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WASHINGTON —President Barack Obamahas nominated up-and-coming Democrat JulianCastro as the nation’shousing secretary.

The move is part of abroader shuffle of Oba-ma’s Cabinet that in-cludes nominating cur-rent housing chief ShaunDonovan to run the Of-fice of Management andBudget.

During a State DiningRoom ceremony, Obamapraised Donovan’s effortsto help the U.S. housingmarket recover from therecession. He says he isnominating Donovan asbudget director because“when you’re good atyour job, people alwayswant you to do evenmore.”

Castro is the mayor ofSan Antonio and is seenas a possible Democraticvice presidential nomineein 2016. Obama says Cas-tro has helped revitalizeSan Antonio, experiencehe will draw on as headof the Department ofHousing and Urban De-velopment.

Obama chose Castro todeliver the keynote ad-dress at the 2012 Demo-cratic National Conven-tion, and his star hasbeen rising ever since.The two men’s life storiesare similar: Both are mi-norities raised by single

mothers, they hold Har-vard law degrees and sawtheir political careersskyrocket after givingwidely praised Democrat-ic convention keynotespeeches.

Castro, 39, is oftenamong those talked aboutas possible Democraticvice presidential candi-dates in 2016. If con-firmed by the Senate, thethree-term mayor wouldbecome one of the high-est-ranking Hispanic offi-cials serving at the plea-sure of the president.

Donovan, 48, is highlyregarded inside theWhite House as a strongmanager. He is an affor-dable housing advocatewhose work overseeingthe federal government’sresponse to the destruc-tion Hurricane Sandy un-leashed on the East Coastin October 2012 hasearned glowing praisefrom White House offi-cials, including Obama.

As director of theWhite House Office ofManagement and Budget,currently a Cabinet-levelpost, Donovan wouldhave influence over ad-ministration policy andspending. He would beexpected to win Senateconfirmation for the post.

Donovan would replaceSylvia Mathews Burwell.Obama recently nominat-ed Burwell to become sec-retary of health and hu-man services fol-

WASHINGTON DC

See CASTRO PAGE 11A

President Barack Obama, left, listens to San Antonio Mayor Ju-lian Castro, right, after announcing Castro’s nomination to leadthe Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Friday.

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

Castro is thenominee

President nominates San Antoniomayor as housing secretary

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND JOSH LEDERMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two indictments have been un-sealed following the arrest of oneMcAllen and four Zapata residentsalleging marijuana and cocaine traf-ficking, the U.S. attorney’s office an-nounced Friday.

Both indictments were returnedunder seal May 13 and unsealed up-on Friday’s arrests of Roberto Pie-dra, 33, Isidro Ramirez, 34, RamiroGuerrero, 35, and Omar Gonzalez,50, all of Zapata, and Martin Gon-zales Garces Jr., 55, of McAllen.

All five are expected to make aninitial appearance before U.S. Magis-trate Judge J. Scott Hacker on Tues-day.

The first indictment alleges Pie-dra, Ramirez, Guerrero and Gonza-

lez conspired to possess with the in-tent to deliver 1,000 kilograms ormore of marijuana between Febru-ary 2013 and Nov. 25, from SouthTexas to northern destinations.

Specifically, transporters would al-legedly drive the marijuana from theRio Grande Valley to Laredothrough ranches west of Laredo toavoid traveling through U.S. BorderPatrol immigration checkpoints. Theindictment alleges the marijuanawas concealed in belly dump trucksbelow loads of caliche as well as inutility trucks for these vehicles toblend in with oil field traffic onranches. Members of the organiza-tion allegedly scouted for these load-ed vehicles.

The first indictment further alleg-es that Piedra, Ramirez, Guerrero

and Gonzalez possessed with the in-tent to distribute more than 1,000kilograms of marijuana on Nov. 24-25 and that Piedra possessed withthe intent to distribute 5 kilogramsor more of cocaine on Nov. 22.

The second indictment allegesthat Garces conspired and possessedwith the intent to deliver 5 kilo-grams or more of cocaine on Feb. 7.

If convicted, all face a mandatoryminimum sentence of 10 years andup to life in prison and a possible$10 million fine.

The case is being investigated bythe Homeland Security Investiga-tions with the assistance of U.S. Bor-der Patrol and the Zapata CountySheriff ’s Office. Assistant U.S. attor-neys Elizabeth R. Rabe and RaulGuerra are prosecuting the case.

FEDERAL COURT

Two indictments4 Zapata men accused in trafficking schemes

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

AUSTIN — Department of Vet-erans Affairs officials in Texassaid that an internal review didnot substantiate whistle-blowerclaims of appointment manipula-tion for cancer and other screen-ings, a finding that the formerdoctor who made the allegationscalled a “cover-up.”

Last week, Dr. Joseph Spann,who retired in January after 17years at the Austin OutpatientClinic, wrote a letter to federal in-vestigators alleging that the chiefof radiology at the VA’s OlinTeague Veterans’ Medical Centerin Temple regularly asked physi-cians to change their requested

date for ultrasounds, MRIs and CTscans to hide the existence of longbacklogs for tests.

Local VA officials this week al-so touted an increase in staffingand scanning machines in Austinand Temple over the past sevenyears, including a newly pur-chased ultrasound machine forthe Austin clinic. Officials did notprovide any information on waittimes for screenings.

But officials said in a statementthat a Central Texas VeteransHealth Care System review ofSpann’s allegations “revealed norequests were made by the Chief(of) Imaging Service to physiciansto change the requested date forultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans.”

Spann said he put little stock in

the review. “Central Texas investi-gating itself is just worthless,” hesaid. “The truth will come out. Somany doctors and clerks saw thisthat they won’t be able to makethis go away.”

Spann said that while the back-logs and requests for appointmentchanges had gotten better in re-cent years, the problem still per-sists. He attributed the practice topressure to meet performancemeasures that give bonuses to ex-ecutives for short patient waittimes.

The review is not the last wordon the allegations: Investigatorswith the VA’s independent Inspec-tor General office interviewedSpann on Wednesday as part of aprobe of Central and South Texas

facilities.Spann’s allegations echo those

of a scheduling clerk who told theAustin American-Statesman ap-pointment manipulation to hidewait times was common at clinicsin Waco, Austin and San Antonio.The allegations were part of a tid-al wave of claims across the na-tion that have led to congressionalhearings, at least one early retire-ment of a top VA official and callsfor the resignation of VA Secreta-ry Eric Shinseki.

On Wednesday, President Ba-rack Obama weighed in on theunfolding scandal, saying anyonefound to have manipulated or fal-sified records will be “held ac-countable.”

Shinseki has ordered a nation-

wide “audit” of scheduling prac-tices at VA facilities across thecountry. Last week, the reviewteams, made up of fellow VA staff-ers, visited facilities in Austin,San Antonio, Dallas, Temple, Bon-ham, Harlingen, Fort Worth, Wacoand McAllen.

According to VA officials, local“leadership is not aware of anyconcerns brought up during theseaudits.”

Texas Sen. John Cornyn ques-tioned their value.

“What we have is a dysfunction-al agency investigating itself,” hesaid in a statement. “After reportsof veterans dying on secret waitlists and others in Texas reported-

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

Whistle-blower accuses agency of ‘cover-up’VA says its investigation shows cancer and other exams were not changed, countering retired physicians’ claims

By JEREMY SCHWARTZCOX NEWSPAPERS

See SCHEDULING PAGE 11A

EL PASO — El Paso police wereinvestigating two mysterious mess-ages painted onto billboards in theborder city that included manne-quins dressed in suits hanging fromnooses.

The El Paso Times reported thatmotorists alerted police to the graffi-ti early Thursday morning. Bothbillboard companies said the paintedmessages were vandalism and notpaid advertisements. They have beenremoved.

One message read “silver or lead”in Spanish, a threat heard in Mexicosignifying pay up or get shot.

“This (message) has historicallybeen used by Mexican drug cartelsto threaten or intimidate Mexicancitizens, business owners and gov-ernment officials. However, we havenever experienced this in El Paso,”Sgt. Chris Mears, a spokesman forthe El Paso Police Department, saidin a statement. “The investigation is

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

CARTEL-STYLE THREATS

An El Paso police officer checks a makeshift mannequin Thursday hanging on a billboardwith the message, “silver or lead,” a threat heard in Mexico signifying pay up or get shot.

Photo by Victor Calzada/El Paso Times | AP

El Paso policeprobe graffition billboards

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See THREATS PAGE 11A

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

Saturday, May 24TAMIU Planetarium shows. “The

Little Start that Could” 3 p.m.; “Force5: Nature Unleashed” 4 p.m.; and “An-cient Skies, Ancient Mysteries” 5 p.m.General admission $4 children and $5adults. Premium shows $1 more.

Monday, May 26Monthly meeting of Laredo Par-

kinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Cen-ter, Tower B, First Floor CommunityCenter. Patients, caregivers and familymembers invited. Free info pamphletsavailable in Spanish and English. CallRichard Renner (English) at 645-8649or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 237-0666.

Zapata County CommissionersCourt meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata CountyCourthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 765-9920.

Tuesday, May 27“The Calling” series of Bible

talks. 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. LaredoChurch of Christ Chapel, 1505 Calle delNorte, Suite 340. Contact Miguel Zuñi-ga at 286-9631 or mglzuñiga@ya-hoo.com.

Wednesday, May 28Healthy recipe dishes for “The

Great Salt Challenge” class. Noon to 1p.m. First United Methodist Church,1220 McClelland Ave. Focuses on sodi-um in diet, daily consumption limits,how to read a food label and strategiesfor reducing salt intake. Three lessons.Meets every Wednesday in May. Eng-lish. Free.

1964 Zapata High School Class50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Thursday, May 29Spanish Book Club meeting. 6

p.m. to 8 p.m. Laredo Public Library,Calton Road. Call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

From New York to Havana – ABallroom Dance. 7:30 p.m. to 10:30p.m. Laredo Center for the Arts, 500San Agustin Ave. Featuring VMT’s pre-mier jazz ensemble SoundTown. BigBand classics, Latin favorites fromsouth of the border and energeticsounds from Havana. Tickets $15;available at VMT office, 820 Main St;by calling 273-7800, and at the Centerfor the Arts at 725-1715. Also sold atthe door. Semi-formal attire recom-mended. Guests may bring party trays.No alcohol; concession stand included.Contact Robert M. Lopez at 273-7811or rmlopez004@laredoisd.org.

Saturday, May 311964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Wednesday, June 111964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Saturday, June 141964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Wednesday, June 181964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Saturday, June 211964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse on Wednesday, June 25. CallDora Martinez at 324-1226 or NinfaGracia at 500-5219.

Wednesday, June 251964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse. Call Dora Martinez at 324-1226or Ninfa Gracia at 500-5219.

Submit calendar items atlmtonline.com/calendar/submitor by emailing edito-rial@lmtonline.com with theevent’s name, date and time, lo-cation and purpose and contactinformation for a representa-tive. Items will run as space isavailable.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, May 24,the 144th day of 2014. Thereare 221 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On May 24, 1844, SamuelF.B. Morse transmitted themessage “What hath Godwrought” from Washington toBaltimore as he formallyopened America’s first tele-graph line.

On this date:In 1775, John Hancock was

elected President of the Conti-nental Congress, succeedingPeyton Randolph.

In 1883, the BrooklynBridge, linking Brooklyn andManhattan, was dedicated byPresident Chester Alan Ar-thur and New York Gov. Grov-er Cleveland.

In 1889, Germany’s Reich-stag passed a mandatory dis-ability and old-age insurancelaw.

In 1935, the first majorleague baseball game to beplayed at night took place atCincinnati’s Crosley Field asthe Reds beat the PhiladelphiaPhillies, 2-1.

In 1941, the German battle-ship Bismarck sank the Brit-ish battle cruiser HMS Hoodin the North Atlantic, killingall but three of the 1,418 menon board.

In 1959, former U.S. Secreta-ry of State John Foster Dullesdied in Washington, D.C. atage 71.

In 1962, astronaut Scott Car-penter became the secondAmerican to orbit the Earthas he flew aboard Aurora 7.

In 1974, American jazz com-poser and bandleader Duke El-lington, 75, died in New York.

In 1976, Britain and Franceopened trans-Atlantic Con-corde supersonic transportservice to Washington.

In 1989, the action-adven-ture movie “Indiana Jonesand the Last Crusade,” star-ring Harrison Ford and SeanConnery, was released by Par-amount Pictures.

In 1994, four men convictedof bombing New York’s WorldTrade Center in 1993 wereeach sentenced to 240 years inprison.

