tion program," Celia Cole,CEO of the network, said ina press release. "ClearlySNAP is a targeted benefitthat helps the most deserv-ing among us. We shouldn’ttighten our belts aroundour most vulnerable neigh-
bors."The report also highlight-
ed the demographics of foodstamp recipients in Texas,the majority of which arechildren, seniors and per-sons with disabilities. Morethan half of recipients — 55percent — are children.
Food stamps primarilyserve the working poor andthose who’ve recently lostemployment, according tothe report. More than 80percent of Texas householdsthat received food stampslast year had members whowere employed at somepoint during the 12 months,it said.
The House AgricultureCommittee will vote onWednesday on a new farmbill that includes a proposalthat would eliminate stateflexibility rules regardingwho can enroll in the pro-gram and other guidelines.
That change could poten-tially take aid away from upto 300,000 people in Texas,Cole said.
"Our Texas representa-tives in Washington need toshow leadership by reject-ing these cuts, even as aprocedural maneuver tokeep the farm bill moving,"said Cole. "They need tosend a clear message thatcuts to SNAP are not up fordebate."
The Texas Food BankNetwork is composed offood banks across the state,including the San AntonioFood Bank.
( The Zapata Times con-tributed to this report. Me-lissa Fletcher Stoeltje maybe reached at [email protected])
FOOD STAMPS
State hasbillions in
unused aid1,160 residents eligible are not
enrolled for food stamps in ZapataBy MELISSA FLETCHER STOELTJE
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
A Texas-based energycompany is offering rewardmoney for information lead-ing to the arrest of those re-sponsible for stealing 792tractor-trailer tires May 3.
Key Energy Services inZapata will pay up to$20,000, states an advertise-ment posted in Monday’sLaredo Morning Times. Keyrepresentatives did not re-turn calls to comment onthis article.
On May 3, Zapata CountySheriff ’s Office deputies re-sponded to the company’syard located in the 3000block of U.S. 83, a milenorth of Zapata, for a theftreport.
A sheriff ’s office spokes-man said tires and rimsworth approximately$332,000 were unaccountedfor at the yard. Key repre-sentatives posted in the ad
the tires were delivered byTire Center Inc. No suspectshave been named.
Sheriff ’s office Chief Ray-mundo del Bosque Jr. saidinvestigators are followingleads to arrest the people re-sponsible for the theft. Sher-iff ’s officials encouraged thecommunity last week tocome forward with informa-tion regarding the case.
Key representatives didthe same this week.
“Key will not seek toprosecute anyone providinginformation,” the ad reads.“The anonymity of allsources will be carefullyprotected.”
Anyone with informationon the case is asked to callthe sheriff ’s office in Zapataat 765-9960. Members of thepublic can also call Key’sloss prevention departmentat 866-902-3438.
(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or [email protected])
CRIME
Companyoffers rewardin tires theft
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County Sher-iff ’s officials announcedthis week they detainedthree juveniles responsib-le for several burglariesand acts of vandalism inSan Ygnacio.
Sheriff ’s investigatorscharged three male juve-niles — aged 13, 14 and 16— with burglary andcriminal mischief charg-es. Each juvenile was re-ferred to the ZapataCounty Juvenile Proba-
tion and later transport-ed to a juvenile detentionfacility in San Diego.
Sgt. Mario Elizondosaid the property damag-es were estimated to bein the several thousandsof dollars. It’s alleged thejuveniles targeted areasaround Grant, Lincoln,Morelos, Santa Maria,Treviño and Washingtonstreets.
“Investigators are mak-ing contact with victims,and an investigation isstill ongoing,” Elizondosaid.
Sheriff ’s office ChiefRaymundo del Bosque Jr.said many factors con-tributed to the detentionof the juvenile trio. DelBosque said investigatorsput their tools to use anddiscovered some stolenitems had been pawned atshops in Webb County.
“The guys are doing agood job,” del Bosquesaid.
He encouraged peopleto report suspicious ac-tivity. For people whopurchase items, he sug-gests they should write
down the serial numbers.By having the serialnumbers, this allows theinvestigators to tracedown the stolen item.
Del Bosque also sug-gested people mark theirproperty in areas whereonly they would know.People with informationleading to the recovery ofstolen items can call thesheriff ’s office at 765-9960.
(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or [email protected])
CRIME
Officials detain threeconnected to burglaries
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES
PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
SATURDAY, MAY 18Laredo Crime Stoppers’ Battle of
the Badges Ribs & Beans Cook-Off &Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt is from 4p.m. to 10 p.m. at El Metro Park &Ride Grounds. The event is dedicatedto the memory of all fallen law en-forcement officers as part of NationalLaw Enforcement Week. Admission is$3; children 12 and under get in free;and parking is free. Contact the CrimeStoppers’ administration office at 724-1876 or [email protected].
An open non-rated chess tourna-ment for student K-12 is from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. at Muller Elementary, 4430Muller Memorial Blvd. Registration isfrom 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with firstround at 11:30 a.m. The entry free is$7 if pre-registered and $10 at thedoor. Contact Dan Navarro at 722-4600 or [email protected].
El Centro de Laredo Farmers’Market, from 9 a.m. to noon at JarvisPlaza, will feature a cooking demon-stration by La Posada Chef Alberto Gu-tierrez. There will also be a ballet per-formance by Dance Forum. Get freeparking at El Metro with a market pur-chase. Contact Marisa Laufer at 956-523-8817 or [email protected].
SUNDAY, MAY 19The St. Patrick Catholic Church
Men’s Club steak plate sale is from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, 555 E.Del Mar Blvd. The fee is $5 per plateto benefit scholarships. Call 324-2432.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22The Genealogical Family Trees
Exhibition will be presented by the Villade San Agustin de Laredo GenealogicalSociety, from 5 p.m. to 7 pm., at Gal-lery 201, 513 San Bernardo Ave. Six-teen members and friends will sharetheir family history in addition to poet-ic contrast readings by Raquel Valle-Senties and Olga Valle-Herr. Call 722-3497.
SCAN will offer free anxiety anddepression screenings, from 8:30 a.m.to 5 p.m., at their main office, 2387 E.Saunders St. Screenings will be provid-ed on a walk-in basis by licensed pro-fessional counselors. SCAN licensedprofessional counselors will provideadolescents and adults participating anindividual screening session. Call Dr.Susana Rivera at 956-724-3177.
FRIDAY, MAY 24The Texas A&M International
University Lamar Bruni Vergara Plane-tarium will show “The Zula Patrol:Down to Earth” at 6 p.m. and “Starsof the Pharaohs” at 7 p.m. General ad-mission is $4 for children and $5 foradults. Premium shows are $1 more.Call 326-3663.
SATURDAY, MAY 25The 10th Annual Juvencio de
Anda Memorial Golf Tournament will beheld at the Laredo Country Club. Teetime is 8 a.m. The tournament willhonor the late Alfonso “Lefty” Valls.
It’s Family Movie Day at the Tex-as A&M International University LamarBruni Vergara Planetarium. “Toy Story3” will show at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m.and 7 p.m. General admission is $3.There will be free face painting, artsand crafts. Call 326-3663.
FRIDAY, MAY 31The Texas A&M International Uni-
versity Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetari-um will show “The Zula Patrol: Downto Earth” at 6 p.m. and “Secrets ofthe Sun” at 7 p.m. General admissionis $4 for children and $5 for adults.Premium shows are $1 more. Call 326-3663
SATURDAY, JUNE 1The Bass Champs South Region
Fishing Tournament is set for 7 a.m.through 4 p.m. at the Zapata CountyPublic Boat Ramp. The race starts atthe Zapata County Courthouse.
SATURDAY, JULY 20The PFC Ira “Ben” Laningham IV
5K Memorial Run is set for 8 a.m.through 5 p.m. There will also be a200m Kids Fun Run. Early registrationthrough Sunday is $8; from Mondaythrough July 19, $10; and late registra-tion on race day is $15. Registrationfor the Kids Fun Run is $5. Those whowish to participate may register at Za-pata Boys & Girls Club, 306 6th St.;Zapata County Chamber of Commerce,601 N. U.S. 83; Momentum RunningCo., 1202 E. Del Mar Blvd., Ste. 103,Laredo; or by email at http://www.evenbrite.com/event/5820121139#.
CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS
Today is Saturday, May 18,the 138th day of 2013. Thereare 227 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in His-tory:
On May 18, 1933, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt signed ameasure creating the Tennes-see Valley Authority.
On this date:In 1642, the Canadian city of
Montreal was founded byFrench colonists.
In 1765, about one-fourth ofMontreal was destroyed by afire.
In 1863, the Siege of Vicks-burg began during the CivilWar, ending July 4 with aUnion victory.
In 1896, the Supreme Court,in Plessy v. Ferguson, en-dorsed “separate but equal”racial segregation, a conceptrenounced 58 years later inBrown v. Board of Educationof Topeka.
In 1910, Halley’s Cometpassed by earth, brushing itwith its tail.
In 1944, during World WarII, Allied forces finally occu-pied Monte Cassino in Italy af-ter a four-month struggle withAxis troops.
In 1953, Jacqueline Cochranbecame the first woman tobreak the sound barrier as shepiloted a Canadair F-86 Sabrejet over Rogers Dry Lake, Cal-if.
In 1969, astronauts EugeneA. Cernan, Thomas P. Staffordand John W. Young blasted offaboard Apollo 10 on a missionto orbit the moon.
In 1973, Harvard law profes-sor Archibald Cox was ap-pointed Watergate specialprosecutor by U.S. AttorneyGeneral Elliot Richardson.
In 1980, the Mount St. He-lens volcano in Washingtonstate exploded, leaving 57 peo-ple dead or missing.
Ten years ago: A Hamassuicide attacker disguised asan observant Jew killed sevenIsraeli bus passengers. PopeJohn Paul II celebrated his83rd birthday with an open-airMass and requests for prayersso he could continue his papa-cy. “Les Miserables” closed onBroadway after more than 16years and 6,680 performances.
Five years ago: PresidentGeorge W. Bush lectured theArab world about everythingfrom political repression tothe denial of women’s rightsin a speech at the Egyptian re-sort of Sharm El-Sheik. KennyChesney was named entertain-er of the year by the Academyof Country Music for thefourth straight time.
One year ago: Social net-work Facebook made its trad-ing debut with one of the mosthighly anticipated IPOs inWall Street history; however,by day’s end, Facebook stockclosed up only 23 cents fromits initial pricing of $38. TheOlympic flame arrived in Bri-tain, the country hosting the2012 Olympics.
Today’s Birthdays: Base-ball Hall-of-Famer ReggieJackson is 67. Actress CandiceAzzara is 66. Rock musicianRick Wakeman (Yes) is 64. Ac-tor James Stephens is 62.Country singer George Straitis 61. Rhythm-and-blues singerButch Tavares (Tavares) is 60.Actor Chow Yun-Fat is 58. Co-median-writer Tina Fey is 43.Rapper Special Ed is 39. Rocksinger Jack Johnson is 38. Ac-tor Matt Long is 33. Actor Al-len Leech (TV: “Downton Ab-bey”) is 32. Actor SpencerBreslin is 21.
Thought for Today: “Thehardest job kids face today islearning good manners with-out seeing any.” — Fred As-taire, American dancer-actor(1899-1987).
TODAY IN HISTORY
GRANBURY — Gov. Rick Perry says thetornado-wrought devastation in a North Tex-as neighborhood is almost incomprehensi-ble.
Perry toured Granbury on Friday, twodays after a tornado left six people dead inthe city about 40 miles southwest of FortWorth.
Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said res-idents in the affected areas will be allowed toget belongings and begin cleaning up duringdaytime hours starting Saturday.
Granbury bore the brunt of the damageduring the outbreak of 16 tornadoes inNorth Texas. In Granbury, much of the dev-astation occurred in the Rancho Brazos Es-tates.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott also
was in Granbury and urged residents to becautious of those who might try to scamthem as they rebuild.
People who were missing in the wake ofthe destructive tornadoes in North Texashave been found safe, officials said Friday,but they didn’t indicate when residents ofone hard-hit neighborhood will be allowed toreturn to survey damage.
The Hood County Sheriff ’s Office said thedeath toll from the violent storm systemWednesday night remains at six and is un-likely to change. Authorities had said Thurs-day that as many as seven people were listedas missing, but everyone has now been ac-counted for.
