Book 1.indb
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Book 1.indb
Lare DOS A JOURNAL OF THE BORDERLANDS FEBRUARY 2007 Est. 1994 Vol. XIII, No. 2 “Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace” LOCALLY OWNED —Oscar Wilde 88 PAGES 2 | LareDO S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM FROM DR. S.A. RAFATI: What’s Making Us Sick Is an Epidemic of Diagnoses For most Americans, the biggest health threat is not avian flu, West Nile or mad cow disease. It’s our health-care system. You might think this is because doctors make mistakes (we do make mistakes). But you can’t be a victim of medical error if you are not in the system. The larger threat posed by American medicine is that more and more of us are being drawn into the system not because of an epidemic of disease, but because of an epidemic of diagnoses. Americans live longer than ever, yet more of us are told we are sick. How can this be? One reason is that we devote more resources to medical care than any other country. Some of this investment is productive, curing disease and alleviating suffering. But it also leads to more diagnoses, a trend that has become an epidemic. This epidemic is a threat to your health. It has two distinct sources. One is the medicalization of everyday life. Most of us experience physical or emotional sensations we don’t like, and in the past, this was considered a part of life. Increasingly, however, such sensations are considered symptoms of disease. Everyday experiences like insomnia, sadness, twitchy legs and impaired sex drive now become diagnoses: sleep disorder, depression, restless leg syndrome and sexual dysfunction. Perhaps most worrisome is the medicalization of childhood. If children cough after exercising, they have asthma; if they have trouble reading, they are dyslexic; if they are unhappy, they are depressed; and if they alternate between unhappiness and liveliness, they have bipolar disorder. While these diagnoses may benefit the few with severe symptoms, one has to wonder about the effect on the many whose symptoms are mild, intermittent or transient. The other source is the drive to find disease early. While diagnoses used to be reserved for serious illness, we now diagnose illness in people who have no symptoms at all, those with so-called predisease or those “at risk.” Two developments accelerate this process. First, advanced technology allows doctors to look really hard for things to be wrong. We can detect trace molecules in the blood. We can direct fiber-optic devices into every orifice. And CT scans, ultrasounds, M.R.I. and PET scans let doctors define subtle structural defects deep inside the body. These technologies make it possible to give a diagnosis to just about everybody: arthritis in people without joint pain, stomach damage in people without heartburn and prostate cancer in over a million people who, but for testing, would have lived as long without being a cancer patient. Second, the rules are changing. Expert panels constantly expand what constitutes disease: thresholds for diagnosing diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and obesity have all fallen in the last few years. The criterion for normal cholesterol has dropped multiple times. With these changes, disease can now be diagnosed in more than half the population. Most of us assume that all this additional diagnosis can only be beneficial. And some of it is. But at the extreme, the logic of early detection is absurd. If more than half of us are sick, what does it mean to be normal? Many more of us harbor “pre-disease” than will ever get disease, and all of us are “at risk.” The medicalization of everyday life is no less problematic. Exactly what are we doing to our children when 40 percent of summer campers are on one or more chronic prescription medications? No one should take the process of making people into patients lightly. There are real drawbacks. Simply labeling people as diseased can make them feel anxious and vulnerable — a particular concern in children. But the real problem with the epidemic of diagnoses is that it leads to an epidemic of treatments. Not all treatments have important benefits, but almost all can have harms. Sometimes the harms are known, but often the harms of new therapies take years to emerge — after many have been exposed. For the severely ill, these harms generally pale relative to the potential benefits. But for those experiencing mild symptoms, the harms become much more relevant. And for the many labeled as having predisease or as being “at risk” but destined to remain healthy, treatment can only cause harm. The epidemic of diagnoses has many causes. More diagnoses mean more money for drug manufacturers, hospitals, physicians and disease advocacy groups. Researchers, and even the disease-based organization of the National Institutes of Health, secure their stature (and financing) by promoting the detection of “their” disease. Medico-legal concerns also drive the epidemic. While failing to make a diagnosis can result in lawsuits, there are no corresponding penalties for overdiagnosis. Thus, the path of least resistance for clinicians is to diagnose liberally — even when we wonder if doing so really helps our patients. As more of us are being told we are sick, fewer of us are being told we are well. People need to think hard about the benefits and risks of increased diagnosis: the fundamental question they face is whether or not to become a patient. And doctors need to remember the value of reassuring people that they are not sick. Perhaps someone should start monitoring a new health metric: the proportion of the population not requiring medical care. And the National Institutes of Health could propose a new goal for medical researchers: reduce the need for medical services, not increase it. Copyright © 2007 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with permission. This article appeared in the Jan. 2, 2007 issue of the New York Times and is reprinted with permision. Dr. Welch is the author of Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here’s Why (University of California Press). Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Woloshin are senior research associates at the VA Outcomes Group in White River Junction, Vt.) Radiology Clinics of Laredo 5401 Springfield Ave. 956-718-0092 WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | JULY 2006 | 3 M AILBOX L ETTERS TO THE PUBLISHER M eg, please take my hand. It is with such glee that I write this little note and tell you “dale gas,” mi amor. I was born in Laredo in 1948 tambien. I graduated from Saint Joe’s in ‘68 and went right into the Navy for los proximos 20 años. I have become a lost soul, como que salte from that no man’s land and landed in the white sands of lala land and now I am trapped with the peacocks. Buat today, you took me home with your rhetoric and insight in what matters in any town in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading LareDOS tonight. You have me now. I will subscribe, although you are presente en la red. Just so that I can help you continue telling it how it really is. Maybe someday, we can share a poem of mine just so that you can see how the mind learns to set differently (almost) while tethered to the borderlands. Oh! In a recent visita to Laredo I met with an old school chum que se llama Ricardo Saldaña. I will find his email soon, I hope (let’s seee! I puet it here in my tchirt), and thank him for hooking me up with LareDOS. Gracias, Meg Y dale gas hermanita... Mi nombre es José M. Guerrero 416 Peete Road Mason,Tennessee 38049 Write a letter to the Editor meg @laredosnews.com I s the United Independent School District board of trustees democratic, or is it a political tool? “Democracy means government by discussion,” and “politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.” These quotes from Clement Altee and Paul Valery define a problem that is recurring at the United Independent School District board meetings. The on-going problem deals with public comments. Currently, the board has public comments at the end of the board meeting. The board completes its agenda, has a five or so minute recess, and then has public comments. During the recess, the filming of the board meeting stops, and a majority of the district administrators leave. Can the comments that follow be truly called public, when there is very little or no public present? Additionally, having the public comments at the end of board meetings, where there is limited or no real chance for the public to voice their concerns about items to be discussed and acted on by the board, is recognized by the public as being futile. Why discuss something when the board has already voted and decided on an issue? An example of this would be at the last regular board meeting when the public turned out to have their say on the Dual Language Program. The majority of the people had left by the time of the public comments, whether it was because the comments where at the end of the board meeting will never be known, because the only person who would know this is the person who left early and they left without saying. This alienation of the public by the board is strange at a time when United Independent School District is thinking about trying to get the public to authorize another $400 million in bonds. Moving the public comments to the beginning of the meeting and allowing the public to say what it feels before the board acts would demonstrate that the board does pay attention to their constituents and not just their own agendas. Blanca Balboa, United TSTA President Jim Squires, United TSTA Vice President Lorraine Squires,United TSTA Treasurer 4 | LareDO S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 EDITOR María Eugenia Guerra meg@laredosnews.com CONSULTING EDITOR Tom Moore editorial@laredosnews.com STAFF WRITERS Mike McIlvain editorial@laredosnews.com John Andrew Snyder editorial@laredosnews.com SALES MANAGER Jerry Cardenas ads@laredosnews.com CIRCULATION, BILLING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Jorge Medina circulation@laredosnews.com LAYOUT/DESIGN Armando Saldaña ads@laredosnews.com CONTRIBUTORS Juan Alanis Larry Bridgeman Raul Casso Bebe Fenstermaker Sissy Fenstermaker Candace Gorman Pati Guajardo Dr. Neo Gutierrez Jenna Fisher Henri Kahn Randy Koch Kari Lyderman Tom Moore Greg Moses Richard Noriega Jenny L. Reed Elizabeth Sorrell Penny Warren Malia Watson Kay Wavos William Wisner Read a pdf version of at www.laredosnews.com ShuString Productions, Inc. www.laredosnews.com 1812 Houston Street Laredo Texas 78040 Tel: (956) 791-9950 Fax: (956) 791-4737 Copyright @ 2006 by LareDOS Write a Letter to the Publisher: meg@laredosnews.com WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Santa María Journal By MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA I love any morning dedicated to working cattle, and so you can count on me waiting for the sun to come up so that I can head outside to begin the day. On this particular cool, damp morning I get things ready well in advance, including coffee and sweet bread for the men who will help me. It’s not exactly jacket weather, but the only real warmth of the day will emanate from the fire we build to heat the branding irons. We’re working at two purposes today -- one to have a USDA inspection for garrapata before we move the cattle to another pasture, and another to make sure every heifer, mama cow, and bull bears our mark before turning them loose to the hinterlands that border other ranches. We’ve come to know the USDA crew well over the last few years as we’ve come in and out of tick quarantine -Mike Budro, Cesar Ramos, and Leroy Gonzalez. Mike arrives first with his beautiful horse and his hounds, and we wait for the others to arrive. Don Meme García, the cattleman who can tell you a hundred things about your herd that you didn’t know, arrives last with his son Refugio. They are the branding detail, the cowboys for hire who will position the cattle for the sear of the hot iron once the tick inspection gets done. We build a fire and heat the irons while Mike on horseback and the others a pie begin to move cattle into the chutes. The new head gate we built last year is a blessing, allowing a flow to the work that in the past stopped at that stubborn and ornery spring lever operated gate whose handles you practically had to hang from to liberate it from its jaws of eternal and damned closure. I digress, knowing only at the second of committing these thoughts to story how very much over many years I loathed that gate. The morning has a wonderful quality to it, as much to do with temperature and humidity as with the rich dapple of colors in the hides of the healthy penned animals and the collective smell of them in the mix of mesquite smoke and damp earth. It has to do, too, with the way WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M sound carries on mornings like this -voices, birdsong, and cattle. Don Meme leaves the brand on longer than I have ever seen anyone leave a brand on a hide. Even as I think that I understand we would not be re-branding some stock this morning had we left the iron on a little longer last time, I still feel such a twinge at the sear of the redhot glowing fierro. Now and again while the branding iron heats up, Don Meme steps back from the chutes to tell me something about a particular cow, and now and again he talks about his own enterprise down Hwy. 83. He tells me a story from 1952 or 1953, about the caliche that came from his father’s ranch to lay the base for 42 miles of the then-new Hwy. 83. He talks about the scoundrels who sold Zapata down the river when the town was condemned for the building of the Falcon Reservoir. The work ends with an unexpected ease in a pace that was never ratcheted up too high. It’s wonderful luck to work with individuals who know their trade and move through it with uncomplicated grace. Even the cattle were in good form -- no close calls, no frightened beeves thundering through space, no bent steel. There’s the moment in which Don Meme, who speaks no English, and Mike, who knows no Spanish, have a few exchanges that both and all the rest of us understand implicitly, an oft told story about an offering of hard boiled eggs instead of real food after a hard day’s work on Don Meme’s ranch. You can tell by their banter the esteem these two fellows hold for each other as horsemen. Except for the spread of years difference between them and their obvious cultural, linguistic, and physical distinctions, they’re not so different, each of them favoring a similar weathered felt hat and comfortable old work boots. Everyone clears out to return to their own lives or to head to the next ranch down the road. I shovel sand onto the coals of our fire. I take the branding irons, still warm to the touch, the irons my grandfather registered in Zapata a hundred years ago, and hang them with near reverence onto the big rusty nail where they belong.u Photo by Maria Eugenia Guerra Even the cattle were in good form -- no close calls, no frightened beeves thundering through space, no bent steel Don Meme García and Mike Budro reflect on the work. LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 5 Commentary El Metro -- it’s everybody’s bus-mess: It’s broke . . . fix it! By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER I ’m going to collapse -- that is, telescope 80 days of riding El Metro buses back and forth to and from work five days a week down to a manageable memory. I only hope my mind’s engine doesn’t break down and force me to abandon the project before I have finished conveying the cargo -- so like an El Metro bus -- of impressions I have picked up along the road to the place where you are stationed. I promise to be honest, discreet, a little corny, and somewhat dispassionate, for I don’t want y’all to think that I‘m just “pulling your cordon.” To be sure, it feels like I’ve been around the world of our city bus line long enough to take note of a kioskoful of trends and tendencies that may need to go to the repair shop for an overhaul. For starters, let’s just say that it’s been a long, hot winter if you’re a Metro regular, although everybody knows that it has been inordinately chilly down here on our little sunbaked section of the MexicanAmerican frontier. It has to be considered a good thing that the Metro buses are heated, but I have to say that it ain’t so hot to burn your buns inside an enclosed bakery oven shaped like a loaf of bread. Some bus patrons, like me, probably found it a smidge baffling to get the automatic nix from all the bus drivers when you asked them to consider three easily-employed alternatives to roasting the patrons alive just to prove it could be done. The three alternatives? I consulted a rocket scientist and here’s what he came up with, after some deep pondering, for the chauffer’s consideration -- 1) turn the doggone heater either off or down, 2) unlock some of the windows so that the riders can open them and take a shot at breathing, and 3) call up that bakery that fired you for scorching the two-row batch of gingerbread men and cuss them out for keeping you too long. Second, we all know that change is the way of the universe, but come on, cacheton -- who in heck mandated that every day during the bitterly coldest, rainiest spell of foul-weather Yuletide holidays on record that, without a word of forewarning, you should force many busloads of poor patrons to vacate the cucaracha they’ve been riding and step outside into the teeth of the Boreal winter blast, and then oblige them to board a second bus-shaped rattletrap that miraculously materializes like a gorilla in the mist on a nondescript street corner somewhere 6 | LareDO S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 along the route? Third, we’ve all heard the bull-feathered line from some of our would-be-macho brothers and sisters who vaingloriously boast that they can perform some difficult, awkward, or impossible feat “with one arm tied behind my back!” But we never fall for it, though we may just smile at the simpering snots and shrug our shoulders in order to be shed of them in an apparent effort to appease them without indulging or encouraging them, as if they were just so much dandruff. In other words, most of us tend to shy away from or at least avoid pointless and sure-to-be-fruitless confrontations with our feckless brethren whose legless egos need a shot in the arm. Another way to state it is: we tend to avoid certain kinds of people like the plague, particularly those who have an inferiority complex that they’ll stop at nothing to obfuscate or disguise by such pathetic overt antics as starting a war, picking a fight, or threatening to do something humanly impossible while one hand is picking their nose and the other hand is tied behind their back! And, on the other other hand, no one has ever seen anyone with one hand tied behind their back, especially not any specimens of