Ten years ago: PresidentGeorge W. Bush, trying to dis-pel rising doubts about theIraq war, declared the UnitedStates would stay in Iraq untilit was free and democratic andsuggested more U.S. soldiersmight be needed to stop ene-my forces bent on destroyingthe new government. A feder-al court in Portland, Oregon,threw out the case broughtagainst Brandon Mayfield, anAmerican lawyer once linkedto the Madrid train bombingsbecause of a fingerprint-identi-fication error. Severe stormsflooded villages in Haiti andthe Dominican Republic, re-sulting in an estimated 3,000deaths.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedi-an Tommy Chong is 76. SingerBob Dylan is 73. Actor GaryBurghoff is 71. Singer Patti La-Belle is 70. Actress PriscillaPresley is 69. Country singerMike Reid is 67. Actor JimBroadbent is 65. Actor AlfredMolina is 61. Singer RosanneCash is 59. Actress KristinScott Thomas is 54. Rock mu-sician Jimmy Ashhurst (Buck-cherry) is 51. Rock musicianVivian Trimble is 51. ActorJohn C. Reilly is 49. Actor Da-na Ashbrook is 47. Actor EricClose is 47. Actor Carl Payneis 45. Rock musician Rich Rob-inson is 45. Actor Dash Mihokis 40. Actor Bryan Greenburgis 36.

Thought for Today: “Beyourself; everyone else is al-ready taken.” — Oscar Wilde(1854-1900).

TODAY IN HISTORY

LUBBOCK — The most drought-ravagedpart of Texas finally got much-needed rain.

Lubbock and Amarillo had more precipita-tion Thursday and Friday than their previ-ous totals for the whole year, the NationalWeather Service said.

But the rain, forecast to keep falling in thePanhandle and South Plains through Mon-day, won’t be enough to break the West Texasdrought that is now in its fourth year.

Lubbock recorded 1.56 inches of precipita-tion Friday, NWS meteorologist Steve Cobbsaid. Through Thursday, the city had seenjust 0.95 inches of precipitation this year.Amarillo has recorded nearly 1.50 inches ofprecipitation since the rain began Thursday,compared to just 0.21 inches since Jan. 1.The rain in Amarillo led to some localized

flooding on Interstate 40 and low areas. Areas east of Lubbock, in Crosby and

Floyd counties, got 3.5 inches since midnightThursday.

The Panhandle and South Plains regionsof West Texas are in exceptional drought, themost severe stage on the U.S. Drought Mon-itor map. Tabatha Seymore, who collectsrain tallies from around the region at theweather service’s Amarillo office, said thePanhandle would need as much as 18 inchesto get out of drought.

“We want it slowly,” she said, so it cansoak in.

Other parts of Texas aren’t as dry as WestTexas, but about 72 percent of the state is insome drought stage. The January-through-April period in the state was the fifth-drieston record, with just 45 percent of the normal7.1 inches of rainfall.

AROUND TEXAS

David Tucker, a part-time contract farm laborer at Rocking H Farm in Garfield, looks at a failed milo crop, on July 27, 2011.Lubbock and Amarillo had more precipitation Thursday and Friday than their previous totals for the whole year, the NationalWeather Service said.

Photo by Jay Janner/Austin American Statesman/file | AP

West Texas gets rainBy BETSY BLANEYASSOCIATED PRESS

Rarely exhibited Spanishdrawings come to Dallas

DALLAS — Rarely exhibitedSpanish drawings have traveledfrom a German museum to Dal-las for a showing.

The exhibit opens Sunday atthe Meadows Museum at South-ern Methodist University.

Almost 90 works by Spanishartists from the 16th and 18thcenturies will be on display, in-cluding works by FranciscoGoya.

Woman accused of tryingto drown her 2 childrenDALLAS — Police say a wom-

an is in custody after she tried todrown her two young daughtersafter the girls pleaded for snacks.

Sonya Ann Gardner, 35, isjailed on a $1 million bond ontwo counts of attempted capitalmurder of a child.

Neighbors in eastern Oak Cliffreported hearing screams com-ing from inside Gardner’s apart-ment.

State review recommends6 living centers close

AUSTIN — A report recom-mends six state institutions forpeople with intellectual disabili-ties should close because thesites are expensive, unnecessaryand some are falling apart.

The report released Thursdaysays the Austin State SupportedLiving Center should shut downin 2017 — five years before theother sites as per the report.

Texan competent for trialin death of grandma, 77CORPUS CHRISTI — A South

Texas man has been ruled com-petent for trial in the death ofhis grandmother whose dismem-bered remains were found buriednear her home.

A judge in Corpus Christi onThursday determined 28-year-oldDavid Christy is competent fortrial on a murder charge. An ar-rest affidavit says investigatorsbelieve a chainsaw was used inthe slaying.

2 killed in fiery I-30 crashin Bowie Co.

NASH — Texas troopers saytwo people have died in a fierycrash along Interstate 30 innortheast Texas.

The crash happened around4:30 a.m. Friday in Bowie Countywhere I-30 crosses over CountyRoad 2148 near Nash.

An 18-wheeler hauling carswas eastbound on I-30 when itran off an overpass, fell onto theroad below and caught fire.

Fort Hood inbound trafficat gates now open

FORT HOOD — Authorities atFort Hood say they’ve reopenedtraffic in and out of the CentralTexas Army post.

Post officials said Thursdaythat they closed inbound trafficdue to a telephone call, but aren’tsaying what the call was about.Spokesman Col. Chris Garversays the post will “take prudentmeasures when necessary.”

— Compiled from AP reports

Some states opting out offederal prison rape lawBOISE, Idaho — Several states

are refusing to comply with afederal law designed to reducesexual assaults in prison, withgovernors criticizing the PrisonRape Elimination Act as an un-funded mandate that replacesgood intentions with red tape.

The governors of Idaho, Texas,Indiana, Utah and Arizona haveinformed U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder that they won’t tryto meet the federal prison rapestandards. Governors were re-quired to certify by May 15 thattheir states either met the stan-dards, or to promise that theywere actively working towardthat goal.

9/11 memorial site ofFleet Week ceremony

NEW YORK — Seventeen ser-vice members from the U.S. Na-vy, Marine Corps and Coast

Guard participated in a re-enlist-ment and promotion ceremonyFriday at the National Septem-ber 11 Memorial Museum inManhattan.

Rear Admiral Scott A. Stear-ney, commander of CarrierStrike Group Four, presided over

the ceremony in front of one ofthe reflecting pools where thetwin towers once stood.

Navy Lt. Christopher Mikell’s2-year-old daughter Addyson at-tached her dad’s new lieutenantbars to his dress white uniform.— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

A boy collects hats thrown by graduating U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen afterthe United States Naval Academy 2014 Class graduation and commissioning cer-emonies at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md., on Friday.

Photo by Jose Luis Magana | AP

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SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

A man who claimed thatillegal immigrants in Zapa-ta asked him for a ride toLaredo was ordered to pris-on Wednesday, according tocourt records,

U.S. District JudgeGeorge P. Kazen sentencedAmado Ricardo Martinezto 16 months in federalprison followed by a three-year supervised release.Martinez was also orderedto complete 120 hours ofcommunity service to becompleted within one yearof his supervised release.

Martinez, a U.S. citizen,pleaded guilty to transport-

ing illegal immigrantsMarch 7, his plea docu-ments state. Other countsof conspiracy and transportand attempt to transport il-legal immigrants were dis-missed during the sentenc-ing.

On Jan. 16, Webb CountySheriff ’s Deputies detainedthree people on U.S. 83, onemile south of Rio Bravo. AU.S. Border Patrol agent ar-rived and interviewed thethree people in custody.

A man and woman fromHonduras were determinedto be in the country illegal-ly. The deputy issued Mar-tinez a warning citation forspeeding. The deputy be-lieved that the passengers

were illegally in the coun-try because they had con-tradicting stories comparedto the driver, court recordsshow.

Martinez waived his Mi-randa warnings. Heclaimed the Honduran na-tionals asked him for a rideat a gas station in Zapata.But both immigrants statedthey had made prior ar-rangements to be smuggledinto the United States.They both cross the RioGrande illegally. Each im-migrant had already paid$6,500, according to courtdocuments.

(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

Man gets prison timeAmado Ricardo Martinez tells judge he was asked to giveride; gets 16 months for transporting illegal immigrants

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Five execution methodsare legal in various placesin the United States: injec-tion, electrocution, gas, fir-ing squad and hanging.Tennessee this week be-came the first state to al-low use of the electricchair in some circum-stances regardless of theinmate’s wishes, if injec-tion drugs are not availa-ble.

However, all 35 statesthat have death row in-mates, as well as the U.S.military and the federalgovernment, use injectionas their primary methodof execution, according tothe Death Penalty Infor-mation Center.

Deborah Denno, a pro-fessor at Fordham LawSchool who has studied ex-ecutions for more thantwo decades, said stateshave changed executionmethods over the years inrecurring attempts tomake them more humaneand to avoid litigation.

Here is a look at howeach of those methods spe-cifically causes death:

Lethal injectionFirst adopted in 1977 in

Oklahoma, lethal injectionhas become the method ofchoice in all states thatstill carry out executions.

Generally, inmates arestrapped to a gurney whileneedles are inserted intothe veins and the drugsare pumped in. This meth-od is often seen as themost humane of the fivebecause the inmates aresupposed to be sedated be-fore they die. Inmates,though, have been knownto writhe and talk duringpoorly carried out injec-tions.

According to Denno, un-til 2009, all states used athree-drug protocol thatincluded a sedative, a pa-ralytic and then the final,fatal drug to stop theheart. Because of drugshortages and legal chal-lenges that claimed the pa-ralytic drug could mask

an inmate’s suffering,states are now experiment-ing with several differentprotocols.

Some states are adopt-ing a one-drug methodthat is essentially a mas-sive overdose of a sedative.Other states are keeping amulti-drug protocol but ex-perimenting with differentdrugs.

ElectrocutionNew York developed

electrocution as an alter-native to hanging — whichwas often a gruesome pub-lic spectacle — and execut-ed the first inmate by elec-tric chair in 1890.

Prisoners generally arestrapped into a chair withelectrodes placed on theirheads and legs. Saline-soaked sponges are placedbetween the skin and theelectrodes to aid conduc-tivity.

Denno said the voltage,the number of jolts andthe length of time they areadministered vary fromstate to state. Executioners

usually give more thanone jolt of electricity, tomake sure the inmate isdead. Executioners can’tgive one long, continuousjolt because the person’sbody could start to burn.Instead they let the bodycool down for a few sec-onds between jolts.

It is unknown whetherthe person being electro-cuted is rendered uncon-scious by the shock or ismerely paralyzed and un-able to yell out.

Denno said electrocu-tion usually kills by send-ing the inmate into car-diac arrest, but it could al-so cause brain death first.“Or it could be both braindeath and heart death.”

After Tennessee execut-ed Daryl Holton by electricchair in 2007, a method hechose, state medical exam-iner Dr. Bruce Levy saidHolton died when the elec-tricity stopped his heart.Holton also had burnswhere the electrodes con-tacted the skin. And Levysaid inmates sometimessuffer broken bones whentheir muscles clench vio-

lently during the shock,but that did not happenwith Holton.

Gas chamberNevada developed the

gas chamber in the 1920sas an attempt at a humanemethod of execution, butDenno said it had “horrif-ic problems” from thestart. The original ideawas to pump the gas intoan inmate’s cell while hewas sleeping, but therewas no way to keep thegas contained, so theybuilt a chamber instead.

Inmates are strapped in-to a chair and the cham-ber is filled with cyanidegas, which kills by asphyx-iation. The inmates arefully awake and consciousas they suffocate, Dennosaid.

Firing squadThis method has been

used as recently as 2010 inUtah at the request of acondemned man there.

Denno said the prisoneris strapped to a chair, as inelectrocution and the gaschamber. A cloth target isplaced over prisoner’s theheart. Several shooters aregiven real bullets but oneor more are given blanks.Assuming the shooters hittheir target, the heart rup-tures and the prisoner diesquickly from blood loss.

HangingBefore 1890, hanging

was the principal methodof execution across thecountry. The prisonerstands over a trap doorwhile a noose is placedaround the person’s neck,and then the trap door isopened and the prisonerfalls.

By design, the fallbreaks the prisoner’s neckand kills him or her, butDenno said that has oftennot been the case. In somecases, prisoners have beendecapitated from the fall.In other cases, they havestrangled over the courseof several minutes.

Five execution methods are allowed in the USBy TRAVIS LOLLERASSOCIATED PRESS

Laredo Community Col-lege hosted the inauguralRio Grande Arts Festivalon Friday, and the festivi-ties are set to continue to-day.

The events, scatteredthroughout the north sideof the Fort McIntosh cam-pus, includes showcases infilm, theater, dance, musicand art.

Judges will be reviewingsongwriting skills, shortfilms, 10 minute play pro-ductions and a battle of thebands and declare winnersin said categories.

William Hauserman,theater director at LCC,initially came up with the

idea for the event to show-case local talent.

“I recognized that thereis a lot of talent here in La-redo, but there are not alot of opportunities for art-ists to show their work,”Hauserman said.

As a response to the is-sue Hauserman observed,the Rio Grande Arts Fes-tival was born. Althoughthe event is being held atthe LCC Fort McIntoshcampus, the showcasesand competitions wereopen to public participa-tion.

On Friday, the songwrit-ing and short film competi-tions were judged. Specta-tors also enjoyed live mu-sic by the Cactus Countryband, a puppet show and a

ballet performance. In addition to the com-

petitions and showcases,free workshops were heldfor anyone willing to learnand participate.

Gary Brown, art profes-sor at LCC, taught the silk-screening workshop. Hebegan the workshop by do-ing a demonstration ofwhat the participantswould be doing. He beganto draw on a screen andpoured acrylic over thedrawing. The product wasa silkscreen print.