Sheriff ’s spokesman Nathan Stringer saidauthorities were focusing Friday on a devas-tated neighborhood in Granbury known asRancho Brazos Estates.
AROUND TEXAS
A heavily damaged home in Granbury is seen in an aerial view on Thursday, May 16. Gov. Rick Perry visited the town Friday,two days after a tornado left six people dead. Ten tornadoes touched down in several small communities in North Texasovernight, leaving dozens injured and hundreds homeless.
Photo by Ron T. Ennis/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram | AP
Perry tours devastationBy DAVID WARREN & JAMIE STENGLE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas sues BP fordamages related to spillTexas on Friday became the
fifth state to sue British oil com-pany BP over the 2010 DeepwaterHorizon oil spill, seeking damag-es related to the worst offshoreoil spill in U.S. history.
The lawsuit, filed by the officeof Texas Attorney General GregAbbott, is seeking lost tax reve-nue, lost revenue from stateparks, damages to natural re-sources and civil penalties foreach day that oil was spilled andfor every barrel of oil that was il-legally discharged.
The April 2010 blowout of BP’sMacondo well triggered an explo-sion that killed 11 workers on therig and spilled millions of gal-lons of oil into the Gulf of Mex-ico.
“Today’s filing follows years ofwork with Texas’ sister Gulfstates and the federal govern-ment, as well as BP, to resolvedamages associated with harmcaused to the Gulf.
Because the parties to date
have been unable to fully resolveclaims related to the disaster, thestate filed today’s enforcementaction to preserve the state’sclaims against BP and other de-fendants,” Abbott’s office said ina statement.
In an email, BP spokesmanScott Dean declined to commenton the lawsuit.
Senate votes to extendTexas Lottery
AUSTIN — The Texas Senatehas voted to extend the life of thestate lottery in a vote that wasmuch less contentious than inthe House, where some lawmak-ers tried to kill it off.
In a unanimous vote with lit-tle discussion, the Senate votedFriday to continue the Texas Lot-tery for another 12 years. Lastmonth, conservatives in theHouse led a charge to kill the lot-tery as an immoral tax on thepoor.
House members ultimately de-feated that effort, but will get an-other crack at the bill next week.The Senate changed the bill to
require an audit of charitablebingo halls to make sure theyare giving money to charity.
State lawmakers use about $2billion from the lottery for edu-cation.
Lege approves SouthTexas medical school
AUSTIN — The Legislaturehas approved opening a medicalschool in South Texas’ RioGrande Valley.
The House on Friday passed aconstitutional amendment al-ready approved by the Senatewhich seeks to open, as early as2016, a medical school along theunderserved Texas border withMexico.
The new university is project-ed to enroll 28,000 students, em-ploy 7,000 people and generate$11 million in research expendi-tures. The University of TexasSystem already has pledged $100million for the project.
The effort has been backed byGov. Rick Perry and enjoyedwidespread, bipartisan support.
— Compiled from AP reports.
Arrests in New Orleansparade shootings cheered
NEW ORLEANS — Days afterbursts of gunfire brought achaotic and bloody end to aMother’s Day neighborhood pa-rade in New Orleans, news ofnow seven arrests gave an orga-nizer of the traditional eventreason to celebrate again.
“I’m just ecstatic,” EdwardBuckner, president of the Origi-nal Big 7 Social Aid and Plea-sure Club, said Thursday.
Two brothers were bookedwith 20 counts each of attemptedsecond-degree murder in Sun-day’s shooting spree in which 19people were struck by bulletsand one was injured while flee-ing. Authorities said three peo-ple remain in critical condition.
Akein Scott, 19, was capturedWednesday night. A $10 millionbond was set for him in theshooting case Thursday and hewas ordered held without bond,pending another hearing on anunrelated gun and weapon
charge. His brother, Shawn Scott, 24,
was arrested Thursday morn-ing.
The district attorney’s officehad said Shawn Scott wouldmake an initial court appear-ance Friday, but court records
show bond was set at $10 mil-lion for him in a hearing Thurs-day evening.
An additional $91,000 in bondwas added for other drug andweapon charges.
Five others were accused ofhelping suspects avoid capture.
AROUND THE NATION
Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother’s Day parade shooting, is led out of theNew Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, in New Orleans. Shawnand his brother Akein each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Photo by Matthew Hinton | AP
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SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 Local THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
This summer, Zapata resi-dents can once again pursue acollege education without travel-ing too far, as Laredo Communi-ty College and the Zapata Coun-ty Technical and Advanced Edu-cation Center team up to offercourses.
Registration is under way forthree college credit courses thatLCC will offer at the ZTAC, aspart of the college’s SummerSession 1 course offerings.
The history and math coursesLCC is planning to offer in Zapa-ta are part of the core curricu-lum for students who want toearn a certificate or associate’sdegree from LCC and/or trans-fer to a four-year university.
“Laredo Community Collegeencourages the Zapata communi-ty to participate and to take ad-vantage of this great opportuni-ty,” said Assistant Dean of LCCSouth Pricilla Medina. “We areworking hard to make sure stu-dents save as many trips to Lare-
do as possible throughout theircollege career at LCC.”
Math 1314 will be offered in a“face-to-face” classroom setting,while History 1301 and 1302 willbe transmitted from LCC’s FortMcIntosh and South campusesto the ZTAC using teleconferenc-ing technology.
All of LCC’s core courses cantransfer to any Texas college oruniversity and most otherschools.
Prospective students must gothrough LCC’s admissions pro-
cess to register for the courses.Students may apply online atwww.laredo.edu/apply.
Advisement and online regis-tration are available throughSaturday, June 1. Students mustbe advised before they can regis-ter for classes. Students can getadvised by the Student SuccessCenter via email at www.lare-do.edu/e-advising.
“It is very important for Zapa-ta students to participate inthese courses so we can offermore opportunities like these in
the near future,” Medina said.“We are looking forward to agreat turnout and a fantasticsummer session.”
Students can register forclasses online via PASPort athttps://pasport.laredo.edu.
Summer Session 1 is fromMonday, June 3 through Monday,July 8.
For information about the ad-missions, advising and/or regis-tration process, call the Enroll-ment and Registration ServicesCenter at 721-5109 or 794-4110.
LCC to offer summer courses in ZapataSPECIAL TO THE TIMES
State Sen. Judith Zaffiri-ni, D-Laredo, extended hercareer-long 100-percent vot-ing record by casting her50,000th consecutive voteFriday in the Texas Senate.
To celebrate the nation-ally inimitable milestone,the Texas Senate presentedher with a commemorativegavel and passed SenateResolution 973 authored bySen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler,and co-authored by all oth-er senators.
“Each vote I cast in theTexas Senate reflects mycommitment to balancingthe needs and interests ofSenate District 21 familieswith those of our greatstate,” Zaffirini said. “I amgrateful for the opportunityto make difference in thelives of Texans, especiallythe very young, the veryold and persons with dis-abilities.”
Zaffirini’s legendarywork ethic also is reflectedin her 100 percent perfectattendance in the TexasSenate since 1987, exceptfor breaking quorum delib-erately in 2003 to preventan untimely redistrictingthat the U.S. SupremeCourt later ruled violated
the VotingRights Actand disen-franchisedvoters in herSenatorialDistrict 21.
Zaffirinihas been rec-
ognized routinely as one ofthe best and hardest-work-ing legislators. In 1997,State Legislatures maga-zine highlighted her15,000th consecutive vote inan article titled, “15,000 andStill Counting: The TirelessTexan.”
No one responded to themagazine’s request for in-formation about similar re-cords in any other state.When she approached30,000 consecutive votes in2003, The Alcalde, the offi-cial alumni magazine ofThe University of Texas atAustin, called her the “CalRipken of the Texas Legis-lature.”
In 2011, Texas Monthlynamed her to its list of “10Best Legislators” for thefourth time, and in 2009,the magazine noted Zaffiri-ni’s tenacity in champion-ing the interests of her con-stituents: “No one worksharder. No one is more or-ganized. No one is more re-
lentless.”The first Mexican Amer-
ican woman to be elected tothe Texas Senate, to serveas president pro tempore ofthe Senate, and to serve asGovernor for a Day, Zaffiri-ni also is the second high-est-ranking Texas senator;the longest-serving womanin the Texas Senate; thehighest ranking woman,Hispanic and minority sen-ator; and the senior senatorfor South Texas, CentralTexas and the border re-gion.
Named an honorary nunby the Sisters of Mercy, Zaf-firini attributes her successin the Texas Senate partlyto lessons learned from theUrsuline nuns, particularlyher punctuality and rever-ence for decorum. To helpothers, particularly fresh-men, master the complexi-ties of the Senate, each ses-sion she voluntarily writesa Presiding Guide hand-book that memorializes theprocedures and languagefor passing bills and forpresiding over the Senateand Senate committees.
Zaffirini has sponsoredand passed 740 bills and 52substantive resolutions andco-sponsored and passedanother 384 bills.
Senator honored forcasting landmark vote
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ZAFFIRINI
PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO [email protected]
To hear the chorus ofadulation that arose fromthe surgical excise of twocelebrity breasts, you’dthink we should all have“Jolie Strong” signs inour front yards.
Angelina Jolie’s deci-sion to trade an elevatedcancer risk for a doublemastectomy has beenlauded as brave, admira-ble, and compassionate.Her confidence in the de-cision, expressed in herrevelatory op-ed in TheNew York Times, recallsthe Latin maxim “matersemper certa est” — liter-ally, “the mother is alwayscertain.” Figuratively, itmeans, the matter is be-yond dispute. And Jolie isindeed unlikely to getbreast cancer if she hasno breasts (although a 5percent risk remains).
But let’s put the brakeson the canonization, andon the dubious extrapola-tion that what one highlyvisible woman has done isa best practice. Jolie, aperson of extraordinaryprivilege, has exercised anoption that’s not availableto most women — andthat many womenwouldn’t choose even ifthey could.
When you’re alreadythe fairest of them all, youcan lose a breast or twoand still be quite fetching;Brad Pitt is not going any-where. Jolie’s decision,while no doubt agonizing,is much different from thedecision facing a similarlythreatened woman in her20s who has not yet founda partner or nursed an in-fant.
Further, the surgery Jo-lie underwent is an elec-tive surgical procedure —one that, to women whoare warier than Jolie is ofpermanently modifyingtheir bodies, might feellike a form of self-mutila-tion. Perhaps it’s unfair tocompare a preventivemeasure of noble intentto, say, repeatedly punc-turing your skin and in-jecting it with ink. Yet forme, it’s hard to separatethe message from themessenger.
Jolie herself isn’t exact-ly recommending doublemastectomies; in herpiece, she expressed thehope more women can betested for the same can-cer-related genetic muta-tion she carries. To hercredit, she carefully noted,“that there are many won-derful holistic doctorsworking on alternatives tosurgery.” And this is agood thing, because as shealso noted, “Breast cancerkills 458,000 people eachyear, according to theWorld Health Organiza-tion, mainly in low- tomiddle-income countries.”
For poor women dyingof breast cancer in dirtyhuts with no running wa-ter, there are no $3,000tests for genetic muta-tions, no surgery, no re-construction and no oneto care for their families.
Let’s not see Jolie’schoice of surgery as asaintly act that otherwomen should be quick toemulate. Much more cour-age was demanded of oth-er women who have madethis choice before her, andthose whose did not makethe choice, but had itmade for them.
Jolie andthe otherwomen
By JENNIFER GRAHAMTHE BOSTON GLOBE
Standing before report-ers Thursday, PresidentObama declined an invi-tation to compare the re-cent scandals weighingdown his administrationwith those that forcedPresident Nixon to resignin 1974. So allow us to dothe work for him: Thereis no comparison.
Nixon, in a series ofcrimes that collectivelycame to be known as Wa-tergate, directed from theWhite House and JusticeDepartment a concertedcampaign against thosehe perceived as politicalenemies, in the processsubverting the FBI, theIRS, other governmentagencies and the elector-al process to his nefari-ous purposes. Obama hasdone nothing of the kind.Nor is there much to sup-port a lesser “unifyingtheory” of this week’sscandals, which is thattogether they prove Oba-ma guilty of a grandoverreach of federal pow-er.