the abovementioned variety, who are universally recognized as creatures who can’t even find the most obvious of things with both their hands. Enter El Metro’s full-time part-time bus driver, who works every day but only has both hands on the steering wheel half of the time. You must understand, he’s not literally a handicapped person, and he’s not what any- one would readily associate with the wouldbe-macho Neanderthal described above, but somehow his wicked little habit has a way of getting under a bus-rider’s skin. It’s just not a comforting sight, if you know what I mean. I’ve often wondered how the honest-to-God one-armed man who rides every morning on the same route with me feels about being handicapped while the pensioned professional up front with a superfluous arm conducts a clinic in terror tactics and honks at everybody he knows along the way with his driving hand. Personally, I just can’t look at this situation on the bright side, for it doesn’t have one, and I’m still in the dark as to how this incredible chauffeur can choose to be so careless and cocksure as he plays Russian roulette with his company’s customers. He’s obviously not a rookie, so he’s been getting away with it for a while -- maybe his overseers haven’t spotted him in action, or they’ve spotted him and don’t think that he’s doing anything wrong, or maybe they have spotted him and no one has reported him because they think he’s St. Christopher. Or maybe, just maybe, everybody can see what he’s up to but they also see that his other hand is not tied behind his back, and that’s why they don’t complain. No, on the contrary, his free arm is not immobilized, but it’s constantly flailing around like a decapitated rattlesnake -- but always with the palm of his hand facing upwards, as if begging alms of Jehosaphat. Or maybe the wriggling reptile works a Medusa effect on the ridership, rendering them stone quiet. But there’s still plenty of noise in the bus -- the bumps that the voluntarily one-armed bandit can’t avoid, the regular rattles that you get on all overworked, undermaintained cheap vehicles, the unchecked, untrammeled noisome noises of small children supervised by unconcerned parents who might be too freaked out by the driver to muzzle their screaming progeny, and the noise pollution generated by Meduso himself, when he babbles back and forth with one or more of the gabby old girls that are his cackling comadres, and whose voices always best the sound barrier and test the patience of the poor rider who is getting too much unexpected bang for his buck. To say that we have completely circumscribed the topic of my brief but challenging 80-day cha cha cha with Laredo’s El Metro bus lines would be disingenuous (a lie) because there’s so much more to say that the demands of space and time are keeping us from expressing at this time. So we’ll conclude with a few admonitions that we hope the bus company will consider acting upon, with an eye out for making the whole system more user-friendly: seriously consider scrapping the entire fleet if you don’t plan to maintain the old warhorses in a state of reasonable repair; tell the drivers who stop at the mall not to park the full bus in front of the mall with the engine running for 35 minutes without explanation while she goes into the building to search for her sister that she dropped off to do her Christmas shopping on the previous run, until she finds her and the two finally emerge from the mall with about 50 packages divided equally between them; tell a certain driver not to peel out with squealing wheels when the little girl who has just stepped out into the cold with her mother has suddenly realized that she has left behind her little pink coat and is crying while her mother pounds on the double exit doors with her frozen fists and shouts in vain for the guy to stop; give the heaters and riders a break so that mami at day’s end doesn’t have to come to the door to warmly greet her warmer spouse and turn around in stunned horror to shout, “Honeys, they shrunk your papi!” or, hold a séance and call up Dean Martin to make it a proper roast; and, if you really want to get on the scoreboard with kids of all ages, come Holy Week, have all your chauffers dress up like La Coneja.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Opinion The war of words -media watchdogs warn journalists By JENNA FISHER Utne.com The latest political jargon to come parachuting out of the Bush administration and onto the front pages of newspapers around the country is the word “surge.” The term has the advantage of seeming unavoidable, forceful, and quick -like a power surge or a storm surge. Yet it’s vague and fresh enough to avoid conjuring past military rhetoric, such as the doomed “escalation” of the Vietnam War. The phrase ‘’surge option’’ first appeared in newsprint in November, when the New York Times quoted anonymous Pentagon officials on Bush’s plans to send an addi- tional 20,000 troops to Iraq. Since then, “surge” has slipped comfortably into media coverage, sometimes shedding the quotes that put it squarely in the administration’s mouth. That’s a troubling development, say media watchers. In a political culture where the slightest difference in terms can shift meaning and determine support, the distinction between Bush’s “surge” and the Democrat-favored “escalation” is an important one. And it’s a distinction that even the so-called bastion of liberal media stands accused of fumbling. The watchdog group Media Matters recently chided the New York Times for a piece citing the Democrats’ motives for using “escalation” -- i.e., presenting the increase in troops in a “negative light” -- but failing to similarly investigate the spin behind “surge.” Of course, this isn’t a problem unique to the New York Times. Nor is it the first time the media have found themselves caught in the crossfire of Bush’s rhetoric. As Gal Beckerman reminds readers (many of them journalists) in a piece for the Columbia Journalism Review’s CJR Daily, the spin-infused “surge” is the latest lingo to join an obfuscating vocabulary that includes “the war on terror.” It is imperative, Beckerman argues, that journalists avoid the tendency to abridge the tricky concepts wrapped up in these phrases; their responsibility is to sift through the partisan rhetoric. “The press is the arbiter of our public discourse, and as such must take care to disentangle spin from substance whenever it encounters it -- as a service to the readers and viewers who dip into and out of this discourse,” he writes. “The use of quotation marks around words and phrases like ‘surge’ and ‘war on terror’ is the minimum journalists can do to alert the public that what you see is rarely what you get.”u Reprinted with permission from the January 18, 2007 Utne.com. Opinion Federal cuts to public broadcasting are a form of censorship BY MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA I f there is any one thing I could say is of incalculable value about my daily 45-minute commute from San Ygnacio to Laredo, and back, it’s being able to listen to National Public Radio. Fresh from listening to Jay St. John at my house by using mojo and paper clips and other metal objects to make the reception better, I’m caught up on the local issues of the day, and in the pod of my hybrid car as I turn onto the tarmac of Hwy. 3169, I’m ready to take on news of the world via Sirius satellite. No one delivers news better than NPR. No one. What can make a news item less credible than its delivery by a talking head who never learned good grammar and correct tenses? You’ll hear no yahoos on NPR trying to tell you a story they can barely wrap their minds or their syntax skills around. NPR is what I listen to for un-spun news of the world -- not the Fox version of frappéd news frosted with a patina of WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M patriotism and neo-con morality, and not CNN, a network that can make the passing of presidential gas sound like breaking news. NPR is the gold standard for radio news in this country. It is news without bias, news that examines all sides of an issue, news that provides enough information so that the listener can think. NPR is out of the realm of understanding of our national leader (no one on NPR says “nuke-youler”), and since NPR is all about the First Amendment and many points of view and since it does not lower its standards to disseminate White House propaganda, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which passes federal funds to public television stations and NPR) finds itself on the federal funding chopping block -- a 25% reduction next year in its annual budget from $400 million to $300 million. In addition, the House proposes to eliminate all federal funding for the CPC, which was established in 1967 as a non-profit. When I think that “Justice Talk- ing,” “On the Media,” or the news magazines “Morning Edition” and the “Diane Rehm Show” could be lost to funding cuts, I think those cuts are nothing more than weighted acts of censorship to curb and silence the likes of preeminent news purveyors Carl Kassel, Sylvia Poggoli, Nina Totenberg, Daniel Pinkwater, Linda Wertheimer, Terry Gross, Margot Adler, and Brooke Gladstone. Sadly, the cuts will also put a dent in the budgets for Sesame Street, Clifford, Dragontales, and many of the educational offerings of public television. To petition our Senators and Congressmen about the cuts to public television and National Public Radio, go to http://civic. moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/ ?refer r i ng _ id = -79218274jFNkbbRTT0hr4pie7O2Ag.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 7 Opinion Diary of a Guantánamo attorney By H. CANDACE GORMAN I fell into the world of Guantánamo in October 2005. The Chicago Council of Lawyers had organized a luncheon discussion on the legal issues surrounding the infamous detention facility at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba. I received an e-mail thanking me for my attendance (I should have gone but didn’t) and asking for volunteers to represent the nearly 200 known unrepresented prisoners at the base. I had assumed that I was well-informed about our criminal president and his assault on the rule of law; it never occurred to me that four years after being captured (and more than one year after the Supreme Court affirmed their right to hearing and counsel) individuals were still being held without legal representation. I replied to the e-mail, offering my services. During a conference call for volunteer lawyers, I got a sense of what the job might entail. For example, attorneys are required to turn their client notes over to the government after visiting prisoners. I naively asked, “What about attorney-client privilege?” This, like so many other protections and legal principles, doesn’t apply to Guantánamo. Attorneys often return from the base with urgent news, but have to wait weeks for the government to clear their notes. The government rarely, if ever, classifies the content; this procedure simply delays and encumbers our work. At a workshop for volunteer lawyers organized by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), I came to learn of the horrific particulars of prisoner life in Guantánamo: the hunger strikes, the suicide attempts, and the dubious circumstances under which prisoners had been captured. The vast majority of Guantánamo’s inmates were apprehended in Afghanistan and elsewhere by third party forces, after the United States promised enormous bounties for “murderers and terrorists.” That December, I was assigned a detainee by CCR; his name was Abdul Al-Ghizzawi, a Libyan who had been living in Afghanistan before his capture. Another prisoner had written a letter identifying Al-Ghizzawi as someone who desired an attorney. 8 | LareDO S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Because the government would not release the names of detainees, prisoners often reached lawyers through such indirect means. I got to work preparing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus -- a petition that challenges the legality of a prisoner’s detention and requests that the court order the authorities to either release the individual or justify his imprisonment with formal charges. It has been a year since I filed the petition, and Al-Ghizzawi is still languishing in Guantánamo. Initially, the government did everything possible to delay and obstruct access to my client. I knew only that my client was ill, that he wanted an attorney and that the government opposed entering the protective order that would allow me to visit and communicate with him. Shortly after I filed the habeas petition, in a false gesture of munificence, the government invited my input into the Justice Department’s review of AlGhizzawi’s status. What could I possibly say? As I wrote the review board, “Without knowing the reasons for Mr. Al-Ghizzawi’s detention, it is impossible to address those reasons or the factual basis for continuing to detain him.” I added that I would supplement the submission once I had had a chance to meet and interview him. Eventually, after what then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would call a “long hard slog,” the protective order was entered. In July, eight months after filing the habeas petition, I was finally allowed to go to Guantánamo and meet with my client, a sick and visibly jaundiced man who pined for his wife and young daughter. Al-Ghizzawi was a shopkeeper who sold bread, honey, and other goods in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. When the American bombs started falling, he took his wife and daughter to the village where his in-laws lived. He then became one of those unlucky foreigners captured and turned in for a bounty. According to the Bush administration, all of the detainees were apprehended “on the battlefield” -- in this case, the quiet home of Al-Ghizzawi’s in-laws. My ultimate aim is to release AlGhizzawi and reunite him with his family. However, my immediate goal is to keep him alive. The medical staff at Guantánamo have diagnosed Al-Ghizzawi with tuberculosis and hepatitis B but failed to inform or treat him for either condition. I have been fighting for access to Al-Ghizzawi’s medical records, but a D.C. district judge ruled that we had not demonstrated that he would suffer “irreparable harm” in being denied his records. Imagine, I need his records in order to prove that he will suffer “irreparable harm,” but cannot access them without first proving “irreparable harm.” (I have appealed that ruling.) This is just one example. There is no rhyme or reason to the world of Guantánamo -- only a cruel inhumanity.u Reprinted from In These Times, January 2007. Adrian Bleifuss Prados, the author’s law clerk, contributed to this column. H. Candace Gorman is a civil rights attorney in Chicago. WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Opinion Kiko Martinez: watch listed for life By KARI LYDERSEN S hortly after the 9/11 attacks, Francisco “Kiko” Martinez, a Colorado civil rights attorney and long-time Chicano activist, was flying home from visiting family in Washington state. At the Salt Lake City airport, federal officials barred him from making his connecting flight back to Colorado. After they questioned and prohibited him from boarding his flight, he ended up taking a bus home. Turns out he was on the “no fly” list, a shadowy roster of thousands of people the government has identified as potentially having links to terrorism. People can end up on the list because of legal political activity or membership in legal groups; or just because they have the same name as someone the government is keeping an eye on. Those erroneously listed have included an Air Force sergeant, an attorney, a minister, and even children. Since November 2001, the Transportation Security Administration has adhered to two lists: a “no fly” list that prevents people from boarding any commercial airliner and a “select list” that subjects them to extra screening and questioning. In 2003 a broader “U.S. master terror watch list” combined 12 government lists into a register of more than 100,000 people. The list, officially called the FBI-CIA Terrorist Threat Integration Center, is meant to “create a structure to institutionalize sharing across agency lines of all terrorist threat intelligence,” according to a government fact sheet. Martinez likely made it onto these lists because of 1973 charges related to package bombs sent by Chicano activist groups. He fled to Mexico from Colorado, saying he feared for his life since local police officers were out to get him. He eventually went to trial in 1980 after crossing back into the United States. The charges were either dropped or ended in acquittals. On three other occasions while driving, Martinez, 60, has also been detained by law enforcement for no obvious reason beyond his activist past. In July 2000, police held him after he got a speeding ticket in Pueblo, Colo., and in December 2004, in Morris, Ill., when he and his family were driving back from a national cross-country meet his son was competing in. Most recently, he was detained on April 19, 2005. While driving back from giving a speech at the University of New Mexico, a state trooper and Pojoaque tribal officer pulled Martinez over. He was held while the WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M officers called an FBI agent, who asked questions, then ordered his release. This summer he filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Santa Fe challenging the detention. And on Dec. 4, Martinez filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago, charging that Illinois state police and local FBI agents violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure during the Morris traffic stop. Since Martinez can’t fly, at a Chicago press conference about the lawsuit, attorney Jim Fennerty of the National Lawyer’s Guild placed his photo on an empty chair with a phone broadcasting his voice to media. The next day, Martinez spoke with In These Times. How did you end up on the watch list? I was placed on the Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File (VGTOF). Basically the only guidelines for being placed on that list are that a police officer nominates you. That’s what we think happened to me. The government won’t confirm or deny it. The only way we figured it out is on the police reports from Colorado and New Mexico it mentions the VGTOF. What effect has this had on your life and work? We supposedly have a constitutional right to travel, but I can’t get on a plane. If I drive, even the slightest infraction can result in a detention of one to three hours or more. I have to be careful who I travel with because I don’t want to subject most people to what I have to go through if I’m stopped. And. of course, there’s the racial profiling that happens on most highways. The time I was stopped in Colorado [in 2000], I think it was racial