“It’s a good workshopproject because everyoneshould have a basic idea ofwhat silkscreening is.There are so many waysyou can use if,” Brownsaid.

Arts festival continuesShowcases in film, theater, dance and music on for today

By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑOLAREDO MORNING TIMES

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

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Last week, I wroteabout the most gerry-mandered congression-al districts in the Unit-ed States, as measuredby how geometricallycompact they are. Ifound that districts insome states are a bit ofa hot mess, particularlyin North Carolina andMaryland. The naturalfollow-up question:Have they always beenthat way?

To answer that, Igrabbed historic dis-trict “shape files” anddid the same geometricanalysis for a handfulof states, dating to the83rd Congress, whichconvened in 1953. Innearly every state, theaverage gerrymanderindex value — that is,the average of the ger-rymander scores for alldistricts in a given state— has risen substan-tially since then.

The rise has beenmost dramatic in Penn-sylvania and Ohio —presidential battle-ground states — as wellas Illinois. Marylandand North Carolina arethe two most redistrict-ed states today, and al-though their numbershave remained consis-tently high, they’ve alsoshifted upward sincethe 1950s.

There are variousconfounding factors toconsider here. Thenumber of seats allocat-ed to each state haschanged over time, andstate populations haverisen as well. In areaswith denser popula-tions, it’s easier tocome up with creativeways to draw districts.

But these states don’tshow any discerniblerelationships betweenpopulation, the numberof seats in a congres-sional district and theextent of gerrymander-ing. Pennsylvania andNew York have lost con-gressional seats overtime. But Pennsylva-nia’s redistrictingscores have risen stead-ily, while New York’speaked around the 98thCongress and have beendeclining ever since.Texas has nearly dou-bled its congressionalrepresentation since1950, and its gerryman-dering average spikedin the 103rd Congress,dipped in the 108th, andshot back up in the113th. Maryland’s num-ber of districts has beenrelatively flat, and itsredistricting scoreshave fluctuated consid-erably.

What does all thismean? It means thatstates can actually con-trol the extent of gerry-mandering. Take NewYork, for example. Ithas shown a meaning-ful decrease in the levelof redistricting acrossmultiple congressionalterms. New York alsohas also set up an inde-pendent advisory com-mission that recom-mends congressionaland state redistrictingplans to the state legis-lature. This commis-sion was set up in 1978,and shortly thereafterthe level of gerryman-dering in the statepeaked and has beendeclining ever since.

Although the NewYork legislature is notbound to follow the ad-visory committee’s rec-ommendations, thisdoes suggest that sub-

jecting lawmakers tosome oversight in theredistricting processcould lower their en-thusiasm for riggingthat process in their fa-vor.

Some writers, nota-bly John Sides at theMonkey Cage and SethMasket in the PacificStandard, caution thatthere’s more to the ger-rymandering storythan just compactness.Masket sums things upby noting that districtscan be assessed by anynumber of factors, in-cluding equal popula-tion size, absence of ra-cial discrimination,compactness and conti-guity of districts, pres-ervation of county ormunicipal boundariesand preservation ofcommunities of inter-est.

“Some of these goalsrun right up againsteach other,” he writes.“While a compact dis-trict may be desirable,it doesn’t necessarilyreflect how people liveor what county and cityboundaries look like.”Or, as Sides succinctlyputs it, “Representationis about people, not pol-ygons.”

I couldn’t agreemore. But in manystates, if not most ofthem, districts have be-come consistently lessand less compact overtime. And it doesn’tseem like these changesin compactness can beexplained away bychanges in populationor overall seat alloca-tion, which tells methat something else ishappening in thosestates.

I have a hard timelooking at the evolutionof districts such as Ma-ryland’s 3rd or Pennsyl-vania’s 7th and con-cluding that whatever’shappening in there isthe result of a healthydemocratic process.(Both are among themost gerrymandereddistricts in the coun-try.)

What’s at stake, afterall, is citizens’ repre-sentation in Congress.Partisan gerrymander-ing undermines thewhole notion of a repre-sentative government.For proof, just look to-ward the lopsided seatdistribution in the cur-rent Congress.

COLUMN

Odd-shapeddistricts onthe increaseBy CHRISTOPHER INGRAHAM

THE WASHINGTON POST What does allthis mean? Itmeans thatstates cancontrol theextent ofgerry-mandering.Take NewYork, forexample. Ithas shown ameaningfuldecrease inthe level ofredistrictingacrossmultiplecongressionalterms.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

AUSTIN — Anothercomplication has beenthrown into the debateabout the gubernatorialdebates: Jews.

GOP candidate Greg Ab-bott, now our attorneygeneral, has agreed to twodebates with Democraticchallenger Wendy Davis, astate senator from FortWorth. She said this weekshe wants six debates. Theunderdog always wantsmore. Holding out formore, Davis, so far, has notagreed to any. This kind ofmaneuvering is not unusu-al.

The two debates Abbotthas agreed to are on highschool football Fridaynights. The first is set forSept. 19 in McAllen. Thesecond is Oct. 3 in Dallas.Turns out that secondnight, for some people, iseven more sacred thanhigh school football night.It is the evening that YomKippur, the Jewish fast dayof atonement, begins. It isa somber holy day, not afestive holiday.

“It would not be mypreference,” Travis CountyDemocratic Chair Jan Soif-er, who is Jewish and a Da-vis backer, said of the pro-posed Yom Kippur debate.“I just feel strongly thatpublic events should notbe scheduled on the holiestnight of the Jewish year.Unfortunately, there arevery few of us Jews in Tex-as so not everybody agrees

with us on that.”I asked Soifer if she be-

lieves Davis should refuseto debate on Yom Kippur.

“I don’t know,” she said.“I can’t speak for her.”

Zac Petkanas can. He’sher spokesman and wasready to talk genericallyabout debates when Icalled.

“What she wants to do

is sit down like in everyother campaign and have adiscussion about a com-prehensive debate planthat allows communitiesacross the state to get anup-close and personal viewof the two candidates go-ing head to head and dis-cussing the critical issuesof the day,” Petkanas toldme.

The goal, he said, is aschedule that gives “the

widest number of peoplepossible the opportunity tosee the debates.”

Neither of the cam-paigns were aware of theconflict before I askedabout it Thursday. I wasunaware of it until theKeeper of the Calendar atmy house pointed it out.

Petkanas, after confer-ring with Davis, told me “a

debate on Yom Kippurwould not be respectful,nor would it be in keepingwith the spirit that thesedebates should be aboutensuring all Texans cansee their candidates dis-cuss issues of the day.”

Not only that, but, hesaid, “this is a perfect ex-ample of why both cam-paigns need to sit down,compare calendars and puttogether a comprehensive

debate plan that respectsimportant dates like thatand that ensures that allcommunities are repre-sented and that votersacross the state can get anup-close and personal viewof the two candidates talk-ing about the issues of theday.”

And there was this fromAbbott campaign spokes-man Avdiel Huerta:

“As someone of deepJewish faith, I understandthe importance of YomKippur, as does Greg Ab-bott. But the questionabout dates is moot at thispoint because Senator Da-vis refuses to accept anydebates. If this date wastruly a concern for Sen-ator Davis, why didn’t shebring it up when WFAAextended the invite over amonth ago?

“It’s becoming increas-ingly clear that SenatorDavis is looking for anyexcuse not to debate GregAbbott, and by continuingto engage in political the-atrics rather than make acommitment, Texans arebeginning to see thesame,” Huerta said.

Carolyn Mungo, WFAA’snews director, says the sta-tion was unaware of theYom Kippur problem untilthe Davis campaign calledabout it Thursday and thatthe date is negotiable, butnothing can happen untilDavis agrees to a debate.

About all we seem toknow for sure is it lookslike there won’t be an Oct.3 debate in Dallas.

Ken Herman is a column-ist for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: kher-man@statesman.com.

COLUMN

Debating about debatesProposed debate scheduled on the most holiest of Jewish holidays, yet there may

not be any debates due to disagreements by candidates

“KEN HERMAN

“It’s becoming increasinglyclear that Senator Davis islooking for any excuse not todebate Greg Abbott, and bycontinuing to engage inpolitical theatrics rather thanmake a commitment, Texansare beginning to see thesame.”AVDIEL HUERTA, GOP CANDIDATE GREG ABBOTT’S CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENTSCHOOL DISTRICT

JOB POSTINGPositionSpecial Education Teacher (Elementary Level)

Salary for Classroom Teachers & Full Time LibrariansMinimum: $43,260.00Maximum: $61,718.00

Minimum Duty Days:10 Months

Minimum Requirements:• Valid Texas Teaching Certificate in area of assignment with requiredendorsements for subject and level assigned. In addition, individuals in core academic subject areas must meet the highly qualified teacherrequirements as per the No Child left Behind Act

• Bachelor’s degree from accredited university• At least one year of student teaching or approved internship

Special Knowledge/Skills:• Ability to employ strategies that lead to student academic success.• Treats all people with dignity and respect.• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and harmoniously with• administrators, other teachers, students, parents and other staff.• Knowledge of assigned subjects.• General knowledge of curriculum and instruction.• Ability to instruct students and manage their behavior.• Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Other Requirements:• Must be willing to travel within the district

Preferred Qualifications:• Bilingual Certification

Deadline for Applying:Until Positions Filled

Applications may be obtained fromHuman Resources Department

1302 Glenn StreetP.O. Box 158

Zapata, Texas 78076(956)765-6858 • Fax (956)765-5940

Website: www.zcisd.orgTo download professional application go to: www.zcisd.org

We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, nationalorigin, age, religion, sex, marital status or veteran status, the presence of a medical

condition, disability or any other legally protected status.An Equal Opportunity Employer

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENTSCHOOL DISTRICT

JOB POSTINGPositionSpeech Language Pathologist

SalaryMinimum: $54,573.00Maximum: $76,143.00

Administrative/Professional Compensation PlanPay Grade: 5

Minimum Duty Days:197 Days

Minimum Qualification:• Master’s Degree in speech-language pathology from an accredited collegeor university

• Valid Texas license as a speech-language pathologist granted by theState Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (SBESLPA)

• One year of supervised clinical speech-language pathology experience• Able to supervise Speech Language Pathologist Assistants (SLPA)

Primary Purpose:This position provides speech-language pathology services to students with speech, voice, or language disorders. The position holder also assesses students and provides therapeutic intervemtion to eliminate or reduce problems or impairments that interfere with the students’ abilities ‘to derivefull benefi t from the educational program.

Special Knowledge/Skills:• Skills in the use of tests and measurements assessing speech-language disorders.

• Knowledge of evaluation, habilitation, and rehabilitation of monolingual and bilingual speech, language, and hearing disorders.

• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills• Ability to travel to multiple work locations as assigned.• Ability to instruct and manage student behavior.• Experience with Medicaid billing requirements.

Preferred Qualifi cations:• Previous experience as a speech-language pathologist

Deadline for Applying:Thursday, May 29, 2014

Applications may be obtained fromHuman Resources Department

1302 Glenn StreetP.O. Box 158

Zapata, Texas 78076(956)765-6858 • Fax (956)765-5940

Website: www.zcisd.orgTo download professional application go to: www.zcisd.org

We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, nationalorigin, age, religion, sex, marital status or veteran status, the presence of a medical

condition, disability or any other legally protected status.An Equal Opportunity Employer

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES State SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

HOUSTON — TheHouston Zoo this week-end opens its first insec-tarium in the park’s 92-year history, featuringsome exotic and venom-ous species in morethan two dozen customhabitats that make upwhat’s being dubbed“The Bug House.”

“They’re fascinatingand they’re just hard tosee out in the wild,” Ke-vin Hodge, curator ofthe Children’s Zoo atthe park, said Friday asworkers were putting fi-nal touches on the $3million project. “Mostof these insects aroundhere no one’s ever goingto see on a trip to Africaor Malaysia. A lot oftimes they’re at the ve-ry tops of trees andcould be among thou-sands of animals livingon one huge canopytree.”

A specialized insectdisplay seems appropri-ate in Houston, a citythat’s grown up on whatwas a swamp and wheredisease-carrying mos-quitoes and 2-inch-longflying cockroaches areaccepted facts of life.

The homegrown

roaches, though, aredwarfed by the giantcave cockroaches fromPanama and northernSouth America that arehoused in one of the 25aquarium-like exhibits.

Other impressive in-sects on display areblack Asian forest scor-pions from Malaysia,white-eyed assassinbugs from South Africaand blue death feigningbeetles, which flop overon their blue backs andappropriately play deadwhen confronted withdesert predators thatprefer live victims.

The bug house also ishome for a red-spottedlonghorn beetle, whichdespite the Texas nameconnection hails fromSoutheast Asia, and aGooty sapphire tarantu-la, named for the townin southern Indiawhere it was discov-ered.

Insects and spiders —there are more than amillion species of them— are vital as recyclers,aiding in decompositionand cleanup of organicmatter. They also helpin food production, silkproduction and are afood source for otheranimals. Pollinating in-sects are important for

plant reproduction andcrop production. Spi-ders, for example, arecrucial for controllingpest insects that other-wise would devour foodcrops.