A recap of our views:(1) The Benghazi talk-
ing points scandal is noscandal whatsoever. Thegovernment failed to an-ticipate the attack onAmbassador J. Chris-topher Stevens and toprotect him and thosewho died alongside him,but there was no coverupof the failure and no con-
spiracy to deceive theAmerican people aboutwhat had happened.
(2) The broad search oftelephone records fromthe Associated Press insearch of a governmentleaker seems, on all avail-able evidence, to havebeen a dangerous and un-justified violation of nor-mal Justice Departmentpractice, under whichJustice should have nego-tiated with the AP to nar-row the search as far aspossible. The administra-tion has yet to offer anyjustification for this vio-lation. There’s no reasonto believe that Mr. Obamaknew anything about it,and it’s worth recallingthat Republicans clam-ored for the investigationin the first place. But thepresident’s unwillingnessto condemn it is sadlyconsistent with his ad-ministration’s record ofdamaging the FirstAmendment.
(3) The IRS targetingconservative opponentsof Mr. Obama for specialscrutiny is horrifyingand inexcusable. We don’thave a full picture of howthe practice originated,how high in the adminis-tration knowledge of itrose and how members ofCongress were repeatedlymisinformed on the sub-ject. But there is so farno evidence of WhiteHouse knowledge or in-stigation of the practice.
COLUMN
Two scandalsnot similar
THE WASHINGTON POST
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To be published, lettersmust include the writer’sfirst and last names aswell as a phone numberto verify identity. The
phone number IS NOTpublished; it is used sole-ly to verify identity andto clarify content, if nec-essary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.
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readers that a letter iswritten by the person whosigns the letter. The Zapa-ta Times does not allowthe use of pseudonyms.
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Via e-mail, send lettersto [email protected] or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Laredo,TX 78041.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
It’s easy to feel power-less against the tidal waveof discount clothes, thepull of $5 chinos for a fast-growing boy, the trendysummer dresses that arebombarding my inbox,starting at $14.99.
There are global impli-cations to fast fashion; low-price, low-quality goodshave to exact a cost some-where, and, most recently,it was in Cambodia, wherea shoe factory collapsed onThursday, killing severalworkers.
What can we do?But what’s a shopper to
do? According to a recentsurvey in Retail Week, 44percent of consumers saythey won’t change theirshopping habits after lastmonth’s factory collapse inBangladesh, which killedmore than 1,100 people.
That might not be cal-lousness so much as confu-sion: Many people are con-flicted, but also perplexed.Do you boycott Bangla-desh, or would a collapseof the garment industryhurt the Bangladeshismore? Can you trust multi-national companies to po-lice their factory floors?And if you skip out on apair of cargo pants, does itmake a sound?
Actually, consumershave more power thanthey think, said Ellen Rup-pel Shell, a Boston Univer-sity professor and the au-thor of “Cheap: The HighCost of Discount Culture.”Bad publicity matters,which helps to explain
some retailers’ decisionslast week to sign onto a le-gally binding agreement,requiring some minimumsafeguards on factory safe-ty. Shell suspects that shop-pers would be willing topay an extra 10 to 15 per-cent — the amount oneUniversity of Massachu-setts economist calculatesthat it would take — tocover the cost of improvedfactory conditions over-seas.
And Shell thinks peopleare poised to make morefundamental changes intheir clothes-shopping hab-its. The hope springs froma different retail setting:the organic-food aisles thathave, in recent years, be-come standard issue ingrocery stores. If peopleare willing to pay more fora trustworthy tomato, shesaid, will they pay morefor ethically made clothes?
Say, $144 for an oxfordshirt?
One business planThat’s the business plan
of Mark Bollman, the 25-year-old founder and presi-dent of Ball and Buck, amenswear and accessoriesstore that moved to New-bury Street last year, hav-
ing outgrown its originalNorth End location. Boll-man started Ball and Buckin 2008 as an undergradu-ate at Babson College. Hewas inspired by his up-bringing in Atlanta, wherehunting and fishing werewoven into family culture,and where his grandfather,in a duck blind, oncepulled on a pair of wadersand proudly pointed outthat he’d bought them 45years earlier.
Bollman proposed that amade-in-America pledge, aconnection to old-schooltraditions and ethical val-ues, would appeal to morethan just luxury buyers.Maybe even more so inNew England.
“This was somethingthat we hinged upon,” hetold me. “People are lesswilling, when they’re be-ing tight with their dol-lars, to just buy some shirtfor the night and throw itaway.” He pitches his prod-ucts, instead, as items thatwill last for decades — thatyou can save for yourgrandchildren to wear.
That sales pitch some-times requires retraining,he said. Consumers don’talways know how to recog-nize the differences be-tween a good garment anda cheap one, until they
start pulling threads fromtheir hems after two wash-ings. Hands-on demonstra-tions help, Bollman said;that’s the concept behindAmerican Field, a two-daypop-up store that he creat-ed last year, featuring doz-ens of vendors who demon-strate their American-made wares. He’ll hold asecond one in September,in a restored power stationin the South End.
Bollman’s vision ties in-to a “heritage brand”movement that has takenhold in menswear: oldbrands are also up withhip designers, creatinghigh-end fashion lines thatare designed to last.There’s a hipster quality tothis trend; it’s associatedwith the same types whoflock to artisinal cheese.
Broader movementBut while that’s a niche
market, Bollman has hopesthat the movement couldbroaden. He gushes aboutthe implications of organicfood, the way the food in-dustry has shifted in asmall amount of time. “Ev-eryone’s doing a kitchen in1/8the middle of3/8 therestaurant now,” he toldme. “You’d never thinkthat McDonalds wouldhave organic coffee. It’s be-coming mainstream.”
And if consumers arewilling to pay more forclothes they trust, thatcould send a message todiscount retailers: signalsabout the price shifts peo-ple are willing to accept.Two dollars more for asummer dress? That’s thecost of a good tomato, anda mountain of goodwill.
COLUMN
The price of cheap clothingBy JOANNA WEISSTHE BOSTON GLOBE “If consumers are
willing to pay more for clothes they trust, that could send a message to discount retailers …”
COLUMN
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES Crime SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
ASSAULTVictor A. Sanchez, 19, was
arrested and charged with assaultat about 5 a.m. May 12 in the600 block of Villa Avenue. He wasreleased for future court appear-ance.
BURGLARYA burglary of habitation was
reported at 7:20 a.m. Monday inSan Ygnacio.
A burglary of habitation wasreported at 8:15 a.m. Monday inthe 300 block of Grant Avenue.
A burglary of habitation wasreported at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday inthe 700 block of Laredo Street.
DWILuis Angel Resendez Jr., 26,
was arrested and charged withdriving while intoxicated and reck-less driving at about 8:45 p.m.May 11 in the intersection of Sev-enth Street and Falcon Avenue.Resendez had a combined $5,000bond at the Zapata Regional Jail.
Noe Barrientos, 41, was ar-rested at about 11:45 p.m. May 11at 24th Avenue and HidalgoStreet following reports of unsafedriving. Deputies charged Barrien-tos with driving while intoxicated.He was taken to the Zapata Re-gional Jail, where he was held ona $2,000 bond.
Robert Julian Boatright, 22,was arrested and charged withdriving while intoxicated at about3 a.m. May 12 in the intersectionof 10th Street and Roma Avenue.He had a $5,000 bond at the Za-pata Regional Jail.
HIT AND RUNA hit-and-run accident was
reported at 7:28 p.m. May 11 atthe corner of 13th Street andDiaz Avenue.
PUBLIC INTOXICATIONAntonio Uvalle-Guzman, 36,
was arrested and charged withpublic intoxication at about 3:15a.m. May 13 in the intersection ofSeventh Street and Zapata Boule-vard. Deputies said he was walk-ing in the middle of the street in-toxicated. Guzman-Uvalle wasfined $300.
Sergio Barrera, 31, was ar-rested and charged with public in-toxication at about 4:45 a.m.Monday at West 22nd and Brazosstreets. Barrera was fined $300.
Mario O. Garcia, 24, was ar-rested and charged with public in-toxication at about 2 a.m.Wednesday in the intersection of16th Street and Bravo Avenue.Deputies also served Garcia witha theft warrant. He was taken tothe Zapata Regional Jail, wherehe had a $1,000 bond.
THEFTA 33-year-old man reported
at 9:52 a.m. May 11 in the 5200block of Pety Lane that someonestole chrome wheels valued at$2,000. Deputies eventually locat-ed the property in the back ofthe home. An investigation is un-derway.
A 20-year-old man reportedat 2:04 p.m. Wednesday at Pepe’sCar Wash in the 300 block ofU.S. 83 North that someone stolea tailgate from a 2009 Sierrapickup. Investigators are lookinginto the case.
THE BLOTTER
A man arrested March20 who was allegedly lead-ing a group of 14 immi-grants through a brushyarea in Zapata pleadedguilty in federal court thisweek.
Antonio Castro Rangel,of Mexico, pled guiltyTuesday to transportingimmigrants. A sentencingdate is yet to be deter-mined. Castro Rangelfaces up to 10 years inprison.
Homeland Security In-vestigations specialagents arrested CastroRangel near the TwinLakes neighborhood inZapata on March 20 atabout 12:30 p.m. Thatsame day, U.S. Border Pa-trol agents discovered 14people who had entered
the country illegally hid-ing in the brush.
Federal officials saidthe immigrants identifiedCastro Rangel as the “footguide” who would leadthem through the brusharea, his plea documentsstate.
In a post-arrest inter-view, Castro Rangel ad-mitted he crossed thegroup across the RioGrande from Mexico intothe United States. Hewould’ve been paid $200per person, according tocourt documents.
All 14 people were citi-zens of Mexico. Peopleheld as material witnessesstated to federal agentsthey had paid a fee to besmuggled further northinto the country.
(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or [email protected])
Man pleadsguilty to
transportingBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
THE ZAPATA TIMES
A shooting incident May 9 in theSiesta Shores neighborhood in Zapatalanded a man in jail.
Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office depu-ties served arrest warrants on JeremyScott Muster, 31. He was charged withtwo counts of aggravated assault with adeadly weapon, a second-degree felonythat could be punishable with two to 20years in prison.
Muster remained in custody at theZapata Regional Jail as of Friday night.
Details on his arrest are not clear.Chief Raymundo del Bosque Jr. said au-thorities continue to investigate thecase.
On May 9, deputies responded to a
residence in the5200 block of JuanLane for reports ofa person armedwith a weapon. Anews release issuedby the sheriff ’s of-fice states Musterhad sustained “self-
inflicted wounds” to his left arm with a20-gauge shotgun.
Zapata County Fire Department EMStransported Muster to Laredo MedicalCenter for treatment. No one else wasinjured, according to the sheriff ’s of-fice. Details on the probable cause toarrest Muster were not immediatelyavailable. The case remains open.
(César G. Rodriguez may be reachedat 728-2568 or [email protected])
Shooting leads to jail By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
THE ZAPATA TIMES
MUSTER
A Laredo man arrestedat the U.S. Border PatrolInterstate 35 checkpointMay 12 for allegedly im-peding agents’ duties andmaking false statementsremained in federal custo-dy as of Friday night withno bond.
Cosme Cortez Jr., 36,chosen to waive his pre-liminary detention hear-ing, which was set for Fri-day morning before inCourtroom 3C before U.S.Magistrate Judge Guiller-mo R. Garcia.
Cortez arrest dates backto Sunday. That day atabout 9:30 a.m., Border Pa-trol conducted an immi-gration inspection on atractor-trailer driver andits passenger. The passen-ger stated his citizenshipwhile the driver, identifiedas Cortez, refused to pro-vide his citizenship aftertwo requests were made.
“I don’t have to answeryour questions,” Cortez al-legedly told agents ontheir first request. After asecond request, Cortez al-legedly said, “I told you, Idon’t have to answer yourquestions.”
Cortez then turned offthe tractor-trailer’s motorand remained seated, thecriminal complaint states.
A supervisory agent askedCortez to move the tractor-trailer to secondary in-spection because he wasblocking traffic. Cortez al-legedly refused to complywith the request, remain-ing seated in the driver’schair. The supervisoryagent then told Cortez hewould be arrested for im-peding government oper-ations.
“OK, arrest me then,”Cortez allegedly toldagents. Agents arrestedCortez and took him intoBorder Patrol offices atthe checkpoint for furtherprocessing. Before arriv-ing at the processing area,Cortez told the superviso-ry agent that he had toldthe agent at the primaryinspection lane that hewas a U.S. citizen, thecomplaint states.