profiling. I was driving an Oldsmobile sedan fixed up nice, they probably thought a young gangster was driving it. The world is a fast place these days, so this has really slowed me down, since I can’t fly or drive long distances. Do you truly feel you are not able to fly? I wasn’t allowed to fly before. I don’t want to subject myself to that humiliation again. How does the current surveillance and monitoring of activists or suspected dissidents -- through things like the watch list -- compare to the situation in the 60s and 70s? The current technology enables them to access and use that data much quicker than in the 60s and 70s. Then, the police would have contact cards they’d keep on people. Now, they just type your information into a computer and it comes up. Do you think the government intends this watch list to have a chilling effect on political speech or activity? I’m sure they figured it would. It chills people’s will to exercise their First Amendment rights. A lot of people are afraid they will lose their job or it will affect their family [if they get placed on a list like this]. I see this as the next generation of COINTELPRO [the infamous FBI program run from 1956 to 1971 which tried to destabilize dissident groups through harassment, surveillance and infiltration]. It’s set up to destroy and neutralize things. After Watergate and the Nixon era, there was a movement to prevent the government from spying on people unless they really had a reason to. But this so-called war on terror has given them a pretext to increase spying again. People are starting to speak out about it, but who knows when the next terrorist attack will happen? Then that will mean they can take away even more of our rights. Along with activist histories like yours, what current activities or affiliations do you think are landing people on the list? Environmentalists, immigrant-rights advocates, attorneys, and individuals who speak out on behalf of those who are targeted, antiwar activists, media persons who are not embedded with the government, black nationalists, Puerto Rican independentistas, indigenous nation advocates, and others who struggle against corporations and the government dominated by corporations [are all at risk]. You were involved in radical movements tied to violence 30 years ago. Do you think there’s a valid reason for having you on a list like this? The guidelines for the VGTOF say you must be part of an “ongoing organization.” But these things happened 25 or 30 years ago. The state has such a long memory, even if generations of agents have passed on, they will keep you on the list. But if they just followed their own guidelines, I wouldn’t be on it. Also it says you can only be detained if they have reason to believe you have or are about to commit a crime. They had no reason to believe that with me. Do you think this list is at all effective in preventing terrorism? No, the way police usually find out something’s afoot is through informants -- being there on the street. This is just random stops and searches and seizures. Many people don’t know their constitutional rights and will agree to searches. As a tactical matter, it’s hard to tell a policeman no. If you buck them a little, it gets them mad. With police so aggressive, with Tasers and steroid rages [refusing a search could mean trouble]. Most of the country’s interstates are considered drug routes, so an officer could always use the pretext of the war on drugs. What do you hope to accomplish with the lawsuits? Something productive will come of it. At least we are able to engage the government, otherwise they would never talk to you about it. We’re hoping by bringing more attention to this, more people will take steps to find out if they are on the list. What do you think will happen with the cases filed in Chicago and New Mexico? Well, they’ve assigned the Chicago case to Judge Amy St. Eve, [a Bush II appointee] who’s hearing the Muhammad Salah case [a Chicago area grocer accused of financing Hamas]. She’s made some terrible moves in that case. In New Mexico, the government is saying they don’t want their agents deposed, they don’t want discovery; that the case involves state secrets and national security. Not all judges are falling into lockstep with the Department of Justice. Some judges are ruling against the government, so the Department of Justice is trying to settle cases so the Bush gang can continue its imperial presidency and be a secret government. Are you hoping to get off the list? I don’t think you can ever really get off the list. They’ll always have another generation of lists.u Reprinted from In These Times, January 2007. www.inthesetimes.com LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 9 10 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 11 Opinion Vanishing America By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER I t really isn’t a reason for celebration -- the wholesale disappearance of America’s natural resources. The Big Takedown began when the first people arrived in North America. Going back a few thousand years to the Asiatic “discovery” and arrival from Russia and places further west across the Bering Ice Bridge during the last Ice Age, and by raft, kayak, and Kon Tiki boat from Japan, Indonesia, Polynesia, and other Godforsaken land specks in and about the Pacific and Indian Ocean littorals. Now, these initial discoverers and their descendants were brave, daring, resourceful, scared pioneering people who, although they live millennia in the past, were just like the wave of Europeans who came to these shores from the east in and after 1492 -- they were constantly hungry, they needed something to wear, somewhere to stay, and somebody to love (it stands to reason). Their ingenuity was taxed to the utmost, as was their will to adapt to new and often harsh climes -- hot, cold, scorching, freezing, humid, bone dry, stultifying, windswept, droughtstricken, constantly rainy -- and physical surroundings -- mountains, forests, rain forests, valleys, plains, deserts, and everything betwixt and between. Piece of cake -- or at least they managed and made themselves masters of their environment. It wasn’t until the much-later appearance of Pecos Bill on the mythological Texas scene that someone could lasso the tornado or change the course of the mighty Río Grande. But historians have truckloads of evidence to verify that these beautiful, language-rich, rambunctious first Americans had a slight propensity for inter-tribal hostilities and wholesale bloodletting, or, rather, there was hardly another thing they would prefer to be doing at any given time than slitting a neighbor’s throat or ripping off a neighbor’s face and scalp, and wearing it Texas Chainsaw Massacre style to the Sun- 12 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 day pow-wow, where you dedicated it to the gods. Yet, centuries before the earliest Native Americans had wiped each other out, they had a done a pretty neat little number on the native American horse, camel, mammoth, mastodon, giant sloth, rhinoceros, saber tooth tiger, dire wolf, giant beaver, short-faced bear, musk ox, and hundreds of other mammals that were considered fair game to those generations that we are not attempting here to second guess for what they did in the name of survival. Yes, indeed, although Joe Camel may be the only viable avatar on the scene, but whose wrath tends to descend upon human respiratory systems and not on Buffalo Bill-type Native Americans from the dim vaults of the pasado. One thing is crystal clear -- the Native Americans can’t be blamed for polluting airways and waterways, that much is as clear as America’s crystal air and pristine lakes, rivers, and brooks were before the advent of Europeans at Plymouth, Massachusetts and Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 17th Century during historical times. Yet the mostlyCaucasoid invader from the east has proven to be an even more callous and greedy exploiter of nature than were his swarthier counterparts of yesteryear. They’ve chopped down Longfellow’s “forest primeval,” fished out Cape Cod, polluted every harbor, major river, and once-limpid stream from sea to once-shining sea. Too close to home, even the storied Río Grande, the mighty Río Bravo, separating the American Republic from the old, beloved Mexico of our forefathers, is a river under siege by the polluting forces of greedy mankind on both sides of the river. We’ve polluted the prairies with pesticides and hunted, poisoned, or dehabitated most of our signature mammals to the brink of extinction, along with them birds, reptiles, amphibians, marine mammals, and marine life period (both fresh and salt water). What else? Oh, yeah -- we exterminated nine out of ten bloodlines of our Native American brothers, deprived them of their lands and traditional lifestyles, robbed their subsoil wealth, and corralled and driven them onto desolate, depressing, dehumanizing reservations where hope is an unwelcome guest. Nevertheless, the all-out merciless assault on the green earth is becoming universal these days, being a gradual process that eats away the pristine world like rust eats away a dry ballbearing. Just like we’re all pretty much resigned to living in a palimpsest of panoramas that blend and wend with the regularity of clouds that scud over them in an afternoon heaven, we are also privileged to enjoy 15 minutes of sunlight, Mr. Warhol, in various set- tings within the stage set. Along these lines, I recently drove through the neighborhood of my youth, which I left for better or worse over 30 years ago. It is bounded on the west side by Blessed Sacrament Church and on the east side by Lamar Middle School. I’ve always appreciated the place, for in all the tumult of our turbulent times it seems to have always held its own in outward appearance and peaceful performance. This demi-barrio is just a small, quiet couple of blocks stocked with fairly typical middle class Americans, and everybody more or less gets along with everybody else. It is not identified by a name or a number like many of the well-known Laredo neighborhoods, but it is still holding its own, in defiance of many downhill trends.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM At the Commanders Reception Next year’s Society of Martha Washington debs Diana Cantu and Rebecca Barrera model last year’s dresses at the Commanders Reception. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 13 Photo by George J. Altgelt Adio$, little environmental treasure If things go as developers wish, and they do in this city that loses its environmental conscience, this beautiful little wetland just below the site of the Laredo Town center Mall and adjacent to Lake Casa Blanca will probably be filled with the three-story high mountain of soil you see in the foreground of the picture. The ever eager to please U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is morally bankrupt when it comes to the environment will only too gladly comply with granting the demise of the wetland that is home to waterfowl and the migratory birds so pursued by visiting birders in Laredo. When the 88-acre pad of Laredo Town Center Mall is filled in with concrete and pavement, a heavy rain will send torrents of oily parking lot drainage from the airport and the Mall’s parking lot into Lake Casa Blanca. 14 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Opinion On the lamentable state of education By MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA E ducation in Laredo, a topic of much relevance these days, is everywhere being discussed and in many aspects -consolidation of school districts, testing results for LISD seniors, the new LISD interim superintendent, the general disarray of that district, the bond issue at United ISD, and the actions of board members at both school districts. This much is true -- many high school seniors can neither read nor write, nor can they solve the simplest of math problems. Many of them who will enroll in college classes next fall will know, as their parents will, just how badly their public education has failed them as they sign up for remedial college classes that will make another pass at preparing them to read, write, and do math. Those hours, which will not count toward a degree and will cost every bit as much as regular college classes, will prolong the number of semesters it will take to complete a four-year degree and may affect financial aid benefits. Where to begin unraveling this problem that seems only to grow larger? For starters, I would stop electing LISD trustees who are illiterate and who themselves are in need of remedial reading, writing, and math classes, trustees who cannot navigate through a budget, trustees who cannot speak in complete sentences and using good grammar, trustees who cannot put aside the love of hearing their own voices in otiose (look it up, Mr. Montalvo), long-winded soliloquies, trustees who do not speak up in their own true voices to take a stand on something, trustees who drag their personal agendas into every board meeting like a hardside set of outdated American Tourister bags. What kind of board of trustees has meetings on Friday nights and Sunday mornings? A board that can count to 72, 72 hours forward from its last bad idea. I would stop hiring wily, megalomaniac administrators who curry favor with board members to make incredible leaps across pay grades. I would stop letting trustees have a hand in who is hired, who is rewarded with handsome pay raises that outstrip merit, and reassignments to reward or to punish. In the last several months we’ve heard from many, many LISD educators and administrators. One thing is perfectly clear throughout the district. Morale is at an all time low. “Our trustees have sold us out. We have gone back to the days where teachers preWWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M tended to teach and students pretended to learn and received worthless diplomas based on a make-believe curriculum and over-inflated grades,” one writer said. Another lifetime instructor in the district, who did not wish to be named, told LareDOS, “This board is crazy. What is the TEA waiting for?” CONSOLIDATION If consolidation with United ISD is being contemplated as a means to fix LISD, its proponents are likely getting a good idea that it will not be a quick fix and that perhaps it would be no fix at all. At the heart of the argument for consolidation is the belief that it is possible the stronger, solvent, and perhaps better-managed school district could have a positive effect on the unraveled district. In the best scenario, once the work of consolidation was completed and all personnel were working where they should be in the newly restructured district, huge savings could be reaped and resources allocated to correct that which ails the system and that which will make better teachers and students. Should the consolidation effort find success, its anticipated best case scenario could end up contrasting sharply with the reality that the absorption of a school district in such disorder would have adverse and devastating effects on United ISD. The transitions that would have to take place would be enormously unwieldly for students, administrators, and teachers. The surplus of duplicate administrators and school personnel would present a daunting scenario. I don’t know enough about consolidation to wage an effort for or against it, and so I’m listening and reading. There’s plenty to pull up on the topic on the Internet. Mike McIlvain’s story on page 26 provides a local perspective. To read further of a possible school district consolidation in Texas at this time read a news account at http://www. timesrecordnews.com/trn/local_news/ article/0,1891,TRN_5784_5336274,00.html. LISD’S NEW INTERIM SUPER Interim Superintendent Veronica Guerra and public information officer Marco Alvarado met with LareDOS early one recent morning to talk about her first three weeks on the job and the work ahead. Guerra is realistic about what she feels needs to be addressed -- besides realigning curriculum and targeting six poorly performing campuses. She said she wants to establish a working relationship with a board that did not ask her to serve by unanimous decision and with some downtown administrators and campus administrators who do not like her and who are suspicious of her motives, judgment, and alliances. Guerra, who will be paid $140,000 a year, said her nearly three decades in the district allow her an invaluable perspective about how to determine what areas need the most attention and how to get the work done. She said establishing good lines of communication across the district and with the board are key to her effort. “A stable relationship with the board and with other administrators will make a difference in student performance,” Guerra said, adding, “We all need to want the same thing -- accountability and teachers better equipped to make a better environment for learning.” She said, “I need seven board members to believe I can make positive changes. I’m no rookie. They need to give me a chance.” Guerra said much of the instruction in the district is “generic” and that the district needs to use structured, prescriptive strategies to achieve success. She also spoke of fostering a collaborative culture that would encourage campus administrators who’ve had successful outcomes to share strategies with others. Guerra said accountability is lax across the district and that is something she wants to address. She relies, she said, on a core team, a cabinet, of administrators and personnel that include PIO Alvarado, CFO Jesus Amezcua, facilities and support services director Oscar Cartas, director of student services Elsa Arce, interim director of human resources Ernesto Guajardo, and secretary Mercedes Santos. Guerra spoke highly of the leadership abilities of LISD board president John Peter Montalvo. She refuted the undercurrent of sentiment in the downtown school district offices that her leadership would be especially influenced by the ideas of Dr. Oscar Cartas. The trustees hired Guerra at a Feb. 2, 2007 board meeting, just a few days after approving a $24,000 Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) search for a superintendent at a specially called board meeting. April 9 is the application deadline. After reviewing candidates on the TASB short list, the board will vote to hire a superintendent in early June. Guerra said she was unsure she would apply for the position. To read more about interim superintendent Guerra, read John Snyder’s story on page 27. THE RESISTANCE Some of the recent calls and emails we received were at first a veritable avalanche of unpleasant speculations about interim superintendent Veronica Guerra, personal things. When that vein of vitriol was exhausted, the commentary gave way to framing what Guerra’s selection means for LISD. To a person, all who wrote or called did not wish to attach their name to their