“They’re not justcreepy crawly things wewant to get rid of,”Hodge said. “Insects area good indicator of howthe planet is doing as awhole.

“Insects are cool, andwe need them here.”

The new 2,000-square-foot “Bug House” build-ing is the result ofabout two years of workand eight months ofconstruction. It re-quired multiple U.S. De-partment of Agricultureinspections and permitscovering the building it-self, species, and nativeand exotic insects be-fore it was cleared toopen for the first timeSaturday.

“We’re taking some-thing that people rarelysee and are bringingthem into a place wherethey can appreciate na-ture,” Hodge said.

The 55-acre HoustonZoo is among the na-tion’s most visited zoos,last year attractingsome 2.2 million vis-itors.

Employees at the Houston Zoo’s new bug house get their first look at the exhibits Friday, inHouston. The Bug House has 30 species of native and exotic insects on display.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Bugs get new homeBy MICHAEL GRACZYK

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Several Texassuperintendents have pub-licly criticized the state’sstandardized testing systemahead of next week’s releaseof statewide scores.

Paul Jones, superintend-ent of the Paris school dis-trict in northeast Texas,said in a recent letter to par-ents that the tests known asthe State of Texas Assess-ments of Academic Readi-ness reflect a “punitive, one-size-fits-all” system.

Superintendents in theDallas suburb of Coppelland the East Texas towns ofLongview and Van also re-cently sent letters to parentscritical of the mandatorytesting, The Dallas MorningNews reported.

Statewide STAAR resultsfor grades three througheight are scheduled to be re-leased next week.

Critics of the assessmentshave argued that preparingfor STAAR, including a con-centration on test-takingstrategy, has hurt classroomteaching.

“Our students are muchmore than a once-a-yearpencil and bubble sheettest,” Jones wrote to par-ents. “Your child means im-measurably more than justa number generated in Aus-tin. There is no test that canassess all of what makeseach child unique.”

Paris has been challengedover the state tests in recentyears; fewer students passedmost of the exams than thestate average. But Jones

said his letter was not an ef-fort to downplay any furtherdisappointing scores.

“We’re going to celebrateif we blow the roof off thosetests,” he told the MorningNews. “But we know that’snot what it’s all about.”

Coppell SuperintendentJeff Turner said the factthat superintendents feelfree to publicly disparagethe state system reflects abroad criticism by manygroups.

“The fact that he can getaway with writing some-thing like that without be-ing called down by (hisschool) board or communityjust shows that he is reflect-ing the feelings of the par-ents,” Turner said of Jones.“He won’t be the last towrite it.”

State testing criticizedSeveral superintendents around state take public stands

against policy on standardized testsASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Former De-fense Secretary RobertGates was confirmedThursday as the Boy Scoutsof America’s new presi-dent, taking over one of thenation’s largest youth or-ganizations as it fights amembership decline anddebates its policy towardgays.

The group’s nationalcouncil voted to approveGates for the volunteer roleat the organization’s an-nual meeting in Nashville,Tennessee.

Gates, 70, was announcedas incoming president inOctober. As head of the or-ganization’s executiveboard, Gates will becomeone of Scouting’s most pub-lic figures at a pivotal timein its history.

“I’ve had tremendous op-portunities in my life, but Ican say without hesitationthat my memories of Scout-ing are every bit as vividand meaningful as whatcame later,” Gates said in astatement Thursday. “I be-lieve every boy deserves anopportunity to experiencewhat Scouting offers.”

The Boy Scouts votedlast year to allow openlygay boys in its ranks whilecontinuing to exclude open-ly gay adult leaders, a com-promise that continues toentangle the group in de-

bates over its membershippolicy. Shortly after thechange was enacted, oneopenly gay Boy Scout re-ceived his Eagle award, thehighest in Scouting. Butthe organization’s expul-sion of a gay Seattle-areaScoutmaster drew nationalheadlines, and some gay-rights advocates are stillurging sponsors to drop theScouts.

The change also led someconservatives to leaveScouting altogether, thoughdefections have been farfewer than once expected.

Gates now leads ScoutsBy NOMAAN MERCHANT

ASSOCIATED PRESS Gates will become one ofScouting’s most public figuresat a pivotal time in its history.

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

ZAPATA05/24— La Clase 1964

de Zapata High School sereunirá para celebrar los 50años de haber graduado. Elmiércoles 25 de junio en elSteak House. Interesados enasistir a la cena pueden soli-citar informes con Dora Mar-tínez al (956) 324-1226 ocon Ninfa Gracia al (956)500-5219.

Roma05/24— Ángeles de Zum-

ba invitan a un evento deZumba a beneficio del bebéJ.R., para su tratamientocontra el cáncer. El eventoserá de 10 a.m. a 12 p.m.en el Gimnasio Jesus O.Guerra, 608 N. Garcia St.Donación: 15 dólares.

LAREDO05/24— Vigésimo Derby

Anual de Pesca en “Ranchi-to” del Parque Estatal CasaBlanca, de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m.

05/24— Planetario La-mar Bruni Vergara de TAMIUpresenta “The Little Starthat Could” a las 3 p.m.;“Force 5: Nature Unleashed”a las 4 p.m.; “Ancient Skies,Ancient Mysteries”, a las 5p.m. Costo: 4 dólares, niños;y 5 dólares, adultos.

05/24— Evento de Lu-cha Libre “Guerra de Leyen-das” a partir de las 8 p.m.en Laredo Energy Arena.Costo: 48 dólares, 38, 28 y18. Adquiera su boleto enTicketmaster o en la taquilladel LEA.

05/24— La obra de tea-tro “Noises Off” de MichaelFrayn se presenta a las 8p.m. en Laredo Little Thea-ter, 4802 Thomas Ave. Paraaudiencia madura. Costo: 15dólares. Última presentación,el domingo a las 3 p.m.

05/25— Recital del Pro-grama de Bailarines Jóvenesde TAMIU será de 5 p.m. a10 p.m. en el Teatro delCenter for the Fine and Per-forming Arts de la Universi-dad. Entrada gratuita.

05/25— Ballet Beckypresenta el recital “OnceUpon a Time” a las 5 p.m.en el Laredo Civic Center.

05/25— Gloria Trevi pre-senta su gira “Gloria TreviDe Película Tour”, a las 7:30p.m. en Laredo Energy Are-na. Costo: 33, 43, 63, 88 y103 dólares.

05/27— Recital del Pro-grama de Jóvenes Pianistasde TAMIU a las 7:30 p.m. enel Salón de Recitales delCenter for the Fine and Per-forming Arts. Entrada gratui-ta.

NUEVO LAREDO, MX05/24— Estación Pala-

bra ‘Gabriel García Márquez’invita al “Bazar de Arte” alas 12 p.m.; “Festival Infan-til” a las 2 p.m.; y “Vagón#13 Manifiesto” a las 5 p.m.Todo los eventos son gratis.

05/24— Presentacióndel libro “Adicción Emocio-nal” a las 4 p.m. en Esta-ción Palabra. Entrada gratui-ta.

05/24— Encuentro Na-cional de Danza Folklórica alas 5 p.m. en el Teatro de laCiudad Adolfo López Mateos.Entrada gratuita.

05/24— Performance“Las 5 Puertas” a las 6 p.m.en la Galería Regional de Ar-tes Visuales del Centro Cul-tural Nuevo Laredo. Entradagratuita.

05/25— Conociendo aMéxico “Muestra de bailesfolklóricos” a las 10 a.m. enel Teatro Lucio Blanco. En-trada gratuita.

05/25— Teatro Laberin-tus A.C. presenta la obra“Invisible” a las 12 p.m. enel Teatro del IMSS, entreReynosa y Belden. Obra paratoda la familia. Costo 20 pe-sos.

05/25— “Domingo deTeatro Universitario” presen-ta “La Piedra de la Felici-dad” en el teatro Lucio Blan-co en la Casa de la Culturaa las 5 p.m. Entrada libre.

Agendaen Breve

Héctor Alejandro Méndez Ramí-rez tenía 12 años de edad y cursa-ba el primer año de secundaria.

El miércoles 14 de mayo era undía normal de clases en la EscuelaSecundaria 7 de Ciudad Victoria,Tamaulipas, México, pero investi-gaciones han revelado que ése díaMéndez fue tomado por cuatrocompañeros de escuela, quienes lolanzaron contra la pared.

El caso, que ha sido calificadocomo “bullying” (acoso estudian-til), dio otro giro la madrugada delmartes cuando Méndez falleció enel Hospital Infantil donde eraatendido. El alumno recibió un se-vero golpe en la cabeza que le pro-vocara un traumatismo craneoen-cefálico grave que lo mantuvo en

estado de coma, y, al final, sumuerte, indicaron representantesde la Secretaría de Educación enTamaulipas (SET) en un comuni-cado de prensa.

El secretario de la SET, DiódoroGuerra Rodríguez, informó que lamaestra de la materia de Españoly el subdirector de la secundariafueron suspendidos, mientras serealiza una investigación.

Los padres de la víctima, JavierMéndez y Rebeca Ramírez Rojas,acudieron ante la Procuraduría deTamaulipas a presentar la denun-cia correspondiente.

Ramírez dijo que pide accióncontra maestros y directivos pornegligencia, ya que no actuaron atiempo contra el acoso que sufríasu hijo, al igual contra los alum-nos responsables.

“Éste era mi hijo, era un niño

sano que jugaba fútbol, era un ni-ño sano que le gustaba bailar, quele gustaba cantar, le gustaba hacermuchas cosas”, expresó Ramírezal periódico en línea Hoy Tamauli-pas. “Que venga este maestro yme diga que era un juego de mu-chachos, como va ser un juego porfavor, no es justo”.

La Procuraduría de Tamaulipasturnó el caso al área especializadapara menores.

El martes a la 1:30 p.m. padresde familia y jóvenes se manifesta-ron de forma pacífica contra auto-ridades educativas y maestros dela Secundaria No. 7 en Ciudad Vic-toria. Llevaron pancartas queleían, “Queremos justicia”, “Justi-cia para Minio”, “Acabemos con elbullying”, “Exigimos justicia paraHéctor Alejandro”, entre otros, se-

gún reporte publicado por Hoy Ta-maulipas.

El miércoles al mediodía, Héc-tor Alejandro Méndez fue sepulta-do en el panteón Recuerdo de Ciu-dad Victoria.

Los padres de Héctor AlejandroMéndez decidieron donar los dosriñones del menor, informó el se-cretario de Salud en TamaulipasNorberto Treviño García-Manzo.

“Un reconocimiento y nuestracompañía en el duelo de los pa-dres de este niño que tuvieron elgran valor humanitario de cederlos riñones”, indicó Treviño. “Esuna donación muy importante”.

La Secretaría de Educaciónagregó que la dependencia asumiólos gastos generados por la aten-ción médica, hospitalaria y fune-rarios de Héctor Alejandro Mén-dez.

HÉCTOR ALEJANDRO MÉNDEZ RAMÍREZ TENÍA 12 AÑOS DE EDAD

Acoso escolarPOR MELVA LAVÍN-CASTILLO

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

PÁGINA 8A Zfrontera SÁBADO 24 DE MAYO DE 2014

Miembros del Comité de Cultura, Re-creación y Turismo de la Cámara deRepresentantes de Texas, se reunieroncon residentes de Zapata durante unaaudiencia pública, a fin de atender el te-ma de la disminución de población delubina (robalo) en el Lago Falcón.

Expertos del Departamento de Par-ques y Vida Silvestre de Texas, contri-buyeron con testimonios durante la au-diencia, que tuvo lugar el viernes 16 demayo en el Centro de Educación y Tec-nológica de Zapata.

La disminución de la población de lu-bina ha impactado grandemente no sóloel ecosistema del Lago Falcón, sino tam-bién ha contribuido a que bajara el nú-mero de turistas que visitan el área.

Pescadores en el Condado de Zapatahan atribuido la disminución de lubinaal aumento de catán (o pejelagarto), ci-tando que estos animales se alimentande lubina. Sin embargo, el panel del De-partamento de Parques y Vida Silvestreno atribuye el problema a los catanes,como previamente se dijo en LaredoMorning Times. El departamento dijoque el otoño pasado, examinaron el con-tenido estomacal de 28 catanes y encon-traron que la lubina sólo constituía el10 por ciento de la dieta de los catanes.

Los catanes son peces que puedencrecer entre 7 y 8 pies de largo y llegara pesar hasta 300 libras. Además, su vi-da se extiende de 50 a 100 años. Estospeces desovan en condiciones de inun-dación, pero también sobreviven a lassequías. En 2009, se impusieron restric-ciones sobre la cantidad de catanes quelos pescadores podían extraer al día.

Dave Terre, jefe de gestión e investi-gación de la División de Pesca Conti-nental en el Departamento de Parques yVida Silvestre, dijo que el problema delLago Falcón es muy común. Dijo quelos dos temas principales que notó fue-ron los bajos niveles de agua y la colec-ta de lubina negra. Dijo que mientrases verdad que los catanes consumen lu-binas, no lo hacen de manera alarman-te.

“La población de lubina está dismi-nuyendo porque el lago se está redu-ciendo… las lubinas comen más lubinasque las que consumen los catanes”, dijoTerre.