But after being read hisMiranda rights, Cortez al-legedly told federal agentsthat he refused to providehis citizenship and re-fused to move the tractor-trailer from the primaryinspection lane. He saidhe refused to move the ve-hicle “because no reasonwas provided to him andno paperwork was re-quested by Border Patrol,”the criminal complaintstates. He was chargedwith impeding govern-ment operations and mak-
ing a false statement.Robert L. Harris, CBP
Commander for the SouthTexas Campaign, ex-plained further the arrestof Cortez and added Cor-tez did refuse to answerquestions but more impor-tantly, he blocked the laneof traffic, Harris said. Bil-lions of dollars of legiti-mate trade travel throughthe checkpoint. Agentshope to cause inconve-nience as little as possibleto allow legitimate cargoto flow, Harris said.
“We have one lane at In-terstate 35 for commercialtraffic. This individualblocked that lane of traffic,thereby impeding the abil-ity of our agents to con-duct further inspection.That’s why he was arrest-ed. It wasn’t for failure toanswer questions,” Harrissaid.
Harris recalled makingarrests for impeding a fed-eral officer during the per-formance of his officialduties back in his patroldays in 1984.
“As citizens we do havethe right to challenge lawswe don’t agree with. Thereare correct ways to do it.You’d want to contact yourcongressman,” Harrissaid.
(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or [email protected])
Man in custody forcheckpoint refusal
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES National SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
BOSTON — Boston Marathonbombing suspect DzhokharTsarnaev won’t be indictedwithin the 30-day period pre-scribed under the FederalSpeedy Trial Act but prosecu-tors said Friday they would askfor more time.
Sunday marks 30 days sinceTsarnaev was arrested follow-ing the April 15 twin bombingthat killed three people and in-jured more than 260.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s
office did not specify the excep-tion under which they wouldseek more time but those avail-able to prosecutors include de-lays related to the defendant’sphysical capacity. Tsarnaev re-mains in a prison hospital afterbeing badly wounded in a gunbattle with police before his ar-rest.
Earlier Friday, a judge denieda request from Tsarnaev’s attor-neys that they be allowed totake periodic photos of the 19-year-old to document “his evolv-ing mental and physical state”and whether his statements to
authorities af-ter his arrestwere made vol-untarily.
Tsarnaev’slawyers couldbe trying to ar-gue that state-ments he made to authorities af-ter his arrest on April 19 werenot voluntary because of hispoor physical condition. De-fense attorney Miriam Conraddeclined to comment.
The motion from Tsarnaev’slawyers remained sealed Friday.But the ruling by U.S. Magis-
trate Judge Marianne Bowlerincluded excerpts from the de-fense filing which suggest Tsar-naev’s lawyers may want to usethe photos to argue for a lightersentence.
Tsarnaev, 19, is charged withusing a weapon of mass destruc-tion in the April 15 bombings.He could face the death penaltyif convicted.
Bowler said Tsarnaev’s law-yers asked if they could regular-ly take their own photos ofTsarnaev.
“The defendant contends thathis ‘injuries over time’ provide
evidence of ‘his evolving mentaland physical state’ which, inturn, is probative of ‘the volun-tariness of (his) statements andsentence mitigation argument,”’Bowler wrote.
Bowler found Tsarnaev’s law-yers could not take their ownphotos, saying the Fort Devensprison where Tsarnaev ishoused has a policy against vis-itors bringing cameras. The Bu-reau of Prisons could take pho-tos of Tsarnaev with his law-yers present but those pictureswould have to be shared withprosecutors, Bowler said.
Feds: Time needed to indict TsarnaevBy DENISE LAVOIEASSOCIATED PRESS
TSARNAEV
FRAZIER PARK, Calif.— Firefighters battled ter-rain and flames as theyworked to surround a wild-fire burning for a third dayin harsh hills and moun-tains north of Los Angeles.
Thirty miles to thesouth, firefighters workedto save 19 mountain homesin a 250-acre blaze.
Temperatures dippedThursday and remainedcool Friday, but winds ex-ceeding 20 mph continuedto swirl. Much of the Fra-zier Park blaze that hasblackened more than 6square miles was in rocky,rugged, difficult-to-reachplaces, making contain-ment a challenge.
After a heavy aerial fire-fighting effort, the blazewas 35 percent containedFriday.
In Castaic to the south, afire started just before 1:30p.m. Friday and brieflythreatened an elementaryschool.
Firefighters in the airand on the ground wereable to douse the flamesclosest to Northlake Hills
Elementary School.The school had a large
defensible space around it,so it was easy to protect,Los Angeles County FireInspector Scott Miller said.
The campus was put onlockdown and buses wereput on standby for a timein case hundreds of kinder-garten through fifth-gradestudents needed to be evac-uated.
After the flames were re-directed, Los AngelesCounty sheriff ’s Sgt. BrianAllen said the studentswere released to their par-ents without incident.
Although the fire wasstill some distance fromthe homes on Elk RidgeRoad and Vista PointPlace, Miller said residentswere asked to leave as aprecaution.
The fire was moving to-ward Castaic Lake.
The cause of the fire isstill under investigation.
The Frazier Park firebroke out near Interstate 5on Wednesday when tem-peratures were in the 80s,and though they have sincecooled, winds have contin-ued to be a problem.
“It’s definitely gusty, butwe’re lucky, the winds areblowing away fromhomes,” Kern County FireDepartment spokesmanCorey Wilford said Friday.“It would be better if wedidn’t have winds at allthough.”
Lower temperatureswere expected to persist in-to the weekend.
The fire has spread tothree counties — Los An-geles, Kern and Ventura —but burned in mostly un-populated areas and threat-ened no homes or build-ings.
A Kern County highschool was closed as a pre-caution.
The fire initially burnedthick brush, seasonalgrasses and sage, but thenmoved into trees.
The cooler weatherhelped firefighters over-night clear brush and cre-ate breaks in hopes ofslowing the blaze. EffortsThursday were focused onthe southern edge of thefire.
The cause of that firewas also under investiga-tion.
A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on a wildfire Friday, May 3, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hugeSouthern California wildfire burned through coastal wilderness to the beach on Friday.
Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News | Associated Press
Calif. fire crewsbattle 2 blazes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — ANew York-area commuterrailroad says two trainshave collided in Connecti-cut. Police say that 20 ormore people were injured,but that there were no fa-talities.
The Metro-North Rail-road says emergency
workers are arriving atthe scene of Friday’s acci-dent near Fairfield. Therail line referred to it in anews release as a “majorderailment.”
Fairfield Police OfficerMatt Panilaitis says 20 to25 people were injured. Hesays there were no fatali-ties.
The railroad says a
train that departed GrandCentral Station en routeto New Haven derailed. Awestbound train on an ad-jacent track then struckthe derailed train.
Some cars on the sec-ond train also derailed asa result of the collision.
Amtrak suspended ser-vice indefinitely betweenNew York and Boston.
Emergency workers arrive at the scene of a train collision, Friday, May 17, in Fairfield, Conn. A NewYork-area commuter railroad says two trains collided in Connecticut.
Photo by Christian Abraham/The Connecticut Post | Associated Press
Trains collide in Conn.ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. —Siding with patients whosay cannabis is the onlydrug that can safely easetheir chronic pain, theSenate sent Illinois Gov.Pat Quinn a measure Fri-day that would make Illi-nois the 19th state to legal-ize marijuana for medicalpurposes.
The issue sparked anemotional debate betweenopponents who arguedthat lawmakers should inno way endorse a productclassified as a controlledsubstance by the federalgovernment and support-ers who touted the strictnature of the proposal anddeclared it was not intend-ed to allow the recreation-al use of pot.
“This bill will advancethe common good of socie-ty,” said sponsoring Demo-cratic Sen. Bill Haine.“People who are sufferingand in desperate need ofrelief should not be rele-gated to narcotics, opiatesthat are highly physicallyaddictive and have horrif-ic side effects.”
The measure was sentto the governor on a 35-21vote. Quinn previouslyhas said he was “openminded” to the proposalafter meeting with veter-ans who use marijuana toease pain related to warwounds. On Friday, his of-fice said that he will“carefully review” the leg-islation when it reacheshis desk.
The Democratic gover-nor must weigh not onlythe merits of the bill butalso the politics, given hisre-election campaign nextyear. To a large extent,Quinn already has posi-tioned himself as a liberal,having signed off on a ma-jor income tax increase,approving civil unionsand abolishing the deathpenalty while in office.
Critics of the marijuana
legislation argued thatwhile the intentions maybe good, the bill would en-courage use of a gatewaydrug that could lead usersto harder substances, de-stroying families alongthe way.
“For every touching sto-ry we have heard aboutthe benefits to those inpain, I remind you todaythat there are a thousandtimes more parents whowill never be relievedfrom the pain of losing achild due to additionwhich in many casesstarted with the very ille-gal, FDA-unapproved, ad-diction-forming drug thatyou are asking us to nowmake a normal part ofour communities,” saidRepublican Sen. KyleMcCarter, who indicatedafter the debate that his21-year-old daughter diedfrom an accidental over-dose of laced heroin.
Under the proposal, afour-year trial programwould be created to allowdoctors to prescribe pa-tients no more than 2.5ounces of marijuana everytwo weeks. To qualify, pa-tients must have one of 42serious or chronic condi-tions listed in the bill - in-cluding cancer, multiplesclerosis, glaucoma orHIV - and an establishedrelationship with a doctor.
They would undergofingerprinting and a crim-inal background checkand would be issued a reg-istration ID card. Marijua-na use would be bannedin public, in vehicles,around minors and nearschool grounds. Propertyowners would have theability to ban marijuanause on their grounds.
Patients could not legal-ly grow marijuana, andwould have to buy it fromone of 60 dispensing cen-ters across Illinois. Thestate would license 22growers, one for everystate police district.
Opponents said theydid not trust the state to
properly regulate marijua-na production, pointing toIllinois’ inability to solveexisting problems such asa budget crisis fueled byinaction on pension re-form. They also ques-tioned the legitimacy ofusing marijuana for med-ical reasons, saying thereare other options for painmanagement that havebeen approved by federalregulators.
“All of this rhetoric thatI keep hearing all day isridiculous,” said Sen. Mat-tie Hunter, a Democratwho is a certified alcoholand drug counselor. “Youall know full well the ef-fects marijuana has onthe body. All they did wasput ’medical’ in front ofmarijuana. It’s still adrug.”
Supporters counteredthat marijuana is more“benign” than many ofthe pharmaceuticals doc-tors currently prescribe,including the highly ad-dictive oxycodone.
“I think that is a muchmore dangerous drugthan the medical marijua-na we’re talking about,the medical marijuanathat will help the 35-year-old mother with MS beable to walk her child tothe end of the block to beable to catch her bus rath-er than be confined to herbed because of spasticity,”said Sen. Linda Holmes,an Aurora Democrat whohas multiple sclerosis.
The Illinois State Policeremained neutral on thebill, and an agency spokes-woman said officers will“enforce whatever law isin place.”
But the measure drewstrong opposition from theIllinois Association ofChiefs of Police and the Il-linois Sheriffs’ Associ-ation, which sent a letterto the governor and law-makers warning the pro-posal would not stop med-ical marijuana card hold-ers from driving whileunder the influence.
Ill. Senate sends potbill to governor
By MONIQUE GARCIA & RAFAELGUERRERO
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Aman accused of imprison-ing three women in hisCleveland home for a dec-ade spends most of his timein jail resting or asleep,with breaks for pacing,showers and cell cleaning.
New jail logs releasedFriday also document de-fendant Ariel Castro thank-ing a guard for bringinghim breakfast and wishinghim a good day.
Castro, 52, remains onsuicide watch with his ac-tivities documented inwriting every 10 minutes atthe Cuyahoga County jail.
He faces preliminarycharges of rape and kidnap-ping following his arrestlast week on suspicion ofkidnapping the women offthe streets near his westside neighborhood, thenholding them against theirwill and sexually assault-ing them over the next 10years. DNA tests showedCastro is the father of a 6-
year-old girl born to one ofthe women during her timein the house.
Castro, a former schoolbus driver, was arrestedMay 6 shortly after one ofthe women, Amanda Berry,kicked out part of a lockeddoor of his house andyelled to neighbors to helpher and call police.