comments for fear of retaliation. One educator told us, “There are those who see her as the product of the collective wisdom of idiots on the board, and that by association is not good.” Another wrote me, “Those who were around here in the Vidal Era see her as just a leftover icon of the Vidal Treviño Era, with all the characteristics -- good or bad -- of that period. If you think those were good times, then she is good. If you see that era as corrupt, then many of them still with the district may be of that ilk.” There is speculation Guerra has the blood of former superintendents on her hands. One lifetime educator wrote, “She along with others undermined the tenures of Dr. Barber, Ms. Bruni, and Dr. Daniel García.” Of the interim superintendent one administrator wrote, “It is likely some administrators at the main office will be sent back out into the field. The new super carries a lot of baggage and has been told to make peace, but only time will tell if she can. Morale is very bad. “We have too many fresh out of college teachers who are too young to know the district’s history. There is a group of 20 who form the base of her fan club and will fight for her to stay, perhaps because they were promised something lucrative. Then the rest of us are just praying for consolidation to bring an end to this frightful board and to usher a new era for our district.” “The district is bankrupt in more than a financial way,” said a former superintendent. “At the leadership level there is hardly anyone left who is truly committed to changing the state of the district. Integrity is gone, the talent is gone from leadership. There is no guidance. There is no inspiration. Those who once spoke up for constructive change, those are the ones who will be hit hard with reassignments and ostracism. The lessons of the past will be reiterated -- don’t speak up, go with the flow. The new superintendent has surrounded herself with people who are like her. She has a great deal in common with some of the board members. For those who made our lives in teaching, it’s devastating to see LISD in this shape.” u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 15 News The Government Blinks: Freedom at Last for the Ibrahim Family By GREG MOSES or three painful months while his brother’s family was imprisoned by USA immigration authorities, Ahmad Ibrahim, a United States citizen of Palestinian heritage, kept his faith that “the people of America are good people.” But Ahmad did not know that the one good American who would finally orchestrate the dramatic release of the family had himself been exiled by USA immigration authorities to China. So Ahmad’s faith in America had to hold strong from the beginning of November through the sacred Eid ulAdha season of early January, until the exiled American could return. On January 8, when Dallas real-estate developer Ralph Isenberg landed in Dallas from China with his wife and infant daughter, the wheels of the Ibrahim family release were soon to roll. On or about January 10, New York immigration attorney Theodore Cox sent Isenberg an email, asking if he’d heard about children imprisoned by the federal bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Essentially, I’d had my run-in with immigration,” explained Isenberg over the telephone. “My wife had been detained at the immigration prison in Haskell, Texas, deported with our 3-month-old daughter to China, and I had to leave my adopted 16year-old daughter in America in order to live with them and fight for their re-entry.” That fight lasted 14 months. “So I knew how lovely ICE could be.” Following up on the email from Cox, Isenberg says he “looked at pictures of the kids in prison, found out it was in Texas, and I just went berserk. You do not imprison kids in Texas, the U.S., or anywhere. No, no, no, no, no. Goodness gracious, kids in prison? Give me a break!” As a big-city real-estate developer, Isenberg knew the difference between wishing and doing, so he got busy grinding out results. By Jan. 26, Ahmad Ibrahim had a brand new friend and two new lawyers. How could anyone know that because of these things, release of his brother’s family was only one week away? On Feb. 1, attorney Cox and his colleague Joshua Bardavid filed habeas corpus motions in federal courts of Dallas and Austin, stating shocking facts about the treatment of mother Hanan Ibrahim and her four children. The children sobbed uncontrollably at times. Hanan had been denied pre-natal F 16 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 vitamins for her pregnancy. Trips to the doctor were eight-hour ordeals during which the children back at jail fretted and cried. Hanan was placed in shackles for medical transport. She was torn between her children and her health care. When Cox and Bardavid walked into the federal court building in Dallas, accompanied by Ahmad Ibrahim and his tiny niece Zahra -- who had been separated from her family and placed into her uncle’s care -- they were greeted by a half-dozen television cameras, a lobby full of reporters, and a phalanx of federal marshals. Whatever went on next between the legal professionals in those closely-guarded chambers of the Dallas federal court changed everything very quickly. Freedom for the Ibrahim family was only 48 hours away. On Feb. 2, Dallas attorney John Wheat Gibson sent out a jubilant email titled “Amazing Grace.” The Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had caved overnight. Suddenly, after years and months of denying Gibson’s pleas in behalf of the Ibrahims, the BIA reversed course completely. Gibson’s November 2006 appeal for the family’s asylum would be considered. And if the family was now eligible for asylum, then there could be no legal basis for their imprisonment. “Now there is no excuse for the Gestapo to keep the children in prison any longer,” wrote Gibson. “I have never heard of the Board granting such a motion for Palestinian asylum seekers before, even though many people have tried,” wrote attorney Bardavid. “I believe that the pressure put on the government by the actions filed in the federal courts, the media attention . . . and good work and thorough preparation of Mr. Gibson in his motion on behalf of the Ibrahims resulted in this outcome.” “It’s the Declaration of Independence for the Palestinian people,” said Isenberg in a giddy mood Friday night. “We got the American government to blink!” How can he help but mention that he is proud of this achievement? How can he help but reflect that he is a son of Holocaust survivors? “Every group goes through that period when they are treated with discrimination and then one event breaks the pattern. From now on the American government will no longer treat Palestinians as terrorists, but as humans. And I would hope that American citizens are realizing that if we continue to take away the rights of foreign nationals in an indiscriminate fashion, we are next.” Meanwhile this Friday night, Jay JohnsonCastro, faithful organizer of three vigils outside the Hutto prison, promises to send photos of three ugly walls that stand between the USA and California: “I mean they are ugly ugly.” It is past dark now and he stands upon a mass grave at the Holtville Cemetery near San Diego, where border crossers are buried who don’t make it over alive. “They are found dead and turned over to be buried.” It’s not the only mass grave at the border. There will be more to visit as the Marcha Migrante II Border Caravan begins its trek from San Diego to Brownsville and back. “They say women are brought here in the middle of the night to do the burying,” says Johnson-Castro. “The federal government contracts with Imperial County to pay the city to bury these people, and nobody knows who they are. These are totally anonymous people who died as a result of our pathetic immigration system. Nobody is thinking of these people. The bodies are just thrown into the ground and dirt is pushed over them with a blade.” From Holtville Cemetery, Johnson-Castro caravanned along the border, through the cities of the Río Grande, making his way back to Hutto prison for his fourth vigil on Feb. 12. The release of the Ibrahim family is great news. But we know there are more Palestinian families in there along with anonymous border crossers and their children. “We’re going to shut that prison down,” is something that Johnson-Castro and Isenberg have both promised. In those merging voices, the faith of Ahmad Ibrahim is redeemed. “I’m just enjoying the day,” said Ahmad, speaking by cell phone from a limousine that is somewhere between home and Hutto prison. The voice of his little niece Zahra chatters in the background. “It is a good day.”u (This story first appeared in the Texas Civil Rights Review. Greg Moses, editor of the Texas Civil Rights Review, is also the author of Revolution of Conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Philosophy of Nonviolence. His chapter on civil rights under Clinton and Bush appears in Dime’s Worth of Difference, edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. He can be reached at gmosesx@prodigy.net.) WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News Beleaguered LISD board names Veronica F. Guerra interim superintendent By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER N ow at the top of the Laredo Independent School District central office pecking order, the district’s new interim superintendent Veronica F. Guerra says she’s ready for the challenges she faces. She was named to her new post by the LISD Board of Trustees Feb. 2. An educator for 28 years, Guerra has racked up a good deal of experience in a varied palette of positions within the LISD system. “I’ve had a chance to learn pretty much how the whole district operation works,” she said. Starting off as a first grade teacher for six years, she then worked developing programs for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students for three years in connection with the federal projects. After this, she served as vice principal of Farias Elementary for one year and Tomás Sanchez Elementary for two. Next, she became principal of Buenos Aires Elementary, after which she headed Christen Middle School for seven years and a half. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M ing almost on a yearly basis over the past few years, central office personnel were also moved up and down and around like something out of a three-dimensional chess game. At any rate, Guerra was shifted over to become Executive Director for Instructional Support Services, and after a medium-length spell in that position, she took over as ED for Innovative Programs. New LISD superintendent Veronica F. Guerra Approx i mately After both Buenos Aires and Christen three weeks ago, LISD’s were state recognized for their academic beleaguered Board of Trustees named Veperformance, Guerra was named Adminisronica F. Guerra Interim Superintendent. trative Assistant for Communications, and “I want to restore stability and credibility shortly afterwards she was made Executive to the district and bring the graduation Director of Curriculum and Instruction. rate up and the dropout rate down,” she With the superintendency at LISD changannounced during her first week on the job. “We also want to improve the attendance rate in our schools and maintain a good working relationship with the school board,” she added. Guerra describes herself as “a pro-active leader” and a “workaholic.” She said that she has faith that things are going to improve in every area of district endeavor, but stressed that it is going to take a tremendous amount of effort and dedication by every employee on every level. “The principal on each campus is the academic leader and has the responsibility to ensure that successful teaching and learning are taking place,” Guerra said. “And I mean that they should see to it that the teachers are planning for and connecting with all students, because all students should be afforded an equal opportunity to acquire knowledge and cultivate their talent,” she added. “Parents and the rest of the community expect the children to learn and the schools to maintain high standards, and I expect the principals and the teachers to work!” Guerra said.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 17 Feature LIFE recognizes rancher, educator, land steward Johnny Mayers By MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA T estimony to the fact that Johnny Mayers was one of the best science teachers I ever had is that I remember all these years later what he taught us about the fundamentals of biology – one celled creatures, botanical nomenclature, cell division, mitosis, paramecium, mitochondria. Just out of the Army in 1964, Army Lt. Mayers had about him a military correctness that let you know he was all business and that he saw education as a two-way proposition. If you wanted to learn, he wanted to teach you. And that’s the way it was in that classroom with its shiny lab tabletops at the back of Lamar Junior High. There were many of us who appreciated his guidance with our science projects and his clear communication on the blackboard and in lectures. The Laredo International Fair and Exposition (LIFE) has named Mayers 2007 Rancher of the Year, and he deserves the recognition on so many fronts. There’s his life in ranching with his father at Las Moritas Ranch in southeastern Webb County and his own cattle enterprises all over the county through the decades. There’s his life in teaching not only physical science and biology but also establishing the agriculture science program at Nixon High School and later rebuilding the school district’s agriculture instruction program. There’s his life as a land steward and conservationist, and there’s his life in LIFE, one who was there from the ground up to establish what would become the event that draws student participants from across the county. “What students learned in my classroom was science, but what they learned by raising a livestock project for the fair was character and responsibility,” said Mayers who has been a mentor to many school children over decades as a Future Farmers of America and 4-H sponsor. Among those he named who shaped his life as a student were science teacher George Macdonald, language arts teacher Mrs. Margarita Newton, and English teacher Mrs. Hal Winston. He also credited Martin High School ROTC instructor Col. Oscar Hein and ag teacher George McAllister, with inspiring him to be a better student and to realize his own potential. “They opened countless doors for me, taught me responsibility, and gave me leadership 18 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 skills,” he said. The family ranch offered a few lessons, too. “What I learned from my father was how to be a rancher, how to keep up with a changing environment,” said Mayers, the son of Pablo and Bertha V. Mayers. “I learned and am still learning how to change management strategies for ranching in drought. This has been a great year for rainfall, but this could be the last great year, and next year we could be feeding all the time Johnny Mayers or burning pear, which has become cost prohibitive because of the price. We are grass farmers – that’s what Joe Finley, Sr, said about all the land west of Alice and San Diego and everything from George West to Del Rio. He foresaw that land would return to wildlife habitat and that there was good money in leasing for hunting if you manage land well.” Of cattle ranching, Mayers said, “We feed not only our country, but others, too. It keeps our economy going. But you can’t do it without water. You have no business ranching if you don’t have water to support your herd or the wildlife.” Mayers said he loved the challenge of ranching, its solitude, and the independent nature of it. “You know that whatever you do on the ranch, it comes back to you and the decisions you made.” Mayers grew up in a family of five. Brothers Pablo, Jr., and Anthony took degrees in agriculture. Sisters Virginia and Patricia graduated as home economics majors. Mayers is the father of Laredo firefighter trainer and instructor Joseph Mayers and Roberta Mayers, a registered nurse in Houston. He is the grandfather of Krysta Jo Mayers. From 1960 to 1963 Mayers was stationed was stationed at Ft. Benning, GA, Ft. Riley, KS, and Ft. Monmouth, NJ, training parachutists and getting soldiers of the First In- fantry Division ready for combat in Vietnam. He retired as a captain in the Army Reserve in 1968. Of the recognition from LIFE Mayers said, “Those are big boots to fill. There are better people it could have gone to, but I am humbled and very grateful to have received this honor.” He said he’d had the good fortune to have been with LIFE “from the ground up.” He recounted the 1964 trip to Omaha that Finley, Sr. organized for a handful of Laredoans who would become the founding organizers of LIFE and who would pattern the local event on what they’d learned in Omaha. “We had a hard time starting up, but we managed, and over the years new blood came along and added new ideas. It’s evolved,” he said. He recalled the pre-LIFE fair and livestock show of the 1940s, a small city of tents that set up in the area between Leyendecker School and where the Civic Center is now. “It was called the Pan American Livestock Show,” he recalled. Mayers said the fear of spreading hoof and mouth disease killed the annual event. He also recalled working at the horse track at LIFE. “Judge Roberto Benavides was a real promoter of para-mutuel horse racing in the 60s. He envisioned people coming to the races in Laredo, so he got track specs from Ruiodoso and had the dirt for the track hauled in from La Bota. The weather here is perfect for horse racing and training.” Mayers has had a lifetime romance with horses, a love that dates back to his youth. “I ride with my son. It’s a form of therapy and a wonderful way to see the world.” He raises quarter horses and has a remuda of 10 brood mares. “It is time consuming and labor intensive, but I love working with them,” he said, adding, “I used to work them to sell them as two year olds, but now I sell them as yearlings.” Mayers was excited about the recent addition of a horse called Laredo Spook, a four year-old descendant of stallion Gray Starlight. “I loved teaching,” Mayers said. “I loved believing I could change one child’s life. That I was teaching ag science and skills was the best of all worlds. When I retired from teaching in 1978, I thanked administration for the opportunity to do what I liked to do and being paid for it,” he said.