El lunes, KRGV, canal televisivo deRío Grande, reportó acerca de una espe-cie invasora de peses encontrada en lapresa en San Benito, que presenta unadistancia menor a 200 millas del LagoFalcón, en Zapata. De acuerdo con el re-porte, docenas de bagres fueron encon-trados muertos en las orillas de la pre-sa.

El martes, el comisionado del conda-do de Zapata, José E. Vela, se reuniócon pescadores locales que afirmaronque el mismo tipo de pescado estabaafectando a la población de lubina enNueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, yal otro lado al Lago Falcón.

Romeo Salinas, Tesorero del Condadode Zapata, dijo que quería ver un estu-dio concluyente realizado por Parques yVida Silvestre de Texas, quien concluirásu investigación en el Lago Falcón du-rante el otoño. Salinas dijo que era “de-masiado tiempo” para esperar.

“Eso es todo lo que tenemos. Hemosperdido a la comunidad de petróleo ygas... (la disminución de la población delubina) va a afectar a todos los nego-cios”, dijo Salinas.

CONDADO DE ZAPATA

Siguen aespera desolución

POR GABRIELA A. TREVIÑOTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Conductores y pasajeros queno utilicen el cinturón de seguri-dad recibirán multa de hasta 200dólares a través de la campaña“Abroche o Pague”.

Desde el 19 de mayo y hasta elpróximo 1 de junio, el Departa-mento de Transportes de Texas(TxDOT) estará emitiendo mul-tas y costos de tribunales de has-ta 200 dólares, a través de lacampaña anual.

“Los cinturones de seguridadsalvan vidas”, dijo John Barton,director ejecutivo adjunto deTxDOT. “Es un hecho. Abrochar-se el cinturón evitará que reciba

una multa y, lo más importante,podría salvarle la vida”.

Alrededor del 76 por ciento delos residentes de Texas utiliza-ban el cinturón de seguridadcuando la campaña comenzó en2002, de acuerdo con un comuni-cado de prensa. Las cifras actua-les indican que 9 de cada 10 teja-nos utiliza el cinturón, añade.

“Ya sea usted conductor o pa-sajero, la ley exige que todas laspersonas en el vehículo usen elcinturón de seguridad en cadaviaje. El costo de no usarlo sim-plemente no vale la pena”, dijoBarton.

La Administración Nacionalde Seguridad en las Autopistas

(NHTSA) calcula que la campa-ña “Abroche o Pague” en Texasdesde su origen ha producidouna reducción de casi 3.962muertes menos en las carrete-ras, mientras que se evitaron66.823 lesiones, indica el comuni-cado.

En 2013 hubo 943 muertes y5.383 lesiones graves en el estadocausadas por choques en los quelos conductores o los pasajerosno tenían el cinturón de seguri-dad abrochado, sostiene el comu-nicado.

Para más información sobrela campaña puede escribir a Me-diaRelations@txdot.gov o llamaral (512) 463-8700.

TXDOT

Exhortan a utilizar cinturónESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El Torneo Nacional de Balon-cesto “Dos mil estudiantes porMéxico” fue inaugurado con lapresencia de alrededor de 20 equi-pos de baloncesto de la ciudad deNuevo Laredo, México, el jueves,dentro del nuevo gimnasio de laUnidad Deportiva, Benito Juárez.

Los ganadores del torneo pasa-rán a la etapa estatal que será

realizada del 9 al 15 de junio enCiudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.

“Las actividades deportivas yculturales mantendrá a nuestrosjóvenes y niños ocupados e inte-resados, mediante la promociónde que desarrollen sus habilida-des en esta clase de eventos”, ex-presó Lucía Irene Alzaga Mada-ria, secretaria de Desarrollo Hu-mano y Social de Nuevo Laredo.

Este año marca la ocasión en

que Nuevo Laredo se unió a lacompetencia y a la entrega dematerial deportivo, que incluyó200 uniformes y 60 balones de ba-loncesto. Los municipios de Victo-ria y Tampico, Tamaulipas, Méxi-co, también recibieron el materialdeportivo.

Los partidos serán celebradosa lo largo de la semana en losgimnasios de la Unidad Deporti-va Benito Juárez.

DEPORTES

ESTUDIANTES POR MÉXICO

El jueves se realizó la inauguración del Torneo Nacional Escolar de Baloncesto “Dos mil estudiantes por México”, en elgimnasio de la Unidad Deportiva Benito Juárez, en Nuevo Laredo, México, con alrededor de 20 equipos participantes.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

Veinte equipos asistieron a inauguraciónTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

DÍA DE LAS FUERZAS ARMADAS

Foto de cortesía | Ciudad de Roma

La Comisión de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Roma, Texas, llevó a cabo la 3er Caminata/Carrera Anual de 5K, elsábado 19 de mayo, en el marco del Día de las Fuerzas Armadas.

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. —Firefighters took advan-tage of cooler, calmerweather Friday to get anupper hand on a blazeburning in a scenic Arizo-na canyon as MemorialDay travelers were forcedto alter their travel plansbecause of the fire.

Hotshot crews marchedalong a winding highwaythat is a key front in theireffort and set fire to theground to rob the wildfireof fuel and keep it fromcrossing the road. Helicop-ters dropped explosivechemicals in the steepestparts of the canyon thatfirefighters can’t reach.Crews were also busy wid-ening a line that wouldkeep the fire from burningtoward residential areas.

“There might be a hugespike in size, but we wantthe public to know we’recontrolling the fire,” firespokesman Dillon Wi-niecki said “We are fight-ing it on our own terms.”

The human-causedSlide Fire started Tuesdayand by Friday had burnedmore than 11 1/2 squaremiles in and around OakCreek Canyon, a scenicrecreation zone along thehighway between Sedonaand Flagstaff that normal-

ly would be filled withtourists as Memorial Dayapproaches.

Slide Rock State Park isamong the destinationsthat are closed. It is one ofthe most-visited touristspots in Arizona, withswimming holes and natu-ral water slides that drawtens of thousands of peo-ple during summermonths.

Weather conditions forthe fire over the next sev-eral days look favorable,with increased humidityand a chance of rain. Fire-fighters established con-tainment lines around 5percent of the fire nearestto where it started justnorth of Slide Rock StatePark.

Crews were makinggood progress in keepingthe blaze from getting clos-er to communities southof Flagstaff, incident com-mander Tony Sciacca said.Their work includes a put-ting a sprinkler systemaround a fish hatchery inthe canyon that can beturned on if the fire ap-proaches, creating a bufferzone near a power lineand quickly knockingdown any spot fires thatescape the main blaze.

Some 900 firefighterswere assigned to the fireFriday.

The fire was moving

away from Sedona, butthat didn’t ease concernsof business owners whoworry the blaze will keepcustomers away from thepremier tourist destina-tion over the weekend.

The Sedona Chamber ofCommerce has been field-ing hundreds of inquiriesvia telephone and socialmedia from people won-dering if they should stillvisit during the holidayweekend and inquiringabout the air quality, offi-cials said.

Chamber of CommercePresident Jennifer Wessel-hoff said smoke from thefire has been visible fromabout 3 a.m. to 9 a.m., butthe skies clear up as soonas the sun emerges. Shesaid visitors can still gohiking along more than200 miles of trails.

Evacuations remain inplace for a 2-mile stretchnorth of Slide Rock, andHighway 89A betweenFlagstaff and Sedona isclosed. The fire was 3 to 31/2 miles away from theresidential areas of ForestHighlands and KachinaVillage, where 3,200 resi-dents remained under pre-evacuation warnings.

No injuries have beenreported as a result of thefire. None of the 300threatened structures haveburned.

A truck drives along a road near the the Slide Fire as it burns up Oak Creek Canyon nearby on Friday,near Flagstaff, Ariz. The fire has burned approximately 7,500 acres.

Photo by Ross D. Franklin | AP

Calm aids firefightersBy FELICIA FONSECA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Ajudge on Friday orderedthat a serial rapist be re-leased to live in a Los An-geles County community inspite of a host of vocal pro-tests.

Santa Clara County Su-perior Court Judge GilbertBrown issued a brief ordersaying that ChristopherEvans Hubbart, 63, must bereleased by July 7, Los An-geles County District Attor-ney Jackie Lacey said in astatement. With several se-vere restrictions that in-clude 24-hour GPS monitor-ing, Hubbart will be al-lowed to rent a small housein a remote area in LakeLos Angeles, near the cityof Palmdale.

The decision comes twodays after a daylong hear-ing in Northern California,where Brown heard pas-sionate objections from resi-dents, many of whom drove350 miles north from South-ern California. Hubbart’smost recent crimes oc-curred in Santa ClaraCounty, but Brown orderedhim released to Los AngelesCounty, where Hubbart wasborn and raised.

“I am extremely disap-pointed with the court’s de-cision,” said Lacey, whospent months fighting therelease into her county ofman with a history of atleast 40 rapes.

“Now we are preparingfor his arrival,” she said.“We will do everythingwithin our authority to pro-tect the residents of Los An-geles County from this dan-gerous predator.”

Hubbart will wear a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week GPSmonitor on his ankle andwill be accompanied by se-curity people every time hegoes out in public for thefirst six months to a year of

his release,Lacey said.He will betransportedto therapysessionstwice a week.

Brownsaid he re-

ceived an enormous out-pouring of emails, petitions,cards, letters and postingson a website set up by La-cey for public comment.The documents filled twobanker boxes as well as twofull binders, he said.

“The court has reviewedthem all,” Brown said, offer-ing no other comment.

“The court approves theproposed address. Mr. Hub-bart is ordered to be placedwithin 45 days,” he said inhis written order.

Hubbart has acknowl-edged raping and assaultingabout 40 women between1971 and 1982, when he wassentenced to 16 years inprison. He was paroled in1990, but arrested in a newattack just two months laterand returned to prison until1996.

When his term ended, hewas deemed a sexually vio-lent predator and confinedto a state mental hospital.Doctors at the hospital re-cently concluded he was fitfor release, but few optionswere available. Californialaws bar sex offenders fromliving within 2,000 feet ofschools and other placeswhere children congregate,eliminating nearly all ur-ban areas in the state.

Local leaders quickly de-nounced the decision.

County Supervisor Mi-chael Antonovich called it“an unconscionable threatto public safety.”

Palmdale Mayor JamesLedford said he was “a littleupset” on learning thenews.

“It’s very disappointing,very disappointing that this

guy with this kind of recordin the past would be put in-to any community,” he said.

Ledford said the city isgoing to continue to try tofight the order.

Cheryl Holbrook, one ofthe residents who drovenorth to the hearing and amember of a communitygroup created to fight therelease, said she and othersfrom the Ladies of Lake LAwere already heading toprotest at Hubbart’s newhome, which is about fivemiles from her own.

Holbrook said she wasshaking because of thenews, which she said wasmade worse by terriblememories of being raped asa 14-year-old by two men atknifepoint and impregnat-ed.

“I think it’s wrong,” Hol-brook said. “When this guycommits another crime, theblood’s going to be on thatjudge’s shoulders.”

Hubbart will be requiredto report to the judge inSan Jose for quarterly pro-gress reports

In a related development,the state assembly passedlegislation backed by Laceyrequiring courts to give res-idents of counties receivingsexual violent predators avoice early in the judicialprocess.

Assemblyman Steve Fox,D-Palmdale, who sponsoredthe revision of the SexualViolent Predator Act, said,“The court has made a hor-rendous error in judgmentin deciding to place this pa-rolee into Lake Los An-geles. This is an unfair deci-sion that flies in the face ofthe traditional notions offair play and substantialjustice. We are beingdumped on.”

He said that once the billis approved by the full legis-lature, “We are taking juris-diction of this case awayfrom Santa Clara County.”

Forced upon townCalifornia judge says serial rapist must be released and

allowed to live in Southern California communityBy LINDA DEUTSCHASSOCIATED PRESS

HUBBART

OAKLAND, Calif. — TheRoman Catholic Diocese ofOakland is under fire for anew contract clause thatrequires teachers to con-form to church teachingsin their private lives.

Some parents, teachersand students worry teach-ers could be fired for beinggay or engaging in behav-ior the church frowns on,such as having sex outsidemarriage. Three teachersat Bishop O’Dowd HighSchool in Oakland have re-fused to sign the new con-tract, Diocese of Oaklandspokesman Mike Brownsaid this week.

Parents and teachers,additionally, plan to pro-test at the diocese’s officesFriday.

The diocese runs morethan 50 schools and em-ploys about 1,000 teachers,many of them non-Catho-lics. Brown told the San

Francisco Chronicle earli-er this month that the newlanguage is not a witchhunt, but an attempt byOakland Bishop MichaelBarber to be clearer aboutthe contract.

“It simply states whatwas inferred before from anew bishop’s perspective,”Brown said. “There is nolist of behaviors from thisdiocese.”

But some teachers see itdifferently.

Kathleen Purcell, a his-tory teacher at O’DowdHigh School, said shesigned the contract, butcrossed out the part aboutprivate behavior. The sec-tion reads, “In both theemployee’s personal andprofessional life, the em-ployee is expected to mod-el and promote behavior inconformity with the teach-ing of the Roman Catholicfaith in matters of faithand morals, and to donothing that tends to bring

discredit to the school orto the Diocese of Oak-land.”