Police quickly arrivedand found Berry in thestreet holding a girl andthen raced through thehouse, freeing Gina DeJe-sus and Michelle Knight.The women were admittedto a hospital but have beenreleased and have re-mained in seclusion, ap-pealing for privacy.
The three disappearedbetween 2002 and 2004,when they were in theirteens or early 20s, author-ities said.
Castro has been jailed on$8 million bond.
Castro’s attorney, CraigWeintraub, has describedCastro’s cell as a 9-by-9-footcell containing a metal bedwith a thin mattress cov-
ered in plastic, a metalsink, and some kind of mir-ror.
Previous logs said Cas-tro walked around the cellnaked early in his confine-ment, though he later cov-ered up.
Weintraub, who has saidCastro will plead not guilty,did not immediately returna message left Friday aboutthe logs.
The logs show that Cas-tro periodically asks for thetime, looks out the windowand stares at the ceiling.
“... up and pacing,” ac-cording to a handwrittennote at 8:10 a.m. on Tues-day, which follows an entryon Castro going to the bath-room.
“Inmate laying on matstaring at the floor,” saysan entry that night at 7:30p.m.
“Inmate laying on matstaring at the ceiling,” saysan entry 10 minutes later.
Wednesday morning be-ginning at 10:20 a.m., Cas-tro cleaned his cell for 40minutes.
Log: Cleveland suspectpass time pacing, staring
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINSASSOCIATED PRESS
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 Politics THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
port so long as more than one reli-gion and a secular symbol are alsoreflected.
State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jack-sonville, says teachers have been re-luctant to say “Merry Christmas”under fear of facing what he calls“frivolous” lawsuits.
“Merry Christmas to you all,” Ni-chols said when the bill passed.
The bill now goes to Gov. RickPerry for his consideration.
AUSTIN — It’s Christmas in Mayin the Texas Legislature.
The Texas Senate on Friday ap-proved a bipartisan bill that aims toremove legal risks of saying “MerryChristmas” in Texas public schools.Traditional holiday symbols, suchas a menorah or nativity scene,would also win a nod of state sup-
‘Christmas’ bill OK’dASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas lawmak-ers are advancing a plan tocreate a residency trainingprogram for school teachers.
In a 28-2 vote on Friday,the Senate approved a pro-gram similar to medical resi-dencies for doctors. The bill
goes to the House, which haspassed a similar version.
Arlington Republican Rep.Diane Patrick has said herproposal would help prepareteachers to work in poor ur-ban schools. It’s modeled onprograms in Boston, Mem-phis and Chicago.
The program would berun through a public univer-sity in partnership with a
nearby school district. Resi-dents would work with uni-versity faculty members andserve as apprentice teachers.They would get stipends andjob placement assistance.They would earn master’sdegrees and certification.
A budget analysis projectsthe program would cost thestate about $1.3 million an-nually.
Teacher program advancedBy MICHAEL BRICKASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A deal on a Texasbudget is finally done. Now theLegislature must withstand one fi-nal and furious week withoutsinking a compromise that re-stores nearly $4 billion to publicschools and puts more water inthe pipeline amid a historicdrought.
Gov. Rick Perry must also likethis bargain, or lawmakers willdig in for a long summer.
House and Senate negotiatorssettled Friday on a roughly $100billion state budget. It would re-verse most of the historic spend-ing cuts that socked Texas class-rooms in 2011, give state employ-ees a modest raise and still affordRepublicans the political cover ofnot busting a cap on state spend-ing.
“We’ve written a good budgetfor the people of Texas,” said Re-publican state Sen. Tommy Wil-liams, the House budget chief. “It’sa conservative budget that reflectsour values.”
The full House and Senate mustnow ratify the compromise beforethe 140-day session ends May 27.Just as important is whether Per-ry will sign this budget bill thatfalls short of the $1.8 billion in taxrelief he demanded lawmakers todeliver.
The budget deal contains a littlemore than $1 billion in businesstax cuts and refunds. Williams de-clined to predict whether the billwould satisfy Perry, whose aideswould not comment on the num-bers in the deal.
Perry has said that without sig-nificant tax breaks and $2 billionto jump-start a new water fund —which Friday’s deal includes — hewould haul lawmakers back to theCapitol for a special summer ses-sion.
“We will take a look at the billand make a decision on it oncethe Legislature sends it to us in itsfinal form,” Perry spokesmanJosh Havens said.
Even as negotiators unveiledthe compromise Friday, tensionscontinued at the end of a tumultu-ous week of spending talks. About$200 million of the restored schoolfunding, for instance, is on trackto go through a separate emergen-
cy spending bill. That worriessome Democrats, who fear Repub-licans could change their mindsand shift that money elsewhere atthe last minute.
When Democratic state Rep.Sylvester Turner pressed why allthe school funding wasn’t kept to-gether, Williams showed little pa-tience.
“I told you, because I said so,”Williams said sternly.
Turner blasted Perry and otherGOP leaders this week over accu-sations they derailed a better dealfor schools. Other leading Demo-crats were more supportive of acompromise that replenishesclassrooms stripped of $5.4 billion
by the Republican-controlled Leg-islature in 2011, when the statefaced a massive budget shortfall.
In the deal, the state would add$3.4 billion to public educationspending and put $530 million to-ward schools’ contribution to theTeacher Retirement System. All ofthe money would be in the Foun-dation School Program, whichsets the formulas that determinefunding.
“This budget has come a longway,” said Rep. Trey MartinezFischer, chairman of the MexicanAmerican Legislative Caucus, whovoted against the first draft budgetbut support the compromise.“This is about the amount cut
from the Foundation School Pro-gram a year ago. We should notlet the perfect get in the way ofthe good.”
Republicans handily controlboth the Senate and the House.But without the support of Demo-crats, the House cannot reach thetwo-thirds threshold necessary todraw $2 billion from the state’sRainy Day Fund in order tojump-start an aggressive, biparti-san plan for new water projectsacross the drought-parched state.
Other budget highlights in-clude fully funding the CancerPrevention and Research Insti-tute of Texas, which started thesession fighting merely to sur-vive following a criminal investi-gation into questionable and lu-crative awards. Sweeping re-forms have since easedlawmakers’ minds about the em-battled agency.
State employees would receivea 3 percent raise under the bud-get, and more money would besunk into mental health.
The deal is similar to one an-nounced by Lt. Gov. David Dew-hurst late Thursday night. Con-servative Republicans had com-plained the deal would spend toomuch on schools, while Demo-crats wanted more.
Although negotiators were op-timistic of the deal surviving thefinal week, the 150-memberHouse carries the greatest risk ofresistance. Even Republican stateRep. Jim Pitts, the House budgetchief, stopped short of predictingpassage in his chamber.
“I can never predict what theHouse is going to do,” Pitts said.
Budget deal struck, now goes to PerryBy CHRIS TOMLINSON & PAUL J. WEBER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Senate members, guest, and Michael Morton look on as Governor Rick Perry signs the Senate Bill 1611 Michael Morton Actinto law at the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, May 16.
Photo by Ricardo Brazziell/Statesman.com | Associated Press
LAREDO05/18— Mercado Agrí-
cola “El Centro de Laredo”se celebra de 9 a.m. a 12p.m. en Plaza Jarvis. Habráuna demostración de cocinapor parte del Chef AlbertoGutiérrez, del Hotel La Posa-da, así como la presentaciónde Dance Forum. Estaciona-miento gratuito en El Metro,al realizar una compra en elmercado.
05/18— Se realizará elevento “Battle of the BadgesRibs and Beans Cook Offand Motorcycle ScavengerHunt”, de 4 p.m. a 10 p.m.en el Park and RideGrounds, 1819 Hillside. Cos-to: 3 dólares, adultos; gratisniños de12 años y menoresde edad. Estacionamientogratuito.
05/18— Average Joe’s,9652 McPherson, Suite 1,presenta a “Grupo Fantas-ma”. Boletos en pre-ventapor 12 dólares; 20 dólaresen la puerta. Informes en el724-6767.
05/18— Silverado’sNight Club, 5920 San Ber-nardo, presenta a Alicia Vi-llarreal en concierto a las 9p.m. Informes al 726-4347 y726-1076.
05/24— Silverado’sNight Club, 5920 San Ber-nardo, presenta a RogelioMartínez, El RM, a las 9p.m. Informes al 726-4347 y726-1076.
NUEVO LAREDO, MX05/18— Estación Pala-
bra presenta “Bazar de Arte”a las 12 p.m.; Lecturas Antesde Abordar “Tras la pista deldelito: novela policíaca”, alas 3 p.m.
05/18— Tamaulipas ce-lebra a “Rigo Tovar” concharla y anécdotas con elcantante de Los Matemáti-cos y ex manager de Rigo,Juan Garza “El Matemático”,exposición de fotografías,lecturas biográficas y rese-ñas, a las 3 p.m. en Esta-ción Palabra. Entrada libre.
05/18— Museo para Ni-ños “Celebrando el Día Inter-nacional del Museo” con in-vitado especial Colectivo400Lux, a las 6 p.m. en laSala de Servicios Educativosdel Museo Reyes Meza. En-trada libre.
05/19— Matinée Cultu-ral Infantil a las 11 a.m. enel Teatro Lucio Blanco deCasa de la Cultura. Entradalibre.
05/19— El Grupo deTeatro Laberintus presenta laobra “Alicia en el país de lasmaravillas”, del Clásico deLewis Carroll, dirigida porLuis Edoardo Torres, a las 12p.m. en el teatro del IMSS,Reynosa y Belden, SectorCentro. Costo 20 pesos.
05/19— Domingos deTeatro Universitario presenta“El Drama de la Risa” conGrupo Tiempo y Espacio, alas 6 p.m. en el Teatro LucioBlanco de Casa de la Cultu-ra. Entrada libre.
05/19— Tamaulipas ce-lebra a “Rigo Tovar” con lapremiación para el doble deRigo Tovar, expo mural grafi-tos y arte urbano, patinetasy motos, concierto y bailepopular, a las 6 p.m. en laPlaza Hidalgo. Entrada libre.
05/21— Cine Club pre-senta “Homenaje a CarmenMontejo” (1947), a las 6p.m. en el Auditorio de Esta-ción Palabra. Apta para ado-lescentes y adultos.
05/21— Laberintus Tea-tro presenta “Diálogos deNostalgia y Pollos”, a las 7p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS,Belden y Reynosa. Costo: 20pesos.
05/24— Homenaje aRayuela: 50 años de una le-yenda literaria en “Parali-bros” de Paseo Reforma alas 5 p.m. Entrada gratuita.
05/25— El programa“Leo… Luego Existo” presen-ta a la actriz Ángeles Marín,en el Auditorio de EstaciónPalabra a las 6 p.m.
Agendaen Breve
WEST, Texas — Los investiga-dores no han descartado la activi-dad delictiva como la causa de lafuerte explosión en una planta defertilizantes, que dejó 14 muertosy dejó en ruinas parte de un pe-queño poblado texano, dijeron eljueves dos funcionarios familiari-zados con los hallazgos.
La explosión del 17 de abril enWest Fertilizer dejó 200 heridos ydestruyó parte del poblado deWest. Las autoridades han pasadoun mes peinando los escombros yhablando con cientos de testigos.
Pero aún no han podido deter-
minar la causa del siniestro, dije-ron los funcionarios.
Un funcionario estatal que havisto un reporte de la investiga-ción y un segundo funcionarioque fue informado sobre los ha-llazgos, dijeron a The AssociatedPress que los investigadores seenfocan en un carro de golf con lapresunción de que tendría un des-perfecto, en un problema eléctri-co o en posible actividad crimi-nal.
El funcionario estatal dijo quelos investigadores estaban “esca-sos de información definitiva” so-bre la causa del estallido. Se negóa dar más detalles hasta que lasautoridades ofrecieran una confe-rencia de prensa para anunciarsus hallazgos.
No obstante, el funcionario dela agencia del orden dijo que el
carrito de golf en cuestión a vecesestaba estacionado en el lugardonde comenzó el incendio, perolos investigadores dijeron que nopodían confirmar que el vehículoestuviera estacionado ahí la no-che de la explosión.
Los investigadores han descar-tado algunas causas, como el quealguien estuviera fumando o unevento natural, dijo el funciona-rio de la agencia del orden.