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News Smithsonian Exhibit on Latino Achievement opens at TAMIU March 1 - May 12 A national exhibition focusing on Latino achievement developed by the Smithsonian Latino Center will make its historic appearance at Texas A&M International University’s Student Center March 1 through May 12, 2007. The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge. “Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement” presents narratives and portraits of 24 individuals and one extended family that provide a look at the experiences of U.S. Latinos who have made significant contributions to American life. Dr. Ray Keck, TAMIU president, said the bilingual exhibition’s appearance at the University is historic. “We are delighted to be the host of this important exhibit that offers a remarkable affirmation of the many Latino gifts to our nation. This is a first for Laredo and a first for TAMIU. We hope that every Laredoan and member of our regional communities will take advantage of this rare opportunity,” Dr. Keck said. The exhibition, its national tour, and related programs are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund. Ford Motor Company Fund has also provided support for the exhibition’s presentation in Laredo and for related education programs scheduled. Pilar O’Leary, director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, said the exhibition is both compelling and inspirational. “This exhibition is an anthology of compelling biographical portraits that evoke the depth and breadth of Latino contributions to American society. There will be well-known names in the exhibit as well as people who may not be as famous, but Mario J. Molina WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M whose inspirational stories need to be told,” O’Leary said. Among the exhibition’s portraits are astronaut Ellen Ochoa, athlete Rebecca Lobo, artist Pepón Osorio, labor leader Dolores Huerta and folklorist Teodoro Vidal. A biographical narrative that includes excerpts from recent oral history interviews complements their portraits. Nobel Prize-winning chemist Mario Molina, for example, tells how he became fascinated with science. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson describes the event that led him to pursue a life of public service. The exhibition includes personal stories, photos, oral histories and dichos, or traditional sayings. The influential dichos pass knowledge, experience, and values down through the generations, including sayings such as “Si no sabes de donde vienes, no sabes a donde irás” (if you don’t know where you are coming from, you don’t know where you are going) and others. Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, Director of Community Development and International Strategy, Ford Motor Company Fund, said the exhibition goes to the heart of Latino success stories. “These stories celebrate what’s at the heart of so many Latino success stories -- a desire to achieve and make a difference. Visitors to this Smithsonian exhibit will have the opportunity to learn about Latinos who have made varying, but very important contributions to the American fabric,” Egusquiza explained. The mission of the Smithsonian Latino Center is to foster understanding and appreciation of Latino history and culture John M. Quiñones using the vast resources of the Smithsonian’s collections, research, and public programs, both in Washington and across the United States. The exhibition’s tour is coordinated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES), which has been sharing the wealth of the Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside of Washington, D.C. for more than 50 years. The exhibition opened in Washington at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and has been to Bill Richardson San José, Chicago, El Paso, San Antonio, Ft. Wayne, IN, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. From Laredo, it will travel to Charlotte, Detroit, and New York. For additional information, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at (956) 326-2180, visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library room 268, click on tamiu.edu or e-mail prmis@tamiu.edu. University office hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Antonia C. Novello Monday-Friday.u Dolores Huerta LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 19 News The road to Potholelandia is paved with good intentions By MIKE McILVAIN T his pothole problem is bigger than we are. That pothole on Jacaman Road, McPherson, or anywhere else that threatened to yank out your front axle, all your teeth, and send your head through the roof is a little cousin compared to the big ones. Potholes are all over the world, crossing international boundaries, cultural barriers, and economic differences. Potholes are really big. One can sleep in the Potholes State Park or fish in the Potholes lakes in Washington state. To the east, on Canada’s side of Lake Huron along the top of some spectacular cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario, there are several places where potholes occur. On the Bruce Peninsula, a large pothole is exposed in the face of the cliff -- known as the “Eagles’ Nest” because of several rounded boulders that remain in it -- visible from boats on the lake. So, that big hole imagined when the last surprise rammed your head through the roof was a little shortsighted. There really are huge potholes. Those big city people up north in Philadelphia say a pothole fits a form. Online at http://potholes.phila.gov, their description says potholes are “bowl-shaped or irregular shaped holes in the asphalt layer of the roadway.” Those big ones elsewhere don’t count? San Antonians took a vigilante-style approach a few years ago in their adopta-pothole program -- promoted by local media who also had their brains jarred out, driving to work, or when caught off-guard semi-comatose on the way home. “Some of the streets are too old and need to be resurfaced,” Laredo City Public Works hand Santiago Ochoa told LareDOS’ Armando Saldaña after plugging a series of potholes on a side street a little off Del Mar Blvd. “Sprinklers should not be on every day,” he said, attributing constant drainage from yards as a factor in pothole formation. Water is a great force in creating potholes with the flow from a downpour, or collected drizzle, pushing its weight 20 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 into the hard surfaces, which often look like they should be strong enough to ever be blemished with a pothole. Of course, some parts of the world have less asphalt and cement, so filling a pothole is more of a regular community project with people improving their soccer skills kicking rocks, bricks, and wood into the holes between cars with points awarded for the best splash, or dust, depending on the time of year. Countries given to baseball and cricket see more skills development by throwing rocks and sticks into the holes with mostly the same unofficial point standards for effective splash or dust cloud. Potholes have a habit of making their biggest splash at City Hall. Anybody’s city hall. An abundance or perceived availability of those car-damaging, blood pressure-raising holes have been known to be a serious topic in local Santiago Ochoa works to fix Laredo’s pothole problem elections for millennia and tip the vote one way or another in numerous elections. The economy is a regular major factor for many national elections, and cities have their potholes doing much the same. Political careers have fallen into potholes, never to be seen again. Even one scream-prompting pothole can be one too many in a volatile community and the evidence is everywhere: “The candidates wanted to talk about each other’s ethics. The residents of San Jose wanted them to talk about potholes,” said a lead paragraph in an Oct. 29, 2006 San Jose Mercury-News Pothole on Jacaman Road story. “Fix the potholes, yes, but the ‘whole’ needs attention, too, when it comes to transportation planning,” screams a Missippipolitics.com online editorial. Potholes carry the same weight in other accents, too. “The Tories have accused the government of creating a ‘pothole Britain’ by cutting spending on road maintenance,” says an April 17, 2000 online BBC story from London. Potholes and their nasty damage are everywhere -- going well beyond whatever a vehicle’s shock absorber failed to cushion on the streets of Laredo.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News Archdiocese of San Antonio recognizes Catholic educator Alejandro Calderon I f you’re looking for Alejandro Calderon, the Director of Admissions for St. Anthony Catholic High School and he’s not in his office -- you might be running around a whole lot. If indeed you find yourself searching for him, you might want to check the football field (he’ll be coaching freshman football); the cafeteria (he’ll be running a Rotary Interact meeting that day); in the conference room (where he’s handling peer mediation); or on the soccer field (he’ll be the tallest one at his son Matthew’s CYO soccer WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M practice, as spectator and coach); and if you still can’t find him -- he could be in a private meeting with state officials in Laredo, where he volunteers at a local non-profit called Americans Missing in Mexico. When asked about his ability to manage time, he answered, “There’s 24 hours in a day!” For these and many reasons, the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of San Antonio recently named Calderon an Outstanding Leader in Catholic Education at the 2007 Hall of Fame and Outstanding Leaders in Catholic Education Awards Banquet. Calderon’s commitment to Catholic education led to his nomination and recognition as an Outstanding Leader in Catholic Education: “You can learn math, English, and science at any school for free, but what you won’t receive is a spiritual foundation to start your adult life,” said Calderon. Five other local Catholic school leaders were also honored as Outstanding Leaders in Catholic education, including, Brother James Burkholder, Joann Gawlik, Jannice Jessen, Msgr. Enda McKenna, and Reverend Tony Vilano; in addition, Sr. Jane Ann Slater was honored as the 2007 Hall of Fame Honoree.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 21 22 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 23 News Good Government League to Commissioners Court: in whose backyard are we going to throw the dead cat? By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA t a recent meeting of the Webb County Commissioners Court Marissa Martinez of the Good Government League asked Judge Danny Valdez and commissioners to direct Economic Development Department (EDD) director Juan Vargas and purchasing agent Eloy Ramirez to comply with the Texas Property Code and the Texas Administrative Code in the re-building and rehabilitation of homes through county programs that use state and federal funds. Martinez, whose moment before the court elicited little comment, said that contractors and builders for residential rehab exceeding $20,000 must be licensed by the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). She said that the Webb County practice of the issuance of contracts to unlicensed contractors robs the poor of the state’s minimum imposed warranties for the construction. Martinez has filed a formal complaint with the TRCC that asks for enforcement action against the unregistered, unlicensed contractors. She told the court that the use of unlicensed contractors was “morally and ethically incorrect” and precluded recourse for faulty construction. “Are the poor of Webb County any less entitled than any other Texan to have these warranties?” she asked as she advised the Court to ensure that the County’s EDD adhered to state and federal laws. “In whose backyard are we going to throw this dead cat?” Martinez, asked, summoning the unspoken policy of some county departments. “Will it be the contractor? The colonia resident? Or the local taxpayers?” she continued. Vargas said that the TRCC does not license contractors, but registers them for two years with a $500 fee. Those contractors, he said, also have to register rehab jobs at $35 each if that rehab job increases or decreases the total living space of a home; if it is a job over $20,000; and if it is new residential construction. Vargas said that homeowners who have had a home rehab completed do get a warranty from the contractor. “After the extensive process that is followed in order to obtain eligibility for a homeowner, after the extensive on-site inspections by a team of local inspectors, department staff coordinators taking pictures at every stage in A 24 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 order to document work performed and pay contractors, and in some cases, inspection by state or federal staff, it would be a tragedy if we failed to protect the improvements of a home by not obtaining a warranty for the work performed,” he added. Martinez said that a warranty that is not registered with the TRCC from a contractor who is not registered with the TRCC is just a piece of paper from a builder or carpenter to a homeowner. She said that TRCC scrutiny for contractor applicants includes a background check. The TRCC aggressively pursues administrative actions against builders and remodelers who fail to follow statutory and regulatory requirements. Martinez said the construction guidelines from the federal and state agencies who fund rehab projects are “pretty clear cut.” The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) 24-page Minimum Construction Specifications for its HOME Investment Partnerships Program is just such a document and spells out criteria for liability insurance, construction, materials, methods, and cleanup. She said that Webb County’s use of several small contractors to complete rehabs under $20,000 allows the county to bend the rules and come in under the radar with un-registered contractors. In those instances, she said, the county -- not the small contractor who got the bid -- is the contractor. “Why isn’t Webb County registered with the TRCC as a not for profit contractor like Habitat for Humanity of Laredo, the Azteca Development Corporation, or the Laredo Webb County Housing Authority?” she asked. The County’s Economic Development Department’s Projects and Programs web page evidences that the EDD has plenty of rehab projects at over $20,000 -- a $1 million HUD Neighborhood Initiatives grant for indoor plumbing is underway for 32 homes in an area that does not yet have water or sewage service. About $30,000 is earmarked per home. A half-million dollar TDHCA HOME grant will rehab several homes at about $45,000 per home. An additional $520,000 HOME project targets 16 homes at about $30,000 per home in unincorporated parts of Webb County with existing water and sewage systems. In addition to HOME funds from the TDHCA, Webb’s EDD secures and administers grants from the U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Rural Development Housing Preservation grant (federal funds); Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, OCI, Self-Help Center program (state funds); and Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Contract-for-Deed program (state funds). LareDOS asked Vargas a few questions to determine whether or not it was his department’s priority to use TRCC registered contractors who could provide homeowners an enforceable warranty registered with the state. His answers were obtuse and at times disingenuous, particularly considering the number of over $20,000 rehabs that have been completed or are underway with state and federal money. Are all of the contractors that you use registered with the TRCC? The registration process that will cost $500.00 for a two-year registration with TRCC is a responsibility of the construction contractor. If the County was to use a small construction contractor for either new residential construction or a job that increases or decreases the total living space of a home or a job over $20,000 -- and this does not include the cost of roof construction -- then the County would require the construction contractor to be registered with TRCC. Webb County is required by one of its funding agencies to use a TRCC registered contractor when and if any of the factors listed above are part of the project. Do any of the contractors that you use not pay the $500 two-year registration, that is to ask are some of those contractors not registered? There may be some that are not registered. However, if the County had housing rehabilitation jobs that exceeded $20,000 excluding the roof or increased or decreased the living space of a home, then all bidders would be required to be registered with TRCC. When the cost of roof repairs is excluded, all of our work falls under $20,000 What other than the $500 check do these contractors have to present to the TRCC? Registering with TRCC is a construction contractor’s responsibility. To my knowledge, Webb County and this department has had very little to do with TRCC because they deal with residential construction only. Since I have not registered or dealt with TRCC, I do not know but I am sure there are various things that they must submit in order to register the company. TRCC is making a concerted effort to recognize these small contractors even if they change company names. The TRCC website includes several other items that are part of the registration process. Do you use only registered contractors? As you know, Webb County is only involved with residential housing when it implements housing rehabilitation programs. When roof costs are excluded, most housing rehab work falls under $20,000. However, the construction contracts are between the homeowner and the construction contractor. Webb County insures that all work is done according to specs and all work is approved by the homeowner before payment of any amount. Payments are scheduled according to work performed and after several inspections, the payment is made. The warranty is included in the construction contract and no additional work will be given to any contractor that does not meet their contractual obligations in any job. If the work is under $20,000 is some of it done by non-registered contractors? Remember, the $20,000 does not include the cost of roof construction or roof repairs. In other words, the overall house improvements may total $30,000 but if the roof reconstruction is $14,000, the house rehabilitation is only $16,000. The County awards to the lowest bidder based on bids submitted. The very small construction contractors are probably not registered. The County, through the Self-Help Center and this department has encouraged all construction contractors to register because there may come a day when all construction contractors in Texas will have to be registered regardless of the size of the job or the size of the company. Is the use of several funding sources for a rehab job a way to obviate having to comply with using a TRCC registered contractor? Why in the world would that thought even cross your mind? The size and type of rehab work that the County carries out does not require it but why would the County not want to comply with this simple requirement if it had to. What kind of worse case scenarios have there been for