Her contract was not ac-cepted, and she does notplan on returning to theschool.

“I could have taken backwhat I did and said I couldgo along, but I can’t dothat,” Purcell, 62, told theOakland Tribune. “My lifeis about advancing civilrights.”

The issue has come upin Ohio as well. A newcontract proposal from theArchdiocese of Cincinnatispecifies some violationsof Catholic doctrine thatcould put teachers out of ajob — including abortion,artificial insemination and“homosexual lifestyles” —and extends forbidden be-havior to include publicsupport for those kinds ofcauses. The Catholic dio-cese in Cleveland has in-troduced a similar con-tract.

Strict teacher contractCatholic school teachers face restrictions on private lives

ASSOCIATED PRESS

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTERESTWk Wk YTD

Name Ex Div Last Chg %Chg%ChgWk Wk YTD

Name Ex Div Last Chg %Chg%ChgAT&T Inc NY 1.84 35.32 -1.42 -3.9 +.5

AEP NY 2.00 51.41 -1.29 -2.4 +10.0

ARltCapPr Nasd 1.00 12.30 -.80 -6.1 -4.3

BkofAm NY .04 14.72 +.21 +1.4 -5.5

Caterpillar NY 2.40 104.03 -2.00 -1.9 +14.6

Cisco Nasd .76 24.52 +.15 +0.6 +10.2

CCFemsa NY 2.17 116.48 -3.01 -2.5 -4.3

CmtyHlt NY ... 42.70 +5.47 +14.7 +8.7

ConocoPhil NY 2.76 78.43 +1.06 +1.4 +11.0

Dillards NY .24 109.77 -1.23 -1.1 +12.9

EmpIca NY ... 7.92 +.49 +6.6 -6.3

ExxonMbl NY 2.76 101.32 +.58 +0.6 +.1

Facebook Nasd ... 61.35 +3.33 +5.7 +12.3

FordM NY .50 16.02 +.26 +1.6 +3.8

GenElec NY .88 26.51 -.16 -0.6 -5.4

HewlettP NY .64 33.72 +1.20 +3.7 +20.5

HomeDp NY 1.88 79.18 +1.82 +2.4 -3.8

iShJapan NY .13 11.39 +.24 +2.2 -6.2

iShEMkts NY .86 43.14 +.20 +0.5 +3.2

iShR2K NY 1.45 111.97 +2.40 +2.2 -2.9

Intel Nasd .90 26.29 +.47 +1.8 +1.3

IntlBcsh Nasd .50 24.15 +.90 +3.9 -8.4

IBM NY 4.40 185.94 -1.12 -0.6 -.9

Lowes NY .72 47.06 +1.70 +3.7 -5.0

Lubys NY ... 5.11 +.05 +1.0 -33.8

MetLife NY 1.40 50.76 +1.32 +2.7 -5.9

MexicoFd NY 3.13 27.60 +.16 +0.6 -5.8

Microsoft Nasd 1.12 40.12 +.29 +0.7 +7.2

Modine NY ... 15.82 +.05 +0.3 +23.4

Penney NY ... 9.01 -.72 -7.4 -1.5

PwShs QQQ Nasd 1.30 89.88 +2.17 +2.5 +2.2

RadioShk NY ... 1.21 -.01 -0.8 -53.5

S&P500ETF NY 3.48 190.35 +2.30 +1.2 +3.1

Schlmbrg NY 1.60 101.39 +1.80 +1.8 +12.5

SearsHldgs Nasd ... 37.64 -2.50 -6.2 -5.3

SiriusXM Nasd ... 3.27 +.16 +5.1 -6.3

SonyCp NY .25 16.11 -.27 -1.6 -6.8

UnionPac NY 3.64 196.26 +1.10 +0.6 +16.8

USSteel NY .20 24.08 -1.05 -4.2 -18.4

UnivHlthS NY .20 89.43 +4.60 +5.4 +10.1

WalMart NY 1.92 75.61 -1.40 -1.8 -3.9

WellsFargo NY 1.40 50.16 +1.08 +2.2 +10.5

STOCK MARKET INDEXES

MONEY RATES CURRENCIES

MUTUAL FUNDS

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

Prime Rate

Discount Rate

Federal Funds Rate

Treasuries

3-month

6-month

5-year

10-year

30-year

WEEKLY DOW JONES

16,735.51 14,551.27 Dow Jones Industrials 16,606.27 +114.96 +.70 +.18 +8.52

7,995.39 5,952.18 Dow Jones Transportation 7,986.58 +140.73 +1.79 +7.92 +24.87

558.29 462.66 Dow Jones Utilities 534.02 -3.76 -.70 +8.86 +6.97

11,334.65 8,814.76 NYSE Composite 10,681.87 +78.69 +.74 +2.71 +13.13

4,371.71 3,294.95 Nasdaq Composite 4,185.81 +95.22 +2.33 +.22 +21.01

1,902.17 1,560.33 S&P 500 1,900.53 +22.67 +1.21 +2.82 +15.21

1,398.91 1,114.04 S&P MidCap 1,369.66 +17.13 +1.27 +2.02 +15.28

20,257.19 16,442.14 Wilshire 5000 20,123.50 +259.54 +1.31 +2.12 +15.70

1,212.82 942.79 Russell 2000 1,126.19 +23.28 +2.11 -3.22 +14.42

5,893.58 4,493.72 Lipper Growth Index 5,648.66 +117.28 +2.12 +1.05 +19.77

52-Week Wk Wk YTD 12-moHigh Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg

3.25 3.25

0.75 0.75

.00-.25 .00-.25

0.03 0.03

0.05 0.05

1.53 1.56

2.53 2.52

3.40 3.35

Last Pvs Week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m WS 582 82.96 +0.9 +17.9/A +10.7/E 4.25 2,500

Columbia ComInfoA m ST 2,419 53.42 +1.9 +21.9/D +15.8/D 5.75 2,000

Eaton Vance WldwHealA m SH 876 11.92 +1.6 +27.7/B +19.0/D 5.75 1,000

Fidelity Select Biotech d SH 8,129 181.70 -0.2 +24.2/C +28.9/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select BrokInv d SF 656 69.69 -1.1 +12.7/D +14.8/C NL 2,500

Fidelity Select CommEq d ST 283 31.52 +0.9 +27.6/B +15.8/D NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Computer d ST 656 74.77 0.0 +16.1/E +22.3/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select ConsFin d SF 209 15.09 -0.1 +12.7/C +18.4/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Electron d ST 1,512 71.68 +1.6 +36.2/A +21.3/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select FinSvc d SF 911 81.29 +0.1 +14.3/C +12.2/D NL 2,500

Fidelity Select SoftwCom d ST 3,472 113.28 +0.7 +28.0/A +25.1/A NL 2,500

Fidelity Select Tech d ST 2,229 114.16 +2.0 +23.6/C +21.7/A NL 2,500

PIMCO TotRetIs CI 147,988 10.95 +1.4 +0.7/E +6.5/C NL1,000,000

T Rowe Price SciTech ST 2,882 39.36 0.0 +28.1/A +19.0/C NL 2,500

Vanguard 500Adml LB 88,471 175.79 +1.6 +17.5/B +18.9/B NL 10,000

Vanguard HlthCare SH 10,307 196.75 +3.3 +28.8/A +21.5/C NL 3,000

Vanguard InstIdxI LB 90,791 174.65 +1.6 +17.5/B +18.9/B NL5,000,000

Vanguard TotStIAdm LB 90,940 47.93 +1.1 +17.9/B +19.5/A NL 10,000

Vanguard TotStIdx LB 109,020 47.91 +1.1 +17.7/B +19.4/A NL 3,000

Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m ST 3,436 15.69 -0.8 +29.6/A +21.6/A 5.75 750

Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min InitName Obj ($Mlns) NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt

CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -ForeignLarge Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others withsame objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.

NYSE10,681.87 +78.69

NASDAQ4,185.81 +95.22

Volume

Name Vol (00) Last ChgSiriusXM 2702502 3.27 +.16

Facebook 2455032 61.35 +3.33

Cisco 2148242 24.52 +.15

ARltCapPr 1853340 12.30 -.80

PwShs QQQ1523032 89.88 +2.17

Zynga 1276685 3.28 -.07

NewLead rs1257854 2.83 +2.20

Microsoft 1058328 40.12 +.29

JD.com n 1051480 20.10 ...

Intel 963568 26.29 +.47

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgNewLead rs 2.83 +2.20 +349.2

Tuniu n 15.50 +5.32 +52.3

eOnCom h 3.60 +1.19 +49.4

LiveDeal s 4.42 +1.37 +44.9

WaveSys rs 2.03 +.57 +39.0

ChinaSun h 3.85 +1.07 +38.5

DehaierMd 6.67 +1.85 +38.4

Prosensa n 8.41 +2.31 +37.9

ENGlobal h 3.57 +.95 +36.3

TrovaGn wt 2.80 +.74 +35.9

Name Last Chg %ChgMethesEng 2.17 -.68 -23.9

RetailNot n 23.87 -6.01 -20.1

ACareSrce 2.54 -.61 -19.4

Tetralogc n 4.17 -.98 -19.0

OramedPh 7.71 -1.76 -18.6

InterceptP 229.82 -50.44 -18.0

Covisint h 5.88 -1.21 -17.1

ShoeCarnvl 18.90 -3.59 -16.0

ChinaHGS 4.01 -.74 -15.6

AdamisP rs 5.74 -1.05 -15.5

DIARYAdvanced 1,902

Declined 864

New Highs 107

New Lows 148

Total issues 2,817

Unchanged 51

8,275,440,203

Name Vol (00) Last ChgS&P500ETF3442301190.35+2.30

BkofAm 2743263 14.72 +.21

iShR2K 2410386111.97 +2.40

iShEMkts 2301533 43.14 +.20

AT&T Inc 1820826 35.32 -1.42

iShJapan 1384547 11.39 +.24

Pfizer 1235058 29.49 +.37

Penney 1220994 9.01 -.72

DrxSCBear 1147129 16.89 -1.22

Twitter n 1103041 30.50 -1.76

MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE)

GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)

LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)

Name Last Chg %ChgAeroflex 10.53 +2.27 +27.5

SesaSterlte 18.27 +3.81 +26.3

E-House 10.25 +2.08 +25.5

TrinaSolar 12.87 +2.33 +22.1

YingliGrn 3.38 +.59 +21.1

ChiMYWnd 3.10 +.53 +20.6

LejuHldg n 12.55 +2.12 +20.3

Demandw 60.07 +9.97 +19.9

PhoenxCos 47.18 +7.27 +18.2

MVIndSC rs 49.01 +7.43 +17.9

Name Last Chg %ChgITT Ed 18.87 -6.70 -26.2

Aeropostl 3.41 -1.04 -23.4

DicksSptg 43.08 -8.49 -16.5

DrxRsaBear 11.83 -2.03 -14.6

Valhi 5.99 -.98 -14.1

DoralFn rs 2.51 -.41 -14.0

LifeLock 11.34 -1.64 -12.6

TriPointe 15.01 -1.89 -11.2

AlphaNRs 3.72 -.45 -10.8

GM wt C 2.02 -.24 -10.4

DIARYAdvanced 2,140

Declined 1,063

New Highs 277

New Lows 75

Total issues 3,257

Unchanged 54

13,234,497,333Volume

15,000

15,500

16,000

16,500

17,000

N MD J F M A

20.55

MON

-137.55

TUES

158.75

WED

10.02

THUR

63.19

FRIClose: 16,606.27

1-week change: 114.96 (0.7%)

Dow Jones industrials

WEEKLY STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS

Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n= New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt =Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy orreceivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paidfrom fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = notavailable. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainersand Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares.Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.

Australia 1.0828 1.0849

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Mexico 12.8581 12.8773

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uu uu

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Donald K. Siler, 85,passed away Tuesday,May 20, 2014, at AlfredoGonzalez Texas State Vet-erans Home in McAllen.

Mr. Siler is precededin death by his daughter,Nancy Siler; parents, Do-nald and Isabell Silerand a brother, Joe W. Sil-er.

Mr. Siler is survivedby his wife, Esther J. Sil-er; daughters, Connie(Bill Bob) Shipman, Ter-rie (Doug) Cawood, Debbi(Ralph) Strauss; grand-children, Sara Shipman,Angie Lennen, Lori(Tom) Beattie, Jenny(Darren) Ogrady; sixgreat-grandchildren; andby numerous other fam-ily members and friends.

A memorial servicewill be held Friday, May30, 2014 at 10 a.m. at Unit-ed Methodist Church in-cluding full military hon-ors by the American Le-gion Post 486 ColorGuard.

In lieu of flowers dona-tions can be made to Dis-abled American Veteransor to Methodist Church

in Zapata.Funeral arrangements

are under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonza-lez, funeral director, 2102N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.

DONALD K. SILER

DEC. 18, 1928 – MAY 20, 2014

ly being denied life-saving colo-noscopies, that won’t suffice. Thepresident needs to bring in newleadership at the VA, he shouldconsider directing the FBI to in-vestigate criminal allegations,and the Senate should conductemergency oversight hearings toget to the bottom of reportedscandals.”