“La ciencia sólo alcanza paraesto hasta ahora”, dijo el funcio-nario policial. “Y es todo lo quese puede hacer”.
Ambos funcionarios hablaronbajo condición de anonimato por-que los informes preliminares es-taban en proceso. Así, no queríanhablar públicamente antes de unaconferencia de prensa programa-da por autoridades federales y es-
tatales.Las autoridades han determi-
nado que la sustancia que estallófue nitrato amónico, pero no sa-ben qué inició el incendio o causóla explosión.
Entre los muertos se encuen-tran 10 brigadistas y dos volunta-rios que trataban de apagar el in-cendio inicial, que se reportó 18minutos antes del estallido.
La explosión arrojó escombrosa más de kilómetro y medio (unamilla) de distancia, y dejó un crá-ter de 28 metros (93 pies) de diá-metro.
El nitrato amónico es una sus-tancia química usada como ferti-lizante que además se puede em-plear como una alternativa bara-ta a la dinamita. Fue la sustanciaempleada en el atentado de Okla-homa City de 1995.
INVESTIGACIÓN EXPLOSIÓN WEST, TEXAS
No descartan crimenAutoridades siguen
buscando pistasPOR NOMAAN MERCHANT Y JIM VERTUNO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PÁGINA 10A Zfrontera SÁBADO 18 DE MAYO DE 2013
Con el propósito de elevar la competitividadde la frontera, autoridades, industriales y aca-démicos de Tamaulipas y Texas sostuvieronuna reunión para analizar las propuestas en-caminadas a convertir las ciudades fronteri-zas de ambos estados en una Zona EconómicaBinacional BiNED (por sus siglas en inglés).
A decir de Mónica González García, titularde la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico yTurismo (SEDET), las acciones que promueveel Gobierno de Tamaulipas coinciden con eldiseño del programa BiNED para consolidarlas inversiones y la competitividad.
Unas de las acciones, por ejemplo, son teneruna agenda de trabajo y reuniones bilaterales.
González explicó que con la iniciativa Bi-NED se pueden promover nuevos sectores deinversión que obtengan mayor valor por estarcerca de la frontera, como manufactura avan-zada, re manufactura, logística o centros deinvestigación.
Dijo que una zona económica binacional in-crementa el potencial de esta región para atra-er empresas especializadas y de alto contenidotecnológico sin olvidar a la industria de grandemanda de mano de obra.
La región fronteriza tiene más de 40 añosde experiencia en el sector maquilador, conpersonal altamente competitivo que ha podidodesarrollar habilidades especializadas de ma-nufactura y logística, dijo ella.
Entre otras ventajas que Tamaulipas aportaa este proyecto está la fortaleza de sus secto-res eléctrico-automotriz, autopartes, electróni-co, tecnología de la información y servicios lo-gísticos, expresó González.
De igual forma, el sector salud presentaoportunidades de crecimiento gracias a laoferta de médicos, especialidades y servicioshospitalarios de calidad que se ubican en lazona fronteriza de Tamaulipas.
Entre algunos acuerdos tomados, se adoptóel compromiso de establecer un grupo de tra-bajo con especialistas y funcionarios de am-bos países que coordine las estrategias, metas,proyectos y el marco legal de esta nueva zonaeconómica.
TEXAS-TAMAULIPAS
Crearánzona
económicafronteriza
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
GRANBURY — Variostornados azotaroncomunidades peque-ñas del norte de Te-
xas durante la noche del miér-coles, donde dejaron seismuertos, decenas de heridos ya cientos de personas sin ho-gar.
La violenta tormenta pri-maveral desperdigó cadáveres,desbarató casas y arrojó trac-tocamiones sobre automóviles.
En Granbury, la ciudad másgolpeada, un tornado se intro-dujo en dos vecindarios alre-dedor de las 8 p.m. del miérco-les. Elizabeth Tovar, una resi-dente, describió los granizosdel tamaño de un puño queprecedieron la llegada del tor-nado. Al verlos, ella y su fami-lia decidieron refugiarse en elbaño.
“Todos estábamos comoabrazados en la tina y fue en-tonces cuando comenzó a ocu-rrir. Escuché cristales que serompían y supe que mi casaestaba yéndose”, afirmó Tovar.
“Miramos hacia arriba y... to-do el techo había desapareci-do”.
El alguacil del condado deHood, Roger Deeds, describióel devastador escenario y labúsqueda de cadáveres enGranbury, ubicada a unos 64kilómetros (40 millas) al suro-este de Fort Worth. Seis perso-nas murieron en la ciudad.
“Algunos fueron halladosdentro de las casas. Algunosfueron encontrados alrededorde las viviendas”, dijo Deeds.“Hubo un reporte de que dosde estas personas que fueronencontradas ni siquiera esta-ban cerca de sus casas. Asíque vamos a tener que regis-trar el área”.
Alrededor de la mediano-che, Deeds dijo que 14 perso-nas aún estaban desapareci-das, pero el alcalde Pro TemNin Hulett declaró a la televi-sora ABC el jueves en la ma-ñana que creía que la mayoríade los residentes ya han sidodetectados.
Cerca de 50 personas fueronllevadas a un hospital deGranbury, señaló Deeds.
Hasta 100 personas resulta-ron heridas, dijo Matt Za-vadsky, portavoz de la firmade servicios médicos MedStarMobile Healthcare.
La misma tormenta generóotro tornado que según los ob-servadores de tormentas teníaun diámetro de kilómetro ymedio (una milla). Ese torna-do arrasó parte de Cleburne,donde residen unas 30.000 per-sonas, a unos 40 kilómetros(25 millas) al sureste de Gran-bury.
No hubo informes de muer-tos ni heridos graves por esatormenta, dijo el alcalde deCleburne, Scott Cain, aunquesiete personas sufrieron lesio-nes menores. Calculó que de-cenas de viviendas resultarondañadas y declaró el área co-mo zona de desastre.
Otro tornado golpeó al pe-queño poblado de Millsap, aunos 64 kilómetros (40 millas)al oeste de Fort Worth. El juezMark Kelley del condado Par-ker dijo que varias casas su-frieron daños en sus tejados yun granero fue destruido, perono se reportaron lesiones.
TEXAS
SALDO TRÁGICO
Residencias dañadas son vistas en Granbury, Texas, el jueves. Diez tornados tocaron tierra sobre varias peque-ñas comunidades al Norte de Texas la noche del miércoles, dejando como saldo seis personas muertas y de-strucción.
Foto por Ron T. Ennis/The Forth Worth Star-Telegram | Associated Press
Tornados dejan muerte y destrucciónPOR JOHN L. MONE Y ANGELA K. BROWN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SON BRIONES
Foto de cortesa Rosario Salinas | La del Miernes
La imagen muestra a parte de los integrantes de laFamilia Briones, originaria de Ciudad Mier, que conmotivo del Día de las Madres se reunieron en RioGrande City el 27 de abril. Más de 60 descendientesatendieron el evento. Estuvo presente Amalia BrionesGonzález Vda. de Salinas, de 97 años de edad, quienes la sobreviviente de mayor edad.
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Jaime Garza, 42, passedaway Wednesday, May 8,2013, at McAllen MedicalHeart Hospital in McAllen,Texas.
Mr. Garza is preceded indeath by his mother, JuanaSantos.
Mr. Garza is survived byhis wife, Maria S. Garza;sons: Jaime Garza Jr.,Eduardo Garza, Luis Garzaand Mark Garza; grand-child, Jaime Garza III; step-father, Aide Santos; sisters,Ofelia Bustamante and Ri-carda Sariñana; brothers:Zaragoza, Roberto, Balde-mar, Javier Garza, RafaelBustamante and TomasBustamante; and by nu-merous other family mem-bers and friends.
Visitation hours wereheld Friday, May 10, 2013,from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., witha wake at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.
A chapel service washeld 10 a.m. Saturday, May11, 2013, at Rose Garden Fu-neral Home. Committal ser-vices followed at Zapata
County Cemetery. Condolences may be sent
to the family at www.rose-gardenfuneralhome.com.
Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 N.U.S. Highway 83, Zapata,TX.
JAIME GARZA
Bernardo “Nano” Busta-mante, 77, passed awaySunday, May 12, 2013, at La-redo Medical Center in La-redo, Texas.
Mr. Bustamante is pre-ceded in death by his par-ents, Silvestre and MariaLuisa Bustamante; broth-ers, Jose Luis Bustamanteand Silvestre BustamanteJr.; and a sister, Ana MariaBustamante.
Mr. Bustamante is sur-vived by his wife, Lydia S.Bustamante; son, BernardoJr. (Clementina) Busta-mante; daughters: MariaLuisa (Miguel) Molina, Ai-mee (Kenny) Ortamondand Lydia (Lauro) Garza;grandchildren: FernandoBustamante, Thomas LeeBustamante, Julia Garcia,Christina (Ryan) Castillo,Miguel Molina, Ashley Ma-rie Ortamond, Lydia Garzaand Laura A. Garza; great-grandchildren, BriannaCastillo and Rylynn Castil-lo; sisters: Blanca (Aurelia-no) Salinas, Minerva(Andres) Arambula andMaria Concepcion (Oscar)Villarreal; sisters-in-law,Maria De Los Angeles Bus-tamante, Guadalupe V. Bus-tamante; and by numerousnephews, nieces and manyfriends.
Visitation hours wereheld Tuesday, May 14, 2013,from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with
a rosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.
The funeral processiondeparted Wednesday, May15, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal servic-es followed at BustamanteCemetery.
Condolences may be sentto the family at www.rose-gardenfuneralhome.com
Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 N.U.S. Highway 83, Zapata,TX.
BERNARDO ‘NANO’ BUSTAMANTE
The Texas A&M Interna-tional University SmallBusiness Development Cen-ter (TAMIU-SBDC) in Lare-do will sponsor severalworkshops throughout themonth of May.
On Wednesday, May 22,Managing cash - the Small
Business Owner’s Guide toFinancial Control Work-shop, is scheduled from 9a.m. to noon, classroom lo-cation provided with regis-tration confirmation; $20fee includes Workbook.Cash flow is what comesinto and goes out of a busi-ness.
On Thursday, May 23,
QuickBooks workshop: Put-ting Financial Manage-ment to Work for YourBusiness is a hands-onworkshop from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. in TAMIU’s Dr. Billy F.Cowart Hall, room 113. In-structor Norma Rodríguez,SBDC-certified business ad-visor, will go over the stepsto create a new Quick-
Books company, modify thepreset chart of accounts,reconcile a QuickBookschecking account, invoicecustomers, create sales or-ders and more. Workshopfee is $50.
On Thursday, May 30,Economic opportunity fo-rum “Texas Wants YOURBusiness” from 8 a.m. to
noon at the Senator JudithZaffirini Student SuccessCenter room 101. Success-ful businesses tap into newmarkets daily, securingnew business to bettertheir bottom line and ex-tend their business’ reach.
On Friday, May 31, theTAMIU-SBDC, in conjunc-tion with the Texas Rio
Grande Legal Aid: LegalAssistance to Microenter-prise Project (L.A.M.P.) willprovide a Seminar de-signed to assist potentialand existing business own-ers with legal issues. Semi-nar is free and scheduledfrom 9 a.m. to noon; class-room location providedwith registration.
TAMIU to give business workshopsSPECIAL TO THE TIMES
NEW YORK — It wassupposed to be our IPO,the people’s public offer-ing.
Facebook, the brain-child of a young CEO whosauntered into Wall Streetmeetings in a hoodie, wasgoing to be bigger thanAmazon, bigger thanMcDonald’s, bigger thanCoca-Cola. And it was allmade possible by ourfriendships, photos andfamily ties.
Then came the IPO, andit flopped. Facebook’sstock finished its first dayof trading just 23 centshigher than its $38 IPOprice. It hasn’t been thathigh since.
Even amid the hype andexcitement surroundingFacebook’s May 18 stockmarket debut a year ago,there were loomingdoubts. Investors won-dered whether the socialnetwork could increase ad-vertising revenue withoutalienating users, especiallythose using smartphonesand tablet computers.