botched contracting jobs? CONTINUED ON PAGE 31 44 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News Texas Workforce Center delivers jobs and hope 24/7 Mario Tijerina helps Wal-Mart applicants with paperwork By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER H ope and gainful employment go together like natural partners, and they seldom exist apart from one another. Employment restores a sense of self worth and reclaimed dignity to a person who is down on his luck and not able to make a go of things since leaving or losing the last job. For others, since life and work are practically synonymous terms, finding a job where there was only need, yearning, and despair before has the effect of instilling a feeling of belonging in an individual who desires to make a positive mark in the world and be a contributing force in society. That’s where the Texas Workforce Center (TWC) comes into the picture. Employment is the byword at the TWC, and job seekers won’t find a better source of job opportunities, pre-gathered, culled, and categorized for the taking by interested and qualified applicants. To brighten the picture even more, the TWC works closely in conjunction with approximately 120 employers at any given time in an effort to fill specific job openings which they have posted with the agency. “We have two focused customers -- employers and job seekers -- and we try to make both happy by making quality matches,” said project director Patricia J. Hall. “In addition, our automated system at WorkInTexas.com opens the door statewide 24/7,” she added. Job seekers who come in and register at the agency are tracked by an expert team of employment services specialists who continually monitor the latest job openings that become available and seek to find matches to fill WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M those jobs from among the registered job seekers, matching personal skills and experience to job descriptions and preferred prerequisites. “We have an average of 3,500 job seekers per month and 700 job postings at any given time,” said Sandra Cortez, customer service supervisor for business services, who oversees this department. “We are open from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, at which time both our job specialists and computers are accessible,” she added. “Our employment service specialists,” she pointed out, “like helping people and are focused on customer service. Everyone’s mission is the same.” Yet the scope and depth of the services provided by the Texas Workforce Center are even greater, always with employment as the central objective. “We have our mobile unit, we hold job fairs which are very well attended, and we work with new large companies that come to town,” said Larry Sanchez, public relations and marketing specialist. “For example, we recently serviced 1,700 applicants who came in to interview for positions with the new Wal-Mart store, and we placed 380 individuals in new jobs with that firm. And we have been contacted by HEB regarding the new superstore they’re bringing in, and their job postings are already in our system,” he added. “Our mobile workforce center provides on site employment and training services plus 10 computers that provide online internet access to the WorkInTexas job website, and it services Webb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg counties.” Like its name implies, the mobile workforce center gets around quite a bit for the Workforce mobile unit reaches out to public convenience of parties that require ready access to TWC services. “We station it pretty much on a weekly basis at schools, probation offices, the Webb County Justice Center, and other public venues of easy access, for maximum utilization by the citizens,” Sanchez pointed out. “Our job fairs are held periodically throughout the year, and they serve a good purpose. They’re a rich source for direct contacts by job seekers with employer representatives equipped with loads of good information about good jobs,” he said. These job fairs are held in large facilities like the Laredo Civic Center, whose ample indoor space is strategically subdivided and utilized for individual information booths that are set up side-by-side by individual businesses. Each firm’s representatives greet job seekers who present themselves and answer questions for them, provide them with relevant brochures, and often make interview information available. No effort is spared by fair hosts and hostesses or booth personnel in encouraging enthusiastic participation by job seekers in attendance. Project director Hall pointed out that the TWC further addresses personal needs by partnering with major publicsensitive organizations like AARP. “We assist in their older Worker Program in helping older citizens locate meaningful employment,” she said. “Also, we work with the Small Business Development Center in assisting people who want to start their own businesses, we cooperate with the Texas Veterans Commission in efforts to accommodate the employment needs of military veterans, and we’re involved in the Migrant Education Train- ing program, helping address the special needs of seasonal farmworkers in a number of ways, including returning to school to widen their job horizons,” she added. Further education-related services provided by the TWC address the needs of many and diverse groups of citizens intent on bettering their lives and advancing their careers. Prime examples of these services are literacy training to ensure that adults have the basic skills for employment; training for adults, dislocated workers, and youth, including GED services; training, support, and employment for individuals affected by NAFTA; training, job search, and relocation allowances to qualified individuals who became unemployed due to increased imports; training under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families initiative (TANF); access to area adult education sources; training for Food Stamp recipients to assist them to become self-sufficient; and numerous vocational skills training programs, year-round youth programs, and a great variety of 40-minute job readiness sessions on a virtual daily basis. For years many unemployed Laredoans have perhaps thought of their local Texas Workforce Center as solely a place to become informed about applying for unemployment benefits, and indeed it still performs that important function. However, a closer look at the TWC today reveals a virtual mecca of golden opportunities for unemployed job seekers looking for a better lifestyle for themselves and their families.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 25 News Facts battle emotions for local school districts’ futures De la Viña, a teacher at Cigarroa High School and an LCC trustee, is the local field consultant for the TSTA. He noted that the ducation leaders seem to be coming “sacred cow” problem cut former LISD intogether and school districts could, terim superintendent Sylvia Bruni’s term too, but the clearest assessment of what’s short and that he has warned new interim needed might be from the outside. superintendent Veronica Guerra about it, United ISD board president John Bruce too. thinks it might be time for a consultant to Guerra replaces former superintendent come in -- without any local attachments, Daniel García, who was in office only or emotion -- and study the facts about nine months into a three-year contract, reconsolidation of UISD and Laredo ISD. signing on Dec. 31. García was the LISD’s “Somebody that knows school finance. fourth superintendent in five years, exiting Somebody that’s not on a team,” Bruce over a storm largely around adsaid. “If a bigger district is better ministrative reshuffling. LISD - how? It takes a lot more time to APPLES ORANGES trustees recently named Guerra turn around an aircraft carrier than interim super by a slim 4-3 marit does a small boat.” LISD UISD gin. Bruce can see a consolidated Enrollment 24,500 37,899 “There are many pressing isLaredo school district becoming Budget $174,000,000 $289,772,480 sues, and consolidation is gainthe largest local public entity with Tax Base ing momentum,” said Cavazos, $1,799,970,416 $7,744,346,887 more clout than most county ofNet Appraised Value who heads TSTA interests in $8,592 $7,277 fices. Bruce also believes some in- Avg. spent for student the LISD. “The community is 133 2,448 dividuals have financial interests Square Miles saying enough is enough, and in seeing one district, as that would Willman says the state has strict guide- ing to improve Laredo education. He said two bankers support it -- especially Mr. reduce the number of entities receiving lines for consolidation, which requires ap- he is aware of the quality of the education (Dennis) Nixon. their tax dollars. “But if we are going to consolidate it Bruce notes that there’s plenty of talk proval by voters in both districts and both of incoming high school graduates and the remediation courses many of them must should be for the kids, parents, and teacharound a proposal to consolidate the two school boards. Former Webb County Judge Mercu- first master before taking college math and ers, and we should get some bang for our Laredo school districts, but little fact aidbucks, and probably save on overhead. But rio Martinez served on the Laredo Junior English for credit. ing anyone’s point. LCC board resolutions aim to enhance we’ve got to have an open forum. We can’t “The devil is in the details,” he said. College (LJC) board of trustees when it “We hear a lot of rhetoric, but that might also oversaw Laredo ISD issues and has collaboration between boards and ad- keep the public out.” Cavazos, a teacher at Martin High returned to Laredo Community College’s ministrators, Texas A&M International be personal.” Bruce says the matter could come down board. LCC trustees are behind a pair of University leadership and the business School, credited former late LISD superto a local election and if voters decide for a resolutions aimed at getting local educa- and professional community. More intendent Vidal Treviño with having the consolidated district, there would be little tors together -- to speak with each other specific goals include developing a lo- foresight to see the benefits of televised cal education master plan, coordinating school board meetings, which air on publeft for board members to do. “I oppose and not at each other. Martinez is not involved in LISD mat- curriculum, improving funding, helping lic access TV. consolidation,” Bruce said. “I don’t think “He saw into the future. LISD is ahead ters, but is mindful of that district’s prob- new immigrants learn English and get that’s right for our school district.” Bruce says leaders need to know how lems and frequent superintendent turn- an education, and supporting employee on access. I think combined it would help benefits and pay hikes for inflation and the telecommunications for all,” Cavazos consolidation might effect the district and over. said of consolidated facilities. “Something has to be done,” Martinez rising costs. its students. Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) Balboa, TSTA’s UISD representative, and Texas Education Agency funding con- said. “It is not looking good.” Martinez said the much smaller, rural representatives and teachers Rene de la a teacher at Nye Elementary, said United sultant Phu Nguyen said it is unlikely that two large school districts would con- Webb Consolidated schools have been Viña, Blanca Balboa, and Hilario Cavazos board meetings are taped, but public comsolidate, noting that most consolidating mentioned in some consolidation dis- attribute the relationship beteween poli- ment portions are cut out and scheduled cussions, but doesn’t believe they have a tics and administration problems in both at the end of the meetings when most of involves smaller schools. Nguyen said a recent exception was place in any potential merger with Laredo districts for doubling their membership to those attending have left. some 2,500 in two years. Balboa and de la Viña can’t attribute when Wilmer-Hutchins schools were schools. They say previous LISD superinten- the UISD’s bashful ways to anything more Martinez is sure more discussion will forced to join the Dallas school district by be heard before any action is taken. “Let’s dents have lost their jobs for not respecting than a desire to hush dissent and not hear court order. any serious challenges to their authority. Nguyen added that he hadn’t heard of hope something good comes out of all of the space of “sacred cow” administrators. “And if you touch them, they’ll get you “Rosie Cruz is at every meeting, and she any proposal in Laredo, but said splitting this,” he said. Martinez taught at LJC from 1959 to ’68 fired, or make your life so miserable and brings up a lot of tough questions,” Balboa large districts is more common than putand is in his third term on the community make you want to quit,” de la Viña said. said of the frequent meeting attendee. ting them together. “What is there to hide?” asked de la The word consolidated attached to a college’s board, having filled in after Har- “There are administrators you can’t touch, Viña.u old Yeary’s death in 1979 for a couple of criticize, or tell anything to.” large district can be deceiving, however. By MIKE McILVAIN E 26 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD) in the Houston suburbs has three large Class 5A high schools in a growth area, but consolidation occurred there between 1946 and 1950 before the big city grew to and around it in force. LCISD spokesperson Christy Willman says schools in Richmond and Rosenberg consolidated that first year after World War II and were joined by nine other local community school districts in the following years. years.* LCC board vice president Cynthia Mares said consolidation could get more local academic scrutiny through the combined efforts of Laredo educators under the resolutions. “It could be a project,” she said of the consolidation issue. “It could definitely be a spinoff. The key is to get the leaders together.” The resolutions are credited to LCC board president Pete Saenz and aim beyond consolidation considerations, seek- WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News VIDA endorses Lake Casa Blanca as secondary water source By PENELOPE WARREN W ith new officers and new members, and its old passion for social justice alive and kicking, Voices in Democratic Action (VIDA) voted on February 10 to support the Río Grande International Study Center’s proposal that Lake Casa Blanca be designated as Laredo and Webb County’s secondary/ emergency water source. The proposal, presented by Dr. Jim Earhart and Malia Watson, calls for cooperation with the city and county in exploring the feasibility of drawing on the resources of the Lake in the event of a toxic spill or terrorist action upstream of the Jefferson Street Water Treatment Plant intake, or in the less likely case of drought severe enough to deplete the Amistad Reservoir above Del Río. Possible components of the plan include dredging the Lake, the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on the Chacón watershed that would release treated water into the Lake through a series of constructed wetlands, and the combination of the Chacón and Zacate Creek watersheds to insure sustainability of the Lake. Dr. Earhart and Gerry Pinzón had previously given the presentation at a meeting of VIDA’s Social and Environmental Justice Committee, chaired by Dr. Earhart. The Committee unanimously recommended that the organization support the proposal, and the membership meeting passed the motion without exception. In other business, VIDA heard Education Committee reports on Laredo Independent School District’s attempts at reorganization and the proposal being floated to combine LISD with the United Independent School District. Hilario Cavazos, VIDA Vice-Chair, noted that consolidation into a single superdistrict of about 65,000 students would cut overhead while strengthening curricula. It is not, however, clear at this point how school property taxes would be affected. Rolando Hererra, Education Committee Chair, presented information on developmental classes at Laredo Community College, where enrollment in remedial courses remains high. VIDA will address these issues at the March meeting. VIDA has a long and distinguished history in Laredo. Founded in the WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M 1960s by Dr. Hector Farías and Richard Geissler, Voices in Democratic Action was instrumental in bringing minimum wage to the city. The group picketed the Southland Café and Deliganis Cafeteria, both on Salinas Street facing Jarvis Plaza, and forced them to raise their workers’ paychecks. Over the years, VIDA has filed a number of lawsuits against local politicians in both the city and county, with fireworks resulting. The organization has been especially dogged in its pursuit of questionable financial dealings in Laredo Independent School District and in demanding transparency from the board of Laredo Community College in its fiscal and educational practices. Last fall, the group reorganized after a year and a half of inaction. New officers were elected in November, and currently number Roberta Bobbie Morales as organization chair, Hilario Cavazos as vice-chair, Jesse Porras as treasurer, Penelope Warren as secretary, George Altgelt as parliamentarian, and José Gomez as sergeant-at-arms. Committee chairs include Dr. Earhart as head of the Social and Environmental Justice Committee; Rolando Herrera and René de la Viña as co-chairs of the Education Committee; George Altgelt as chair of the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee; and Penelope Warren as chair of the Communications Committee. VIDA’s plans for the future include the production of a non-partisan voters’ guide similar to that produced by San Antonio’s League of Women Voters. “We’re looking to bring a new level of awareness and participation to VIDA’s work,” said Morales. “VIDA is seeking to be inclusive of all the people of Laredo and Webb County -- all ethnicities, all income levels, all languages, all walks of life. We want to be at the forefront of positive change for our community, and we want to achieve that by forging relationships with local governments, educational institutions and other agencies. Juntos podemos -- together we can achieve great things for the benefit of the people of Laredo and Webb County.” VIDA’s next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, at 9:30 AM in the fifth-floor conference room of the Rialto Hotel at 1219 Matamoros. The public is invited.