Two weeks ago, local VA offi-

cials said they had found thatschedulers had been trained notto use an electronic wait list toolthat is meant to give veteransspeedier appointments, but couldalso reveal the presence of longwait times. Officials called thepractice, a key part of allegationsmade by scheduling clerk BrianTurner, a “training issue” that lo-cal leadership did not direct.

SCHEDULING Continued from Page 1A

lowing the resignation of Kath-leen Sebelius after thedisastrous rollout of the federalwebsite for consumers to buy in-surance coverage under Oba-ma’s health care law. Burwell isawaiting Senate confirmation.

Obama had sought to bringCastro into the administration

in the past, but he decided tostay in the job he says he lookedforward to while growing up.Castro handily won a third termas mayor last year.

But his ambitions apparentlyhave grown, along with hisstock as a politician with broadappeal to Democratic voters, in-

measure, a well-suited candidateto lead the department,” Palo-marez said. “With great consis-tency, Mayor Castro has setaside political partisanship inthe name of good policy decisionmaking. We hope his confirma-tion process will proceed withthat same collaborative spirit.”

and chief executive officer of theU.S. Hispanic Chamber of Com-merce, said Castro is a “vision-ary leader” who has done morethan anyone in San Antonio toaddress the city’s housing needs.

“Mayor Castro is not only anexemplary leader within theHispanic community, but by all

cluding fellow Hispanics whovoted overwhelmingly for Oba-ma in 2012. Castro is Mexican-American.

Serving in Obama’s Cabinetwould give Castro a nationalplatform to continue buildinghis reputation.

Javier Palomarez, president

CASTRO Continued from Page 1A

ongoing, but we do not have anyinformation to suggest this wasdone to target any individualperson or business at thistime.”

The message on the other bill-board read, “dying for drugs.”

Drug cartels sometimes hangbanners in Mexican cities withgraphic threats and have evenhanged victims from overpas-

ses, but such public threats arevirtually unheard of on the U.S.side. El Paso has maintained acrime rate that is among thelowest in the country, even dur-ing recent years when CiudadJuarez, across the border, suf-fered a bloody cartel battle.

“Whoever did this wentthrough a lot of work to get thisaccomplished,” said Phil Jor-

dan, a former Drug Enforce-ment Administration agent whoran the El Paso IntelligenceCenter. “This is possibly a mess-age to someone who hasn’tcooperated with the cartels. Buteven if it’s a hoax, somethinglike this is going to make the ElPaso population uneasy, giventhat the city is not far from thekilling fields of Mexico.”

THREATS Continued from Page 1A

James G. Hernandez, 33,passed away Wednesday,May 21, 2014.

James is preceded indeath by his brother, Rob-ert C. Benavides; niece,Nallely Esperanza Bena-vides; paternal grandpar-ents, Jose Maria and Ara-bela Benavides and by hismaternal grandparents,James and Herlinda McDo-nald.

James is survived bywife, San Juanita Hernan-dez; sons, Joseph MooreHernandez, James G. Her-nandez, Jr.; daughters, Jas-myn G. Hernandez andAbigail Hernandez; par-ents, Carlos and Linda Be-navides; brother, Carlos Jr.(Sandra) Benavides; sisters,Cristina (Jesus) Ramirez,Cynthia (Diego) Villarreal,Anita (Rafael) Vela; and byhis family at the ProtechOil & Gas and by numer-ous other family membersand friends.

Visitation hours washeld Friday, May 23, 2014,from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with arosary at 7 p.m. at RoseGarden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession

will depart Saturday, May24, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. for a 9a.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal servic-es will follow at ZapataCounty Cemetery.

Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 N.U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.

JAMES G. HERNANDEZ

APRIL 16, 1981 — MAY 21, 2014

Josefa Sanchez, 62, hasleft peacefully to be in thearms of The Lord on May19, 2014.

She passed surroundedby her loving daughters Ve-ronica Sanchez, Maria SanJuanita Sanchez, JessicaGarcia, her son RaymundoSanchez Jr. and her hus-band Raymundo Sanchez.

She had a unique gift tomake everyone around herfeel loved and lifted by herpresence, always smiling nomatter the circumstance.Her generous heart filledher home with love, familyand friends, including an at-titude that there was alwaysroom for one more. Sheleaves all her children, 13grandchildren and a greatgrandson, Mason Barraganthat they were truly lovedand they know that she tru-ly loved The Lord.

“No one comes throughthe father except throughme. I am the way, the truthand the life.” — John 14:6

Visitation hours wereheld Wednesday, May 21,2014, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.with a rosary at 7 p.m. atRose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral processiondeparted on Thursday, May22, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral Mass at OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal servicesfollowed at Zapata CountyCemetery.

Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden Funeral Home,Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeraldirector, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy.83, Zapata.

JOSEFA SANCHEZ

OCT. 8, 1951 – MAY 19, 2014

DENVER — It wasn’t all thatlong ago that Republicans usedgay marriage as a tool to driveElection Day turnout. But as pub-lic opinion on the issue has turn-ed and courts strike down same-sex marriage bans, gay rights isevolving into a wedge issue forDemocrats to wield.

Consider Pennsylvania, whereDemocrats have lambasted Re-publican Gov. Tom Corbett forcomparing gay marriage to in-cest. Facing a tough re-electioncampaign, Corbett decided thisweek not to appeal a federalcourt ruling striking down the

state’s ban of gay marriage.Or Colorado, where Democrat-

ic Sen. Mark Udall is hitting hisRepublican challenger for castingvotes that denied gay people pro-tection from discrimination. InArizona, Democrats plan to ham-mer Republican legislators whopassed a law allowing businessesto refuse to serve gays for reli-gious reasons.

“We’re just beginning to seethis, and we will see a lot more inthe midterms,” said Richard So-carides, who was President BillClinton’s adviser on gay rights.“It will be an incredible shift bythe time we get to the (presiden-tial) election in 2016.”

That election will arrive 20

years after Republicans in Con-gress passed the Defense of Mar-riage Act, which prohibited fed-eral recognition of same-sex mar-riage. Clinton signed the billdefensively, worried the GOPwould use it as a campaign issue,Socarides said. Republican activ-ists put anti-gay marriage initia-tives on the ballot in 11 states in2004, helping President George W.Bush win re-election with thesupport of conservative religiousvoters motivated to turn out tosupport the bans.

Connie Mackey, head of theconservative Family ResearchCouncil’s Political Action Com-mittee, said that’s still a solidstrategy. Voters still oppose gay

marriage, she argued, and Repub-licans should not let themselvesget faked out by overconfidentDemocrats.

“The people in the states thinkone way and the establishmentand the courts are showing a dif-ferent face,” Mackey said.

But gay marriage, supportedby less than one-third of Ameri-cans in 2004, is now supported bya solid majority in recent polls,with approval highest amongyounger voters. Some Republi-cans believe that mounting pub-lic support represents a danger totheir party, and they are scram-bling to prevent Democrats fromusing the issue of gay rights inthe same way some in their own

party did for years.“They want to bait Republi-

cans into talking about the issuein a way that ties them to a nega-tive, national Republican brand,”said Kevin Madden, a Republicanstrategist who hasn’t taken a po-sition on gay marriage. “Theyneed to stir up their base and cre-ate outrage.”

Nevada Republicans droppedtheir opposition to gay marriagelast month from the state party’splatform, and a national cam-paign is underway to removesuch language from the nationalparty platform in 2016. Major Re-publican donors have formed acoalition to push the party to be-come more gay-friendly.

Shifting views on gay marriage favor DemsBy NICHOLAS RICCARDI

ASSOCIATED PRESS

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

DETROIT — Prince Fielder was placedon the disabled list Friday, days before heis scheduled to have season-ending necksurgery.

The move by the Texas Rangers came aday after the team said Fielder would havecervical fusion surgery Tuesday for theherniated disk in his neck. General manag-er Jon Daniels said he expected a secondopinion to confirm the initial recommenda-tion for the operation.

It is the first time the durable first base-man has been on the DL in his career. Be-fore a nerve root block injection to treat hisneck last Saturday, Fielder’s 547 consecu-tive games played was the longest activestreak in the majors. Fielder, who turned30 earlier this month, missed only onegame the previous five seasons and hadn’tmissed a game since Sept. 14, 2010.

Fielder went on the 15-day DL, retroac-tive to May 17.

Infielder Donnie Murphy was recalledfrom an injury rehab assignment and acti-vated for the game against the Tigers.Mitch Moreland was set to start at firstbase, where he played last year before thetrade for Fielder pushed him toward thedesignated hitter role.

“A big blow for us as a team, losing himin the middle of the lineup,” Morelandsaid. “But we’ve been dealing with adversi-ty all year.”

Moreland hit 23 home runs last season.

See FIELDER PAGE 2B

MLB: TEXAS RANGERS

Texas first baseman Prince Fielder was placed on thedisabled list for the first time in his career as he isscheduled to have season-ending neck surgery.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Fielder onDL, to missrest of 2014

ASSOCIATED PRESS

OKLAHOMA CITY —The San Antonio Spurs nev-er believed Serge Ibaka wasout for the Western Confer-ence finals, even after theThunder said they expectedhim to miss the rest of theplayoffs with a calf injury.

Looks like the Spursmight have been on tosomething. The Thundersaid Friday that their defen-sive standout now is day-to-day after his strained leftcalf showed improved move-ment and stability and asignificant decrease inswelling. The Thunder havemissed Ibaka badly as SanAntonio has raced to a 2-0lead in the series, and hispossible return gives theThunder hope as they pre-pare for Game 3 on Sundayin Oklahoma City.

“His progress in the lastseveral days has been sur-prising,” Thunder generalmanager Sam Presti said. “Idon’t think any of usthought we’d be standinghere talking about this.We’re grateful that we are.”

Well, maybe no one withthe Thunder expected it.The Spurs certainly did.

“We knew he would beback, and that’s good,”Spurs coach GreggPopovich said. “Nobodywould wish that on anybodyto miss a playoff. We’ve hadguys miss playoffs before.It’s obviously a downer. Ifhe gets back in — and I’msure he will, as I’ve saidfrom the beginning — I

think it’s great.”Ibaka was injured in

Game 6 against the Los An-geles Clippers, a WesternConference semifinals se-ries-clinching win on May15. He is averaging 12.2points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2blocks in the playoffs whileshooting 62 percent from

the field.Presti did not say if Ibaka

would be available forGame 3, just that he couldnot be ruled out. Presti saidhe felt it best to be forth-coming with the change inthe situation.

“It would be convenientto not provide the informa-

tion, and if he were everhealthy enough to play in agame, to release that anhour before the game,” hesaid. “But in this case, wedon’t think that was theway to handle it, becausepreviously, we had deemed

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Ibaka returning?

San Antonio’s Tony Parker and co. are preparing for a full-strength Thunder team in Game 3 if Serge Ibakacan return.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Spurspreparingfor OKC

By CLIFF BRUNTASSOCIATED PRESS

See SPURS PAGE 2B

LOS ANGELES — DonaldSterling has agreed to surren-der his stake in the Los An-geles Clippers to his estrangedwife, and she is moving aheadwith selling the team, a personwith knowledge of the negotia-tions told The AssociatedPress on Friday.

The individual, who wasn’tauthorized to speak publiclyabout the deal, said that thecouple made the agreement af-ter weeks of discussion.

Shelly Sterling is workingto resolve the dispute amica-bly and has been in talks withher attorney and NBA lawyersfor the last couple weeks. She

NBA: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

See STERLING PAGE 2B

Clippers owner Donald Sterling has agreed to surrender control to his wife Ro-chelle in order to sell the team, a source told the AP.

Photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP

Sterling gives wifecontrol, to sell team

By TAMI ABDOLLAHASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — Here’s no surprise:The Miami Heat are expecting tosee Indiana’s Paul George playon Saturday night.

Here’s a surprise: Greg Odenmight be out there as well.

Whether George gets clearedto return from his concussion isno longer the only lineup ques-tion that awaits the Pacers andHeat when the knotted-up East-ern Conference finals resume inMiami. Oden is under consider-ation for some minutes aftershowing Heat coaches this weekthat weeks of problematic backissues may finally be over.

“It’s been a rough two days,”said George, who was concussedin Game 2 on Tuesday night.

For Oden, it’s been a roughfive years. His last playoff ap-pearance was on April 30, 2009,but his work in recent days hasapparently gotten Heat coachErik Spoelstra wondering if thetime is right to work Oden —whose career was derailed byknee injuries — into the rotationof defenders charged with mak-ing life miserable for Indianacenter Roy Hibbert.

“If coach needs me, I’m readyto play,” Oden said. “I’m definite-ly ready whenever he needs me.”

The series is tied at a gameapiece, with Miami grabbing thehome-court edge away by rally-ing for a 87-83 win at Indianapo-lis in Game 2. The teams havebeen off since, which figures tobe a blessing of sorts for the Pac-ers — who had several players

limping and ailing late in thatgame, with George’s concussionthe most notable malady.