The worries intensifiedjust days before the IPOwhen General Motors saidit would stop paying foradvertisements on the site.The symbolic exit cast ashroud over Facebook thatstill exists. Facebook’smarket value is $63 billion,some two-thirds of what itwas the morning it firstbegan trading. At around$27 per share, the compa-ny’s stock is down roughly30 percent from its IPOprice. Meanwhile, theStandard & Poor’s 500 in-dex is up 27 percent overthe same period.
Despite its disappoint-ing stock market perform-ance, the company has de-livered strong financial re-sults. Net incomeincreased 7 percent to $219million in the most recentquarter, compared withthe previous year, and rev-enue was up 38 percent to$1.46 billion.
The world’s biggest on-line social network has al-so kept growing to 1.1 bil-lion users. Some 665 mil-lion people check in everyday to share photos, com-ment on news articles andplay games. Millions ofpeople around the worldwho don’t own a computer
use Facebook, in Malawi,Malaysia and Martinique.
And much has changedat Facebook in a year. Thecompany’s executives andengineers have quietly ad-dressed the very doubtsthat dogged the companyfor so long. Facebook be-gan showing mobile adver-tisements for the first timejust after the IPO. Itlaunched a search featurein January and unveiled abranded Facebook smart-phone in April. The com-pany also introduced waysfor advertisers to gaugethe effectiveness of theirads.
Even GM has returnedas a paying advertiser.
Now, Facebook is look-ing to its next challenge:convincing big brand-name consumer compa-nies that advertisementson a social network are asimportant — and as effec-tive — as television spots.
“We aspire to have ads,to show ads that improvethe content experienceover time,” Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg told ana-lysts recently. “And if wecontinue making progresson this, then one day wecan get there.”
To achieve those aims,the company has rolledout tools to help advertis-ers target their messagesmore precisely than theycan in print or on televi-sion. Companies can sin-gle out 18- to 24-year-oldmale Facebook users whoare likely to buy a car inthe next six months. They
can target 30-year-oldwomen who are research-ing Caribbean getaways.
Analytic tools like theseweren’t available a yearago. But last fall Facebookhired several companiesthat collect and analyzedata related to people’s on-line and offline behavior.Facebook’s advertisers cannow assess whether aCrest ad you saw on Face-book likely led you to buyof a tube of toothpaste inthe drugstore. The servic-es take what Facebookknows about you and whatads you saw and combinethis with the informationretailers have about youand what you’ve pur-chased through loyaltycards and the like.
Advertisers are alsomaking use of Facebook’spartnership with audiencemeasurement firm NielsenCo. Nielsen introduced atool last fall that helpsmarketers discover “notonly who saw their ad on-line and who saw their adon TV, but also how theseaudiences match up,” saysDavid Wong, vice presi-dent at product leadership.
Sean Bruich, Facebook’shead of measurement plat-forms and standards, be-lieves the new tools arepaying off.
“What we can see con-clusively a year after theIPO is that ads on Face-book really do help drivepeople into the store andhelp them make purchas-ing decisions, help influen-ce their purchasing deci-
sions,” he says.A Nielsen analysis
found that consumers are55 percent more likely torecall “social ads” thantraditional online ads.
So powerful is Face-book’s new analytic arse-nal that privacy advocatesare growing concernedabout the potential intru-siveness of merging con-sumers’ online and offlineexperiences.
People “are gettingserved ads based on thingsthey didn’t put on Face-book and maybe wouldn’tbe comfortable putting onFacebook,” says RaineyReitman, activism directorat the Electronic FrontierFoundation. Facebook saysmechanisms are in placeto protect privacy.
“We’ve never had any-thing like Facebook,” Reit-man says. “We’ve neverhad an entity that wasable to collect so much in-formation on so much ofthe world’s population, ev-er.”
Advertisers aren’t com-plaining.
“Anywhere that morethan a billion people spendtime with their friendseach month is extremelyvaluable to us,” says BradRuffkess, connection strat-egist at Coca-Cola.
At Procter and Gamble,the world’s biggest adver-tiser, “we saw almost fromthe start that social mediais the world’s largest focusgroup,” says Marc Pritch-ard, the company’s globalbrand building officer.
Facebook aims for big adsBy BARBARA ORTUTAY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this May 18, 2012, file photo, provided by Facebook, founder, chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg,center, rings the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock market.
Photo by Zef Nikolla/NASDAQ | AP
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
OAKLAND, Calif. — TimDuncan, Tony Parker,Manu Ginobili and the SanAntonio Spurs are back inthe Western Conference fi-nals for the second straightseason with the same stylethat has carried them tofour NBA titles.
Don’t call these guys oldjust yet.
After wearing down theyounger Golden State War-riors in a grueling six-game series, the Spurs lookas spry as ever. And theyalready know what to ex-pect when they open theconference finals at homeagainst Memphis on Sun-day.
“It’s going to be a roughone,” Duncan said. “If youthought this was physical,it’s going to turn up about10 notches.”
San Antonio has shownit can still grind out a se-ries.
Duncan had 19 pointsand six rebounds, KawhiLeonard added 16 pointsand 10 rebounds and theSpurs held off a furious fi-nal rally to eliminate theWarriors with a 94-82 victo-
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
West finalsSpurs
ready forMemphis
San Antonio’s Tim Duncan shoots around Golden State’s Klay Thompson during the first half Thursdayin Oakland, Calif.
Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP
By ANTONIO GONZALEZASSOCIATED PRESS
See SPURS PAGE 2B
BALTIMORE — Every-thing’s a go for Orb.
The Kentucky Derbywinner was in a playfulmood the day before thePreakness, making facesfor photographers be-tween nibbles of grassoutside his stall at Pimli-
co Race Course.“He’s really settled in
well. He seems to be ener-getic about what he’s do-ing so I couldn’t be morepleased,” trainer ShugMcGaughey said on awarm and sunny Fridaymorning. “We’re excitedabout giving him a whirl
HORSE RACING
In this May 4 file photo, jockey Joel Rosario celebrates aboardOrb after winning the 139th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky.
File photo by Darron Cummings | AP
Orb favoredto take
PreaknessAfter winning the Kentucky Derby,Orb looking to set up Triple Crown
By RICHARD ROSENBLATTASSOCIATED PRESS
See PREAKNESS PAGE 2B
Embattled right tackleDoug Free reportedlyagreed to a hefty pay cutThursday that will allowhim to remain with theDallas Cowboys and likelyretain his starting job.
Free’s new deal callsfor him to receive abouthalf of the $14 million hewas scheduled to collectover the next two years.His base salary has been
reduced from $7 million to$3.5 million but only his2013 salary is guaranteed,ESPNDallas.com reported.
Free signed a four-year,$32 million contract in2011, a pact that included$17 million guaranteed.
Free struggled last sea-son and was forced tosplit time late in the cam-paign with Jeremy Par-nell. After Free gave upseven sacks and commit-
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
In this Nov. 18 file photo, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo looksaround tackle Doug Free against Cleveland in Arlington, Texas.
File photo by Sharon Ellman | AP
Doug Freereduces payfor Dallas
Cowboys sign Anthony Hargrove toadd depth along the defensive line
By TOM ORSBORNSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
See COWBOYS PAGE 2B
HOUSTON — Reid Ryanchoked back tears as hewas introduced as presi-dent of his beloved Astros,the team he grew up watch-ing in the days when hisHall of Fame father, NolanRyan, starred as a pitcherfor Houston.
“My ties with the Astrosgo all the way back to 1980when my dad came over,”Reid Ryan said. “Todayreally is a dream come truebecause you grow up anAstros fan if you’re in
Houston. Everybody’s gottheir hometown team, andthe Astros were mine. Thisis just a very special day.”
Astros owner Jim Cranecertainly appreciates hav-ing the Ryan name associ-ated with his team again,but was quick to point outthat Reid Ryan is muchmore than simply the sonof a famous ball player.
“It’s great to have yourkid in the business, butnow he can prove himselfas Reid Ryan,” Crane said.“His dad’s is a famed play-er, a very, very famous guy,but Reid’s the kind of guy
that stands on his own, andI think you’ll see him standalone in this position anddo a great job.”
Since 1998, Ryan, the el-dest son of Nolan Ryan, hasbeen the CEO of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, whichowns the Triple-A RoundRock Express and Double-ACorpus Christi Hooks. The41-year-old Reid Ryanhelped create the Express,an affiliate of the TexasRangers and the Hooks, anAstros’ affiliate.
Don Sanders, who co-owns Ryan-Sanders Base-ball with Nolan Ryan,
raved about Reid Ryan. Hepointed out the work he didin luring fans to see histeams, which have oftenbeen ranked at the top ofthe minor leagues in at-tendance. Reid Ryan alsocame up with the idea forthe Rangers to play two ex-hibition games at the Ala-modome in San Antonio inMarch that drew morethan 75,000 fans.
“If I were going to buy abaseball team and I couldhave anybody in the coun-try to run it, he’d be the
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Houston pitching great and current Texas Rangers executive Nolan Ryan, center, talks with, from left, former Astros’ Enos Cabell and CraigBiggio, and his son Reese Ryan, right, before his eldest son Reid Ryan was announced as the new Astros president on Friday in Houston.
Photo by Smiley N. Pool | AP
Ryan new Astros presidentBy KRISTIE RIEKENASSOCIATED PRESS
See ASTROS PAGE 2B
to see if we can get it doneand go on to the next step.”
Getting it done wouldmean defeating eight rivalsin the 1 3-16-mile Preaknessto set up a Triple Crowntry in the Belmont Stakesthree weeks from Saturday.Orb is the even-money fa-vorite, and there’s a grow-ing feeling that this 3-year-old bay colt may be specialenough to give thorough-bred racing its first TripleCrown champion since Af-firmed in 1978.
“We’d sure love to havethat opportunity,” saidMcGaughey, seeming re-laxed and confident. “Prob-ably the racing worldwould love to see it, too. Itbrings a lot more attentionto what we’re doing fromall standpoints.”
Orb extended his win-ning streak to five with athrilling victory in the Der-by two weeks ago, whenjockey Joel Rosario patient-ly guided the colt from 17thto first in the final halfmile over a sloppy track.
In the Preakness, Orbwill break from the No. 1post, a spot that has seenonly one winner — Tabas-co Cat in 1994 — since 1961.
“Who knows how thisrace is going to go, but Idon’t think it will be aproblem,” Rosario said ofthe inside post. “He’s ahorse that comes from be-hind, so I really don’t thinkit will affect him. I’m justexcited to go into this witha horse who has a chanceto win.”
A chance?While rival trainers
aren’t conceding the race,most agree Orb is the bestof the bunch.
“Orb, he’s a freak. Rightnow, everybody should berooting for Orb, except forthe connections of the oth-er horses in the race,”
trainer Bob Baffert said —and he’s got a horse in therace, 12-1 choice GovenorCharlie. “Anybody who’snot rooting for Orb, there’ssomething mentally wrongwith them.”
Baffert has been therebefore. Three of his fivePreakness winners had al-so won the Derby, but wereunable to complete the Tri-ple Crown with a win inthe Belmont. He says thePreakness is the leaststressful of the three races.
“There is absolutely nopressure, believe it or notbecause you’ve just wonthe Derby,” he said. “You’reflying high and everybody’sexcited. You don’t thinkabout it. The next one (theBelmont) is the pressure.”
Getting to the next onemay sound easy. It isn’t. Sixof the past eight Derby win-ners did not win the Preak-ness, and McGaughey iswell aware of the pitfalls.
“There are a lot of waysyou can lose. Freaky thingscan happen,” he said. “Youhope he doesn’t get in anytrouble, you hope he han-dles the track, you hope hehandles the kickback of thedirt, you hope he handles
the day. If he does all that, Iwould have to think it willtake a pretty darn goodhorse to beat him.”
Maybe it’s Goldencents,who did not take to the slopat Churchill Downs andfinished 17th after winningthe Santa Anita Derby inApril.
“Orb’s not like a one-racehit. All year long he’s beensuper impressive,” saidGoldencents trainer DougO’Neill, who won the Derbyand Preakness last yearwith I’ll Have Another, onlyto scratch the colt the daybefore the Belmont becauseof a tendon injury. “Butwe’ve seen Goldencents dosome brilliant things in theafternoon. If he does, Ithink he can beat him.”
Maybe it’s Itsmylucky-day, another top 3-year-oldwho did not handle thesloppy track and finished15th in the Derby.