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 27 Entertainment Grupo Fantasma making bigger, louder, more visible tracks in music business By MIKE McILVAIN G rupo Fantasma is very much alive and flying high with an effective manager in Mike Crowley and the attention of the Prince. “Laredo,” a corrido they sing on occasions, is printed in Hecho en Tejas -- An Anthology of Texas Mexican Literature -- alongside the works of other well-known Texas musicians Selena, Little Joe Hernandez, Freddy Fender, Sunny Ozuna, Roberto Pulido, Conjunto Atzlan, Laura Canales, Tish Hinojosa, Lydia Mendoza and Chingo Bling, but Fantasma’s current streak could propel them well past the rest in the book. “They are a great band,” Crowley said by phone from his home in Austin. “Nobody ever accused the music business of being fair, but hopefully we will get these guys where they should be.” Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada credits Crowley, a longtime veteran of the U.S. music scene, with taking the Laredoinfluenced Latin funk, cumbia, and hip hop mix band to new heights in recent months. Fantasma played with Prince in Florida prior to the Super Bowl, played for CBS execs before the big game, and picked up several gigs in Las Vegas at Prince’s 3121 Club and for a Golden Globes after party in Los Angeles. Austin-based Fantasma is so busy it only plays about once a month in the capital city. Fantasma’s visibility in Hecho is in a twopage spread with the corrido “Laredo,” which the 11-member group usually plays when it occasionally returns here. Quesada, guitarist and cuatro player Beto Martinez, bass man Greg Gonzalez, and drummer Johnny Lopez III are all from Laredo. The band’s traveling concessions salesman Gilbert Mendoza is also from Laredo. Ironically, “Laredo” is one of their few numbers that they didn’t write. Quesada said it’s an old corrido, and they were published in newly printed Hecho because the book’s editor, Dagoberto Gilb, knows them. Gilb is the author of several books, teaches at Texas State in San Marcos, and lives in Austin. Quesada notes that Crowley helped author musical success for the Cars and Jimmie Dale Gilmore a number of years after working on some of Elvis Presley’s tours in the 1950s, which included several rural dance hall appearances. Quesada also credits Crowley with connecting them to Prince and possibilities of 28 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Grupo Fantasma Laredoans at the Jalapeno Festival. recording with the well-known rock star. “We were playing in Las Vegas every Thursday night and backing up Prince,” Quesada said. “Thank God we flew to Vegas. We are still busy without him, and we’ve been talking about working on an album with him.” either of their two 15-seat vans. And those who volunteer to drive generally decide what music plays on the radio, which can be as varied as the music Fantasma plays on stage. Fantasma fans seldom ever hear them on radio because they don’t cater to that media. Grupo Fantasma returns to Laredo on March 9 at Las Cananas. One of Fantasma’s rare recent Austin gigs was a charity event for Las Manitas restaurant, which is being moved out of its Congress Avenue site in a property takeover. Fantasma was interviewed on Austin’s ME Television on Feb. 9 and said they expect touring to return them to Canada, where they played last year, too. Fantasma’s other recent gigs have been in Georgia, Mississippi, and New York, frequently leaving group members to drive “We don’t write to get on radio,” Quesada said. “We do what we do. We’re into the band being ourselves. If something gets picked up it’s OK, if not that’s OK, too.” Crowley says getting a band’s music heard on radio is not nearly as important as it was with so many other ways for fans to download music now. Getting on radio is good, but not the key to success it once was, and Crowley says Fantasma is already gaining the notoriety radio-successful bands have had in evidence through recent events. Crowley would know. His resumé includes work with famed musicians such as John Denver, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, the Pointer Sisters, and Joe Ely. He also worked for Concerts West in Seattle, Wash. and in California until moving to Austin with his wife in the 1980s. Crowley says Fantasma puts itself in position to be successful because the 11 parts all fit together so very well -- and practice, practice, practice. “They are a great live band and they practice every Tuesday,” Crowley said. “It’s something like a very exceptional football team. They practice and practice. “You see it when they are playing. There are not any surprises. They all know what each other is doing.” Crowley likes listening to Fantasma for that fine, natural, professional touch and its fusion of styles. “It all comes together in their own way,” he said. Crowley says Fantasma will be back in the recording studio soon and new songs like “Revoltar,” which was played for the 200 or so braving temperatures in the low 50s at the Jalapeño Festival, are expected to be on the next CD. “Revoltar” carried a sound and time like one that could go to radio stations, but that media is only one consideration nowadays. Crowley isn’t sure where all of the group’s successes could take them, but doesn’t see any barriers -- other than the group’s size -- getting in their way. Airfare for 11 is considerably more than it is for the typical band roughly half that size. Crowley would like to take the band to the Montreux music festival held each year in July on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, but taking the 11 usually means 13 or 14 make the trip when summer airfares and hotels are at their highest. Switzerland isn’t cheap, either. Montreux was a milestone in Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan’s career -- booed off the stage one year before returning to thunderous approval the next. “I’d love to go to Montreux, but we need someone who’ll pay for it,” Crowley said, whose confidence in Fantasma isn’t based on his own viewpoint. Crowley recalls another musician at the Montreal festival in Canada saying “that band dominates.” And it’s true,” Crowley said. “It’s going to happen.”u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Entertainment Primer Impacto’s Dandrades – man in motion By MIKE McILVAIN Primer Impacto’s Tony Dandrades jumped off his man-in-motion life for an instant to represent KLDO-TV in the George Washington’s Birthday parade, but he says he wasn’t just floating by. Dandrades covers entertainment, sports, and is the backpacker who visits cities, mostly in the Americas, for the Univision show, which carries the top local television ratings for the 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. slot on Saturday and Sunday. Dandrades talks to Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and usually handles “happy” news for his Univision show, but it can swing the other direction when things go bad for such stars. Dandrades credits Univision producer Mabel Dieppa with giving him the flexibility to use his training and talents, which make covering any type of news thrown at him. “She is a good producer. She helps me with everything,” Dandrades said, but notes that Dieppa also knows when to step back and let him handle the fine details. Unlike many other TV journalists at the network level, Dandrades can also edit video, which he learned in his university days at Inter-American in Puerto Rico when he interned with local commercial stations. The 38-year-old Dominican Republic native and married father of an 18month-old girl lives in Miami, Fla. when home, but he often includes the wife and daughter in his worldly treks. He was joined by family for a month when covering last year’s World Cup in Germany. But Dandrades liked what he saw in his parade visit to Laredo and says he is considering doing a backpack show here. He’s gone to hotter spots -- or those Laredo’s equal -- in trips to places like Yuma, Arizona. Dandrades notes some light acting and stunt work in some of his backpack shows, and one or two can be a bit scary, but he is happy doing what he does despite the drawbacks. “I love what I am doing. I have wanted to do this since I was a kid,” he said when visiting KLDO’s studios for the first time on the day of the parade. “He’s not just here for work. It’s beautiful that he came. Usually, it takes nine months to get someone down from the network,” KLDO manager Terry Ordaz said. “But we just called and it was OK. “It shows how dedicated he is to the viewers.” Marketron says Dandrades’ Primer Impacto has a healthy 11.7 rating and 29.3 audience share in Laredo for the last year in its time slot. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 29 At the dedication of the WBCA plaque downtown are from left to right Amando Chapa, LULAC #12; Cristy B. Alexander, 2007 WBCA Poster Artist; James A. Notzon, 2007’s George Washington: Adrienne Treviño, 2007’s Martha Washington; Luke Bentley Lamberth, US Abrazo Child; Richard R. Valls, Jr., WBCA President; Raquel Irene Barrientos Cardenas, US Abrazo Child; Dariela Maria Gomez Lozano, Mexican Abrazo Child; Maximiliano Arguindegui Mounetou, Mexican Abrazo Child; Dr. Roberto Juarez of the Webb County Historical Society; Kristian Denise Martinez, 2007 Princess Pocahontas; Brian Moreno, 2007 Chief; and Maria Cristina Dovalina of the Princess Pocahontas Council. 30 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Photo by Armando Saldaña WBCA plaque dedication WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Entertainment Taste of Laredo: savory, user friendly, enjoyed by hordes of hungry attendees By MIKE McILVAIN B esides the pitter-patter of savory food tap dancing upon your taste buds, the annual Taste of Laredo has become one of the best places to watch people. The surges of humanity rolling along the Laredo Entertainment Center floor, taking helpless but eventually full and smiling tasters along with them of past years, are gone. This year’s event showed a more direct, already decided and patient motion, leading to more lines. Most lines moved quickly and just enough adequate standing room made eating more possible without any embarrassing spills all over clothing, friends, and family. The eyes said “I’m hungry,” and the faces said “I know where I’m going” - all moving to the largely rock and country tunes of Little Sister up above on stage. Staying out of their way is the best move. Watching from above where barCONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 As of today, only one construction contractor has abandoned the job and that occurred when Hurricane Katrina pulled as many of the small contractors as possible to New Orleans. With dreams that they would be paid three to four times more for the same amount of work, one small company left the job here with the job only 40% completed. Since the County only pays for work completed and then holds an additional 10% retainage off of each payment, the County was able to select another small contractor to come in and finish the job without any additional funds or problems. What role does the county play in making a contractor honor a warranty? At the present time, the one-year warranty is included in their construction contract and Webb County self monitors these situations. The County will not award a construction contractor any work to any contractor that has not completely met their contractual responsibilities in previous jobs. However, this is a good question for the County Attorney’s office. As of WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M tenders dared to battle each other was the safest place and a good observation point to see the currents of humanity run about the concrete-based oblong, but unlike the past, this year’s event saw more straight ahead intention than gowith-the-flow as established, popular restaurants drew the more visible lines. Even Bucks hockey players, leading their league and available for autographs, seemed to go unseen near the LEC entrance as taste buds were in control, moving the crowd’s palettes to their plates. Newcomer sushi restaurant Posh, working with an aggressive team of helpers, managed to pass out plenty of cards and samples from its side midway position to take top honors from the voting public and judges for taste. It was hard to get past Posh without something falling into hand or mouth. Posh might look like a small place when passing by on Shiloh, but it obviously has a large appeal. Asian fare was otherwise not as vis- ible as in past years with Emperor Garden, which won several honors, not participating. La India’s small but very savory offerings were a smooth and pleasuring good early stop. Energy drink Bomba proved tastier in the light color than dark, and both Italian restaurants offered good stop-and-absorb-the-moment tastes. The various Mexican restaurants played to their loyal followings, capturing much of those visible lines, which made getting there early the most recommended move. The second was consciously walking off those calories right away, watching latecomers catch up while hearing their comments. The chefs and bartenders provided good side shows, but this year’s bartending competitors were a bit more conservative than last year’s, opting for a less ostentatious effort with very little canister tossing when mixing ingredients. Club Eros’ runners-up crew of David Valdez and Eric Perales went over the top -- literally -- when Pera- les stood on the bar to pour samples to thirsty, cheering fans. Coyote Creek’s Carmina Aguilar and Virginia Hutto took bartending competition, mixing up drinks that drew praise for a userfriendly taste. Valdez and Perales did well, too, but were hit with a 10 second time penalty. Italian restaurants finished first and third with Bernard Rodriguez of Johnny Carino’s on top. La Posada’s Steven Ginsburg was the runner-up and Olive Garden’s Raul García third. Teocalli’s colorful exhibit, with smiling Dinorah Perez catching the eye in a detail-oriented imitation of famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo at work on her self-portrait, was the Best Decorated, followed by relative newcomers Embassy Suites and the Laredo Taco Company. This year’s early February event added and subtracted wrinkles and sprinkles of taste from its predecessors, but always proves to be a good one for eye and tongue.u today, this situation has never come up. If the contractor doesn’t make good on a warranty, does Webb County pick up the bill? Another good question for the County Attorney’s office. Since this has never happened, I am not sure. However, since the contract is between the homeowner and the construction contractor, and the warranty is in the contract, I believe a lawsuit would be in order. How many homeowners have come back with allegations of faulty construction? As of today, none and none have been filed with the State or our funding agencies. The checks and balances, constant on-site inspections and the payment method of payment for only work performed are in place to address most issues before they become a problem. There have been issues where a color selected by the homeowner looks “different” once it is on the wall or issues with “I said, he said” but very minor and all have been resolved to the satisfaction of the homeowner, the construction contractor, and the County.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 31 32 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 33 T Business Feature Sames’ Tires for Life program makes customers for life Observing Black History Month ires for life? That doesn’t seem like a concept you’d put much store in, except that the offer for replacement tires for the life of your car is coming from Sames Motor Company, the city and the state’s oldest auto dealership. Is there a catch? Only that you run the routine factory maintenance of your Sames-purchased Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, or Honda through the Quick Lane facility across the street from the dealership -- maintenance that includes oil changes, filter changes, transmission service, and tire rotation. CEO Hank Sames called the Tires for Life program a “win-win proposition” for the dealership’s customers. “Customers will get free tires as long as they own their vehicle in return for bringing their vehicle to Sames for maintenance. By keeping up with regular maintenance, their car will perform better, last longer, and because we have the maintenance records, will be worth more when they are ready to trade. We want to keep customers coming back. Tires for Life to us really means customers for life,” he said, adding that the agency’s service department is highly competitive with other dealerships and small oil and lube shops. Sames said Quick Lube technicians will measure the tires every time the customer comes in, and when the tread reaches 8/32”, 34 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 the tires will be replaced with the original factory tire. He noted that 3/32” tread is required to pass state inspection. “Tires can be replaced up to once a year,” Sames said. The Tires for Life program honors the original tire or vehicle manufacture’s road hazard policy; however, no additional road hazard coverage is added. Commuters or those who incur high mileage will benefit from the program. The new business model has received a good deal of feedback and obviously a number of questions because the program is unordinary. “Once customers realize that there’s no hook here, and that it’s as simple as doing basic maintenance on the vehicle you purchased from us, it’s pretty simple to get behind the idea, which we think reflects our commitment to our customers at Sames and getting Tires for Life from Sames, it’s our commitment to our customers,” said Mike Cortez, General Manager of Sames Motor Company. “We want to reward our customers for being loyal to us, whether it’s buying a new vehicle, maintaining your vehicle, or having a shiny new set of tires placed on your car for free,” Cortez said. For more information, call Sames Motor Company at (956) 721-4700 or visit their showrooms at I-35 at the Mann Road exit in Laredo.u Curt Flood: THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER T he late Curt Flood (1938–1997) is undoubtedly is one of the most important and influential athletes in the history of professional sports. He belongs on a short list of watershed performers along with Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Tiger Woods. Flood an All-Star center fielder and leadoff hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals, led the National League in hits (211) in 1964, batted over .300 six times, won seven Gold Gloves for his fielding, and helped the Cardinals win three World Series titles. But he is best remembered for earning upwards of a billion dollars -- for other people, not for himself. For it was the 5’7” Curt Flood who in 1970 coined the expression “free agent” in a bid to challenge the vise grip of management on player freedom, while owners grew insanely rich and the players, who did all the work, labored for peanuts. That vise grip, courtesy of the infamous “reserve clause” in the Major League charter, limited players to one team for life, and deprived them of any say-so on matters of salary, which the owners conspired to keep deflated. Flood lost the suit when the Supreme Court decided in favor of ownership “for the good of the game.” Flood retired in 1971, having never been paid more than $90,000 for a baseball season, but the reserve clause was stricken down in Congress in 1975, opening the game up to free agency and enabling players to negotiate their salaries and choose the team for whom they would play. In today’s Major Leagues, 47 different players make $300,000 per year, baseball’s minimum salary. The median salary is $1.4 million and Ken Griffey, Jr., is playing on a 9-year, $116,000,000 contract. Fortunately for professional basketball and football players, and all other pro athletes worldwide, their own unions, motivated by the “Curt Flood Rule,” stepped up to the plate and hit the long ball for their clients, making Curt Flood all professional athletes’ primary benefactor. Curtis Charles Flood, born in Houston and raised in Oakland, died of throat cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 59 in 1978. Countless athletes, fans, franchise owners, coaches, trainers, publicity agents, television networks and outlets, host cities, and stadium owners and concessions personnel, and wholesale and retail firms and facilities dealing in sports-related products and parphernalia the world over, will forever be in this great African American’s debt.