The back of George’s head wasstruck by Dwyane Wade’s kneeas both were trying to get controlof a loose ball during the fourthquarter of that game. George re-mained in the game but was ba-sically a non-factor the rest ofthe way, and Miami owned the fi-nal minutes. The concussioncame to light only after Georgerevealed postgame that he briefly“blacked out.”

“I probably should have keptthat to myself,” George said. “It

just made a mess. That’s some-thing that, going forward, justkeep that between myself andthe training staff.”

Miami hasn’t even consideredthe possibility that George won’tplay in Game 3.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Heat starLeBron James asked.

Still, it’s fair to wonder howthe George situation will affectIndiana as it heads into Miami,plus if it will change the ratherodd ongoing phenomenon — thatbeing how the Pacers, the NBA’s

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Concussed George ready for Heat

Indiana forward Paul George collided with the knee of Heat guard Dwyane Wade,leading to a concussion. George wasn’t the same after the hit, as Miami took overthe game to tie the series after two games.

Photo by Michael Conroy | AP

By TIM REYNOLDSASSOCIATED PRESS

See EAST PAGE 2B

him out. And we can’tdeem him out.”

Ibaka, a 6-foot-10 for-ward, led the league inblocked shots during theregular season and erasedmany of Oklahoma City’sdefensive mistakes. With-out having to deal with Ok-lahoma City’s primary rimprotector, San Antonioscored 66 points in thepaint on 67 percent shoot-ing in a 122-105 win inGame 1. The Spurs fol-lowed up with 54 points inthe paint on 66 percentshooting in a 112-77 blow-out in Game 2.

Ibaka also provides bal-ance for Oklahoma City’soffense with his mid-rangejumper and an ability tofinish close to the hoopwhen defenses focus on Ke-vin Durant and RussellWestbrook. “Big differ-ence,” Spurs guard DannyGreen said. “Obviously, oneof the best defensive play-ers in the league. Alters ev-erything around the bas-ket, rebounds, and also, ofcourse, he can knock downshots. So you’ve got to re-spect him. Hopefully, if hedoes come back he’s not asfresh, he’s a little rusty.”

San Antonio said it willnot make adjustmentsbased on the news.

“We’re going to try to dothe same thing,” Spursguard Manu Ginobili said.

“It’s not like we’re going tochange the game plan forhim. For sure, he’s going togive them another big bodythat can be a presence inthe paint, block shots andmake some jumpers, butour idea will be the same.”

Presti said OklahomaCity’s medical staff wouldlike to see Ibaka go throughgame-like conditions beforeallowing him to return. Sofar, he has done low-impacttraining — light drills andlight shooting. Condition-ing could be an issue andeven if he returns it’s un-clear how much he wouldplay.

“We’re still focusing ontrying to beat the Spurswithout him playing,”Thunder coach ScottBrooks said. “That has notchanged. I know he’s listedas day-to-day, but he is outuntil I’m told differently.”

Thunder center KendrickPerkins said Ibaka couldnot have erased all the de-fensive mistakes the Thun-der made in Game 2. TheSpurs shot 50 percent fromthe field and made 9 of 23 3-pointers.

“He’s a key guy, but atthe end of the day, weshouldn’t be getting beatthis bad,” Perkins said. “Inmy opinion, even if wewould have Serge the lastgame, the way we played,we still would have lost.”

SPURS Continued from Page 1B

San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter and the Spurs have a 2-0 series lead over Oklahoma City in theWestern Conference finals.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014

wants to “have meaning-ful control” over thetransaction. “She has noplans to sue the NBA,”the individual said. “She’strying to make nice.”

Commissioner AdamSilver banned DonaldSterling for life and finedhim $2.5 million becauseof racist comments. Theleague has charged himwith damaging the leagueand its teams. It said Ster-ling has engaged in otherconduct that has im-paired its relationshipwith fans and merchan-dising partners.

Team owners are mov-ing forward with a voteon whether to terminatehis ownership. Sterlinghas until next Tuesday to

respond.He can appear at a June

3 hearing in New York infront of the other owners.It will take three-quartersof them to terminate Ster-ling’s ownership, and theleague says also that ofShelly Sterling.

Minnesota Timber-wolves owner Glen Tay-lor, the board chairman,will preside over the hear-ing. If three-fourths of theother 29 owners vote tosustain the charge, Ster-ling will be forced to sellthe team he has ownedsince 1981. Silver has saidhe is confident he has the23 votes that are neces-sary.

If Sterling did not re-spond to the charge with-

in five business days, ordoes not appear at thehearing, it would bedeemed an admission ofthe “total validity of thecharges as presented,” ac-cording to the NBA con-stitution.

Donald Sterling’s attor-ney had asked for a three-month delay, which theleague rejected.

Silver said he wouldprefer if Donald Sterlingchose to sell the team onhis own, but the processto force a sale is alreadywell underway.

NBA spokesman MikeBass said in a statementFriday that the league iscontinuing to follow theprocess for terminatingthe Clippers’ ownership.

STERLING Continued from Page 1B

best home team during theregular season, have beenbest during these playoffswhen on the road.

The Pacers still haven’twon even two consecutivehome games in this post-season. But away fromhome, Indiana has wonfive straight — its longestsuch streak, even includ-ing regular-season play, inmore than two years.

Atlanta and Washingtoncombined to shoot only 38percent at home againstIndiana in the opening tworounds, averaging just 84.8points per game. The Pac-ers haven’t exactly been of-fensive juggernauts inthose games, averaging90.7 points themselves, butthe airtight defense was

enough for Indiana to saveits season by winningelimination games in bothmatchups.

“We played at a high lev-el in the Washington se-ries, and those last twoagainst Atlanta when wewere down in the series,we played with great des-peration,” Pacers coachFrank Vogel said. “Ourguys take pride in their de-fense. That’s probably whyyou see those numbers.”

Then again, the Heatpresent a bit more of achallenge than the Hawksand Wizards.

Miami is 5-0 at home inthe postseason, winning byan average of 10 points pergame and shooting nearly50 percent from the floor.

Going back to last season,the Heat have won eightstraight playoff games intheir own building andsince James joined theclub they’re 35-7 at homeduring the postseason.

Among those seven loss-es? The Pacers won at Mia-mi in both 2012 and 2013.

And that’s why Miamiknows having the home-court edge now hardly as-sures a series win.

“Both teams can win oneach other’s floor. We’veproven that the last coupleyears,” James said. “Wehave to protect our home,but we can’t go out theresaying that just becausewe’re back home we getautomatic wins. We’ve gotto play.”

EAST Continued from Page 1B

He was hitting .275 entering Fri-day night’s game at Detroit.

“Prince is on the DL. We don’thave him,” manager Ron Wash-ington said. “And there’s nobodywho can replace him, so letMitch Moreland be Mitch More-land. Don’t even mention MitchMoreland in the same breathwith a Prince Fielder.”

Murphy was placed on thedisabled list May 8 with a neckstrain. He was hurt when hetripped at first base trying tobeat out a ground ball the previ-ous day against Colorado. Heplayed six games on an injuryrehab assignment at Triple-ARound Rock, and Friday was thedate he was eligible to return tothe roster.

The Rangers have a majors-high 13 players on the disabledlist. They have had 17 DL place-ments this season, also the mostin the majors.

Fielder hit .247 with threehome runs and 16 RBIs in 42games in his first season withthe Rangers. The only time hehas played fewer games waswhen he appeared in 39 as a roo-kie in 2005 with Milwaukee.

The Tigers, meanwhile, sentminor league infielder Francis-co Martinez outright to Dou-ble-A Erie, a move that clearedroom on the 40-man roster forright-hander Corey Knebel.Knebel’s contract was pur-chased by the Tigers from Tri-ple-A Toledo.

FIELDERContinued from Page 1B

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Indi-anapolis Colts owner Jim Irsayhas been formally charged withtwo misdemeanor counts stem-ming from his arrest in March.

Hamilton County (Indiana)prosecutors said Friday that Ir-say had been charged with oper-ating a vehicle while intoxicatedand operating a vehicle with aschedule I or II controlled sub-stance or its metabolite in thebody. An affidavit says Irsay wasdriving under the influence ofoxycodone and/or hydrocodone.

Irsay thanked the prosecutor’soffice for its review. Colts spokes-man Avis Roper declined imme-diate comment.

Irsay was arrested near hishome with $29,000 in cash andbottles of prescription drugs inhis vehicle. He later sought treat-ment.

Irsay acknowledged in 2002that he had become dependenton painkillers after several yearsof orthopedic operations but saidhe had overcome the problem.

Cowboys sign 5th-round pick DevinStreet

IRVING — The Dallas Cow-boys have signed fifth-rounddraft pick Devin Street to a four-year contract.

Street is a receiver from Pitts-burgh, where his 202 career re-ceptions are the most in schoolhistory. He was the 146th overallpick earlier this month.

With Street signing Friday, theCowboys have left unsigned onlytheir top three draft picks. Allfive of their seventh-round draftpicks signed during a rookieminicamp last weekend.

Unsigned are first-round pick

Zack Martin, the offensive tacklefrom Notre Dame; second-roundpick DeMarcus Lawrence, a de-fensive end from Boise State; andfourth-round pick AnthonyHitchens, a linebacker from Io-wa.

Broncos’ Ward appears in court onmisdemeanor

DENVER — Broncos safetyT.J. Ward has appeared in courton misdemeanor charges that al-lege he threw a glass mug at abartender at a Denver strip club.

The Denver Post reported Fri-day that bond was set at $1,900for the 27-year-old Ward. His nextcourt appearance is June 23.

Ward is charged with misde-meanor assault and disturbingthe peace. Court documents sayWard tossed the mug at the bar-tender on May 10 after he wastold he couldn’t bring a drink in-to the club.

Police had issued an arrestwarrant for Ward on Thursday.

Ward is coming off a Pro Bowlseason in Cleveland and thisspring signed a four-year, $22.5

million deal with Denver. Ray Rice apologizes, says he ’failed

miserably’OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Balti-

more Ravens running back RayRice says he “failed miserably”and has apologized for the ac-tions that led to his February ar-rest on assault charges.

Rice was arrested in AtlanticCity on Feb. 15 after an alterca-tion in which he allegedly struckhis fiancé, Janay Palmer.

Rice was accepted Tuesday in-to a diversion program, whichupon completion could lead tothe charges against him beingexpunged.

Speaking to the media for thefirst time since his arrest, Ricewas joined Friday at the team’straining complex by Janay,whom he married in late Febru-ary.

His voice cracking, Rice said:“I failed miserably, but I wouldn’tcall myself a failure because I’mworking my way back up.”

Rice spoke for just over sixminutes and took no questions.

Colts owner Irsay charged

Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay was charged with two misdemeanor counts this weekfrom a March arrest.

Photo by Darron Cummings | AP

‘Boys sign Street,Ward in court, Rice

apologizesASSOCIATED PRESS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Florida’s Billy Donovan hasspoken to a couple of NBAteams about coaching vacan-cies, but adds that “I fullyplan on being back” next sea-son.

Donovan declined to speci-fy which teams called — De-troit, Golden State, the LosAngeles Lakers, Minnesota,New York and Utah had open-ings — and jokingly cited hisbrief stint with the NBA’s Or-

lando Magic in 2007 as reasonfor keeping details private.

Donovan says, “I’m not go-ing to get into, ’He’s lying.He’s not being truthful.’ I gota couple of calls. That’s all itis.”

Donovan just finished his18th season at Florida, wherehe has two national cham-pionships and four Final Fourappearances.

He says NBA interest in“always flattering,” but addsthat “I’m very happy here andlike it here.”

Gators’ Donovanlooking at NBA

Florida head coach Billy Donovan has spoken to multiple NBA teams this off-season after another Final Four run.

Photo by David J. Phillip | AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

Dear Readers: Most of ushave a first-aid kit handyin case of an emergency,but what about a PETFIRST-AID KIT? Here aresome things to have onhand for your pet:

Mild dishwashing de-tergent for bathing.

Artificial tears to useafter flushing eyes.

Hydrogen peroxide toinduce vomiting.

A syringe or turkeybaster for the hydrogenperoxide.

A can of wet food ortuna.

Rubber or latexgloves.

Triple antibiotic oint-ment.

Always keep your veter-inarian’s or an emergencypet clinic’s phone numberhandy, and contact one ofthem before administeringany medication yourself. Ifyour pet has a wound, ban-dage as best you can to

protect it, and seek medi-cal attention. — Heloise

PET PALDear Readers: Suzie

O’Donnell of San Antoniosent a picture of her tortoi-seshell kitten, PenelopeMae, lying in the bathroomsink. Suzie says that Pene-lope Mae was a rescue andis about a year old. To seePenelope Mae’s picture, goto my website, www.Heloi-se.com, and click on "Pets."— Heloise

LETTER OF THOUGHTDear Heloise: Along

with living life efficientlycomes living life safely.Scarves are the rage now,not only among women,but also little girls. Mygranddaughters, ages 5, 6and 10, are wearingscarves. They look so cute,but something didn’t sitright with me, and then Iremembered little kids get-ting hung up on play-ground equipment withthe ties on their sweat-shirts and jackets. Pleasethink about this when yourlittle girls are playing out-side. Our fashion is fun,but it needs to be safe, too!— Donna in Indiana

“HELOISE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014