Or maybe it’s Departing,one of the three horses inthe race who did not run inthe Derby. Orb knows De-parting well — the twowere pals growing up atClaiborne Farm in Paris,Ky., and ran around togeth-er in the same field.
PREAKNESS Continued from Page 1B
Kentucky Derby winner Orb, with exercise rider Jennifer Pattersonaboard, gallops during a workout Thursday in Baltimore.
Photo by Patrick Semansky | AP
PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
ry Thursday night.Parker shook off a poor
start to score 10 of his 13points in the fourth quar-ter and Tiago Splitter add-ed a career-playoff high 14points for San Antonio,which watched a 13-pointlead in the third quarterdissolve to two in the finalminutes. But the Spursstayed steady, just the waythey have for nearly twodecades, and avoided theperils of a decisive Game 7against Golden State.
“They’ve got great char-acter. They’re competitive.They know there’s not amillion chances to do thissort of thing. They wantedit,” Spurs coach GreggPopovich said of his squad.
Stephen Curry shot 10 of25 from the floor to score22 points on a nagging leftankle, and Jarrett Jackhad 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors finallytired. Rookie forward Har-rison Barnes injured hishead in the second quarter,returned in the third andwas sidelined in the fourthwith a headache.
The Spurs outshot Gold-en State 45 percent to 39percent and outreboundedthe Warriors 46 to 40 to putthemselves in position tomake another champion-ship run.
The fifth-seeded Griz-zlies eliminated OklahomaCity in five games. Mem-phis and San Antonio splitthe season series 2-2.
“It’s not going to be pret-ty, sorry. It’s just not goingto be,” Duncan said.
The Spurs lost to theThunder in the conferencefinals in six games lastseason after going ahead2-0 at home. They haven’tbeen to the NBA Finalssince 2007, when they wontheir fourth title with asweep of LeBron Jamesand the Cleveland Cava-liers.
“I think everybody onthe team, we all want to goone more time,” Parkersaid. “It’s been a longtime.”
The Spurs became thefirst team to win consecu-tive games in the seriesand hand the sixth-seededWarriors consecutive loss-es in the playoffs — andthey did it at just the righttime.
The Spurs quieted astanding-room-only crowdlate in the third quarter
and seemingly seized con-trol for good. Instead, theWarriors roared back.
Klay Thompson, whohad 10 points on 4-for-12shooting, made a 3-pointerearly in the fourth quarterthat sliced San Antonio’slead to three. Then Curry’spull-up jumper brought theWarriors within 77-75 with4:52 to play.
Parker was 1 for 13 be-fore hitting a corner 3-pointer and Leonard fol-lowed with two free throwsto put the Spurs up seven.
Jack made a jumper andtwo free throws to bringthe Warriors back again.Then Leonard hit anothershot from beyond the arcto put the Spurs ahead 85-79.
Curry and Thompsoneach had consecutive 3srim out on the same pos-session that could’ve keptGolden State close. ButParker hit another 3-point-er to put San Antonio up88-79 with 1:15 remainingand send some of the yel-low-shirted crowd of 19,596to the exits.
“I just kept believing inme,” said Parker, who add-ed eight assists and fin-ished 3 for 16 from thefloor. “My teammates, theywere behind me. Theywould keep telling me,‘Keep shooting, they’ll goin.”’
In the end, most of theWarriors’ faithful stillstuck around.
Fans serenaded thehome team with chants of“Warr-i-ors!” in the finalseconds. Curry grabbed amicrophone after the gameand thanked fans at halfcourt, breaking the huddlewith the crowd, “Just us!”
The Warriors had onlymade the playoffs oncesince 1994 before this sea-son and hadn’t won twogames beyond the firstround since 1977.
“It’s inspiring to think ofwhat we were able to ac-complish this year and thefoundation that has beenlaid,” Warriors coachMark Jackson said.
Added Curry: “It willtake a minute to realizethe accomplishments wehave made, for a Warriorsteam to be in this position,it’s a good thing, and wecan build on this for nextyear.”
The Spurs showed in-credible ball movement
and had the Warriors play-ing from behind most ofthe way. San Antonio’sfirst 10 field goals came onan assist, going ahead by10 points in the secondquarter and maintainingthat cushion until late.
Golden State stayed closedespite more injury set-backs in a season full ofthem.
Andrew Bogut walkedgingerly to the locker roomwith 8:31 remaining in thesecond quarter to get histroublesome left ankle re-taped. At one point, he toldJackson he “couldn’tmove.”
“I was running on fumesthe whole series,” said Bo-gut, who had three pointsand seven rebounds in 20minutes.
In the second quarter,Barnes fell awkwardlywhile leaping to contest alayup from Boris Diaw.Barnes hit the court hardand his teammates imme-diately called for the train-ing staff to attend to himas the arena fell silent. Hereceived six stitches abovehis right eye at halftimeand ran on the court lateto start the third quarter,bringing fans to their feetroaring once more.
At least for a moment.Barnes left the game in
the fourth quarter becauseof a headache. The teamsaid he had passed a con-cussion test and followedNBA protocol before he re-turned. Barnes finishedwith nine points and fourrebounds in 31 minutes.
The steady Spurs keptmaking the Warriors workfor every shot and grind-ing out points on the otherend. San Antonio took a61-48 lead late in the thirdquarter before GoldenState started its finalsurge.
NOTES: NBA Commis-sioner David Stern, Sacra-mento Mayor Kevin John-son and prospective Kingsowner Vivek Ranadive at-tended the game. ... TheSpurs are 10-1 in closeoutgames since the start ofthe 2007 playoffs. ... Park-er’s worst shooting per-formance in the playoffswith more than five shotattempts came when hewas 1 of 12 against NewJersey in the 2003 NBA Fi-nals won by the Spurs. ...The Warriors fell to 4-1 af-ter a loss in the playoffs.
SPURS Continued from Page 1B
San Antonio small forward Kawhi Leonard dunks over Golden State power forward Carl Landry dur-ing the second half Thursday in Oakland, Calif.
Photo by Jeff Chiu | AP
ted 13 penalties, the Cow-boys told him he would on-ly stay with the club if heagreed to a substantial paycut.
The move benefits Dallasin that it cleared $3.5 mil-lion worth of salary caproom, which will allow it toeither sign more freeagents or extend the con-tract of one of its players.
D-LINEMAN SIGNEDAlso Thursday, Dallas
signed defensive end An-thony Hargrove to a one-year deal to bolster depth.The nine-year veteranmissed last season becauseof an eight-game NFL-im-posed suspension for hisrole in the New Orleansbounty scandal.
To make room for Har-grove, 29, on the 90-manroster, the Cowboys cutguard D.J. Hall, a TexasState product.
Hargrove missed the 2012
season because of an NFL-imposed eight-game sus-pension for his role in theNew Orleans Saints bountyscandal. He was signed byGreen Bay in March 2012but released in August.
Hargrove has played forthree other teams. A third-round pick by Saint Louisin 2004, he has 19.5 careersacks, including 5.0 for theSaints’ Super Bowl-win-ning team in 2009.
FACILITY CHANGE?The Cowboys are consid-
ering relocating their prac-tice facility in Irving to an-other city in North Texas,according to reports.
Citing sources, the DallasMorning News reportedthe Cowboys are unhappywith their Valley Ranch fa-cility, which is below cur-rent NFL standards. Dallashas trained at the facilitysince 1985.
According to ESPNDal-
las.com, the franchisewould like to remain in Irv-ing but is also eyeing pos-sible sites in Arlington,Frisco and Plano.
Texans sign WilliamsHOUSTON — The Hous-
ton Texans have signedfourth-round draft picklinebacker Trevardo Wil-liams.
The 6-foot-1, 241-poundWilliams was taken withthe 124th overall pick out ofConnecticut. He’s one offive drafted players signedby Houston, also includingtackle David Quessenberry,receiver Alan Bonner, de-fensive tackle Chris Jonesand tight end Ryan Griffin.
Williams started 30 of 50games he played in forConnecticut and had aschool-record 301/2 careersacks.
COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B
In this June 19, 2012, file photo, Anthony Hargrove speaks to the media outside the National FootballLeague headquarters in New York. The Cowboys signed Hargrove to add depth along the defensive line.
Photo by John Minchillo | AP
guy,” Sanders said. “He’s just awfullygood. I don’t know that in this arena thatanybody is any better.”
Reid Ryan takes over a job where hewill be tasked with helping increase at-tendance and win back disillusioned fansto a team that has finished with 100 loss-es in each of the last two seasons and hasthe worst record in the majors again thisyear. He acknowledged that Houston’sproblems are complex and that there’s noway he could know how he will work toget things back on track on his first day.
But he did share a couple of keys thathe will focus on.
“We have to put the fans first in every-thing we do and then we’ve got makesure we’re taking care of the players, be-cause it’s all about the players,” ReidRyan said. “If you don’t have the players,you’re really not going to have any-thing.”
While the team has been baseball’sworst for the last couple years, Reid Ryanhas been impressed with how the infu-sion of quality prospects from Houston’smany recent trades has improved the or-ganization’s farm system.
“We had a stretch where we finishedlast five years in a row in Corpus Christi,and it was tough and we didn’t have a lotof prospects,” Reid Ryan said. “Then(general manager) Jeff (Luhnow) startedmaking some of the hard decisions hemade ... now there’s a lot of talent, a lotmore than I’ve seen in my time with theAstros.”
His father played for the Astros from1980-88 and spent four years beginning in
2004 as a special assistant to the generalmanager in Houston before joining thefront office of the Texas Rangers. His fa-mous dad and former Astros great CraigBiggio were on hand Friday for the an-nouncement.
Though Nolan Ryan now works forHouston’s in-state rival about 200 milesup the road, he still has a keen interestin the team he once played for.
“He grew up an Astros fan. I’m still anAstros fan. I follow them on a day-to-daybasis,” Nolan Ryan said. “I’m very con-nected to the team and very connected towhat goes on here in Houston with thebaseball climate. So that’s a part of usand will always be a part of us.”
Nolan Ryan said he hasn’t shared anyadvice with his son about his new job,but he is very excited to see his sonworking for his former team.
“You’re very proud when you see oneof your children get an opportunity ofthis nature,” Nolan Ryan said. “I’m veryproud of the fact that our kids grew up inbaseball and have a relationship withbaseball and enjoy it and want to be asso-ciated with it. So that makes you feelgood.”
The younger Ryan takes over the posi-tion that was left vacant when GeorgePostolos resigned on Monday.
Also on Friday, Crane announced thathe had agreed to a letter of intent to buythe Hooks. The sale is pending MLB andRyan-Sanders shareholders’ approval.The Astros plan to assume control of op-erations of the Hooks at the end of the2013 season.
ASTROS Continued from Page 1B
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
FAMILY CIRCUS
PEANUTS
GARFIELD
DILBERT
DENNIS THE MENACE
HINTS | BY HELOISEADOPTION BRINGS
NEW LIFEDear Heloise: I, too,
want to say “thank you”for promoting ADOPTIONOF SHELTER DOGS ANDCATS. I persuaded myhusband to let me foster adog until it could be adopt-ed. The Humane Societygave us a 3-year-old whiteboxer found wanderingthe streets, underweightand with injuries. The Hu-mane Society had takenhim from animal control,where he was scheduled tobe put down the next day.
It took only a few hoursfor us to fall in love withhim, so instead of foster-ing, we adopted him. Wetreated his injuries andhelped him get back to hisideal weight. When wemeet people during ourdaily walks, they tell ourdog how lucky he is thatwe adopted him. But wefeel the opposite: We’rethe lucky ones to havesuch a wonderful boy. Heis sweet, happy, well-be-haved and loves everyone!
Adoption is the onlyway to go! Everyone can
help to reduce the over-population of stray andunwanted dogs and catsby getting your petsspayed and neutered! —Shelley P. in Florida
“Woof, woof” from all ofthe happy adopted petsnow in a safe environ-ment. — Heloise
ARTIFICIAL FLOWERSDear Heloise: My grand-
mother puts artificialflowers on my grandpa’sgrave. She would go to thebigger stores, and theflowers cost her quite abit.
At a dollar store, I sawpretty artificial flowersthat were only $1! I toldmy grandma, and now shegets the flowers there.They are just as pretty,and they save money. —Josephine M., via email
How thoughtful of youto help your grandmothersave money. — Heloise
“HELOISE
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013
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