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 35 36 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Photo by Armando Saldaña The Imaginarium of South Texas opens its doors Director Sylvia Bruni cuts the ribbon on The Imaginarium of South Texas at Mall del Norte. A name change for the Laredo Children’s Museum and a move to the Mall bode well for the non-profit dedicated to learning through play. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 37 Literary Classics V “Fern Hill” - by Dylan Thomas The best poem my teacher never covered them all make a bundle. Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER B ob Dylan once angrily quipped at a 1965 press conference, “I’ve done more for Dylan Thomas than he ever did for me!” Time is apparently proving him right, although his brash, egocentric statement of 1965 seemed peevish and self-serving at the time. The American Nobel Prize nominee for 2006 has always readily admitted to having changed his name from Zimmerman to Dylan in honor of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1917-1953), the first Dylan on the literary scene; however, the legendary songwriter’s success and namefame have proven to be the coattails that carried the obscure Welshman onto the literary radar screen. But it has been the 38 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 merits of Thomas’s poetic legacy that have made him a modern-day superstar of the first magnitude. And “Fern Hill” is arguably the most famous and well-loved poem he ever wrote. The rise to prominence of Dylan Thomas is a universal phenomenon, even though as late as the late 1960s his reputation even in his native Wales was in doubt. Not even his home-grown Celtic compatriots could make up their minds whether to claim him or blame him -- claim him for his Gaelic genius or blame him for his “Welsh wino” image in the public’s perception. Maybe the last few decades have made people more accepting of demigods with feet of clay, in a manner of speaking. Thomas’ meteoric rise from outhouse to penthouse has been of mythical proportions, I say, and I make this claim as a Janus-headed eyewitness to the man’s metamorphosis. I mean, a young man just as 20-years-old to the nanosecond as I was in late June 1969, made a sort of Dylan Thomas pilgrimage to picture postcardesque Swansea, Wales, and could hardly find a soul who let on to even know who Dylan Thomas was, much less who would admit that the blue-collar, Nazi-bombarded burg was notable or notorious for anything other than as a company town run by and for the famous firm that made Wilkinson Sword Blades. Compare that with this morning when I checked out the Dylan Thomas website and found: City and County of Swansea – “Swansea is proud of being the birthplace of Dylan Marlais Thomas and also proud to host an annual Dylan Thomas Festival.” All levity aside, it seems obvious that the Thomas heirs have persuaded the Swansea Chamber of Commerce to “see” there was once a “swan” in their midst who can help Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green, The night above the dingle starry, Time let me hail and climb Golden in the heydays of his eyes, And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves Trail with daisies and barley Down the rivers of the windfall light. And as I was green and carefree, famous among barns About the happy yard and singing as the farm was home, In the sun that is young once only, Time let me play and be Golden in the mercy of his means, And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman, the calves Sang to my horn, the foxes on the hill barked clear and cold, And the Sabbath rang slowly In the pebbles of the holy streams. All the sun long it was running, it was lovely, the hay Fields high as high as the house, the tunes from the chimneys, it was air And playing, lovely and watery And fire green as grass. And nightly under the simple stars As I rode to sleep the owls were bearing the farm away, All the moon long I heard, blessed among stables, the nightjars Flying with the ricks, and the horses Flashing into the dark. And then to awake, and the farm, like a wanderer white With the dew, come back, the cock on his shoulder: it was all Shining, it was Adam and maiden, The sky gathered again And the sun grew round that very day. So it must have been after the birth of the simple light In the first, spinning place, the spellbound horses walking warm Out of the whinnying green stable On to the fields of praise. And honoured among foxes and pheasants by the gay house Under the new made clouds and happy as the heart was long, In the sun born over and over, I ran my heedless ways, My wishes raced through the house high hay And nothing I cared, at my sky blue trades, that time allows In all his tuneful turning so few and such morning songs Before the children green and golden Follow him out of grace, Nothing cared, in the lamb white days, that time would take me Up to the swallow thronged loft by the shadow of my hand, In the moon that is always rising, Nor that riding to sleep I should hear him fly with the hay fields And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land. Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, Time held me green and dying Though I sang in my chains like the sea. Childhood Viewed as Life’s Eden I still consider my first, youthful reading of “Fern Hill” my favorite. But if you’re not particularly young when you read it for the first or the hundredth time, you’ll feel like you still were, or realize that you’re young at heart, just like the poet when he wrote it. For how basic and elemental are the poem’s most fetching features -- an extended comparison of childhood to an Edenic yesterday that never fades if the heart is receptive; vivid, original, surprising phraseology that delights the inner animal; and animals, and Nature’s other simple staples -- her sky, her sun, her sea, her rainbow of colors, and her ineluctable changing! And how convincing and persuasive are the poet’s acceptance and celebration of Nature’s wondrous ways! And, of course, what a feast of fabulous, fascinating language!u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Literature The canon to the right of us “ BY WILLIAM H. WISNER he peerless literary critic Northrop Frye once termed the Bible, “this great, sprawling, tactless book” that lay in middle of the Western literary tradition, confounding complete understanding, yet still immoveable. The same is true of the Western literary tradition itself and its great books - a much-maligned animal these days in both feminist and ethnic studies circles. The latter groups managed to co-opt the reign of deconstruction and postmodern literary theory extant in the past 20 years and spin it to their own ends: to attempt to destroy the white, European, male hegemony called the “canon” of literature, a corpus of the finest works in the Western tradition from Homer to at least Kafka and Joyce. There aren’t more than a hundred or so monumental works of this type, and it can seem like a pretty exclusive enterprise -- but the criteria for getting into it are not based on anything more radical than being a genius, a rare enough phenomena in any generation. And the canon certainly has expanded to include women, including the Bronte sisters and the absolutely incomparable Emily Dickinson, an intellect so formidable you can have nightmares about meeting her in a dark alley. If, as Harold Bloom has insisted, entrance into the canon is based on unmatched and vivacious originality, we can expect that more women and minorities will enter it as a matter of course, now that political constraints on these groups have been relaxed -- but talent of this kind cannot just be summoned up for reasons T William Shakespeare WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M And the canon certainly has expanded to include wom- en, including the Bronte sisters and the absolutely incomparable Emily Dickinson, an intellect so formidable you can have nightmares about meeting her in a dark alley. on tragedy, a work that affected the entire Western perception of this form, his companion work on comedy has never been found. Perhaps it exists, in an Arabic translation in some tiny scriptoria in the Middle East. If it ever were found, it would be like discovering a lost monumental marble by Michelangelo, as large and important as the David or the Pieta. The resenters seem to harbor more ethnic hostility than their white counterparts ever did. White European males like Plato, Descartes, and Kafka have nothing to apologize for in being products of their times, just as those who have made history are hardly expected to apologize for how history operates to perpetuate their memory. It is intellectually adolescent to think that history is not a record of the conquerors. When wasn’t it? A canon of African American literature, and women’s literature, will certainly evolve on its own -- using Bloom’s identical criteria -- as time passes, assuming that the political and legal reforms which have liberated these groups remain in place. What is facile in the feminist and ethnic attacks on the canon is their smug presumption that’s it is somehow easy to get into the canon at all, even for white males. Nothing could be further from the truth. The geniuses who inhabit the canon’s rarified air were often driven, manic personalities who endured incredible neglect and personal hardship to make their contribution. The prevailing patronage systems of the day were often ruthless in shutting out new talent -- not ” of political correctness, certainly not in a generation or two. Maya Angelou and Alice Walker are not Cervantes or Dickinson, or even Dickens, although we might like their works a very great deal. Literary canons get built out of peoples’ natural desire to read, and, as Bloom also suggests, the problem of what we should read -- what is the best of its kind -- is a perennial, but still joyful, difficulty. Canonical works like Don Quixote or “Romeo and Juliet” have appealed to people ever since they became extant, and they have endured because they keep moving us in ways we find we cannot do without. Such a process of repetition results, over the centuries, in a radical weeding effect, a kind of aesthetic selection process every bit as ruthless as that found in nature. Contrary to allegations from the schools of resentment (Bloom’s phrase again), canons are not immutable or fixed: they obviously do change, within slowly-evolving limits. While nothing can dislodge Homer or Dante, new works, as they enter, change our perception of every other work in the canonical structure, reaching all the way back to Homer and Dante. The most recent additions (we might think here of Faulkner, Hemingway, or T. S. Eliot) may seem canonical to us -- it is hard to imagine a literary universe without them; but the truth is, their contributions have only been made in the last hundred years. Of the three authors I have just cited, Hemingway is without question the weakest; he is unlikely to survive much longer. Time is no healer -- and in the case of recent works, one can never be sure who will really be around in, say, another 500 years. Just as important, we cannot even be certain that the most important twentieth century author has even been discovered yet. Dickinson’s poetry was almost burned by her sister Lavinia after her death; Lavinia had no idea her sister Emily had written poetry, even though they lived in the same house all their lives. It was only Lavinia’s last-minute decision to get a second opinion about the several mysterious, tied bundles of paper in her hands that saved Emily’s precious work from the fire. In the last century, some entirely unknown author, burrowed away, may have been quietly at work turning out book after book, with no interest in publishing a thing until, after her death, she was discovered. The canon, in short, far from being “inevitable,” is oftentimes the result of pure contingency. Parts of it are famously missing: although we have Aristotle’s treatise Miguel de Cervantes Emily Dickinson CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 44 Homer LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 39 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 even Mozart, the most effortless musical prodigy in history, could break through the stupidity of the Viennese court and the politics cushioning its own favored musicians. Time and again, from Marx to Van Gogh, we read biographies of men racked by economic hardship, poverty, class prejudice, or just plain mental illness. What sort of conspiracy is that? Entrance into the canon was always a lonely, unforgiving, misunderstood, punishing lesson in aesthetic neglect and public humiliation. No one with any sense would go there; but to the credit of the West, white, European men did so again and again, and in the process they shaped the Western identity and made it like no other -- the most supple and articulate unfolding of human intellect the world has ever known. These authors and artists are the chief pride of the West, and our true heroes. They will be joined in the future by people of every gender and race, so long as humanity keeps writing, so long as we keep crucifying ourselves in the name of something like the truth. Feminist and ethnic studies critics are certainly taking a chance sleeping with deconstruction as a means of gaining validity. It’s like dancing the tango with a white shark who claims to be misunderstood. Certainly deconstruction is hostile to traditional critical norms and to the canon of literature itself -- but then it is hostile toward all literary forms of whatever origin. Deconstruction substitutes the local and the relative for universal and truthbased forms of knowing. It is an assault on epistemology as an idea. If Shakespeare is meaningless -- or, at least, of interchangeable value with an Archie comic book - who can doubt that Charlotte Bronte or “ tions.” And who on earth ever didn’t think language was inherently imprecise, as the deconstructionists have claimed? Linguistic imprecision is the basis for all poetic resonance, down through the ages. The re-statement of old questions in new dissertations designed to augment ambitious little graduate students seeking careers -that is what deconstruction became when it arrived in America from France, trailing its over-adulation of a few thin thinkers like Derrida and Foucault, and repeating The geniuses who inhabit the canon’s rarified air were often driven, manic personalities who endured incredible neglect and personal hardship to make their contribution. Ralph Ellison cannot suffer the same fate? The problem with deconstruction from the beginning is that it never said anything new -- it only said it in terms more vague, vulgar, and pseudo-scholarly. Deconstructionists are the great sophists of academe precisely because they evade answering questions directly. It’s actually part of their method. Relativism, hardly an original idea, is at least as old as Nietzsche, who said, “there are no facts, only interpreta- they do not become fossilized. The literary canon, viewed rightly, is not some exclusive and unchanging hierarchy, but a tapestry of influences and cross-questionings. The West, as Maynard Hutchins points out, is the only tradition in which great minds talk to one another in a kind of evolving, back and forth conversation, which we, as readers, are privileged to overhear, and even contribute to through dialogue with our intellectual friends. The women and minorities who now malign the West’s conversation forget that their own political rights were won through the application of the canon’s political treatises in their favor. With wondrous irony, they have inherited Bloom’s concept of the anxiety of influence, a conscious sense of resented influence. The canon is much larger than temporal political agendas, however, and incomparably stronger than the resenters could ever be. Make no mistake. The canon’s validity is so robust and so self-evident only graduate students, or many of their professors, may still dispute it. Even in an age as disintegrated as ours, the West still recognizes itself in timeless wonder. It is unimaginable that it will ever lose that identity, despite the unkind and thoughtless challenges which have appeared in its path.u ” their names with tiresome regularity like a ring tone you can’t turn off. Postmodernism resembled a pretentious New York art opening gone berserk, a party which, for 20 years, never closed its doors or stopped serving warm white wine. The young are especially vulnerable to professorial hooha like this, and, alas, deconstruction seduced a generation. Cultures require centering, just as they require some degree of flexibility so that Alzheimer’s Support Group Meeting Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, Meeting Room 1 call 723-1707 Parkinson’s Support Group Meeting Monday, March 12, 2007 at 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, first floor, Community Center call 723-8470 or 285-3126. 40 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Entertainment Hecho en Tejas anthology premiers at TSU’s Alkek Library By MIKE McILVAIN S AN MARCOS - Hecho en Tejas was printed in New Mexico, but authors, contributors, and several behind the 522page anthology want to see it bridging understanding in Texas classrooms. “This should have been on paper a lot sooner and help link us to all the voices left to be unleashed,” Tony Diaz, a panel member and Houston-based media boss, said at the book’s launch on the campus of Texas State University. “Much as I want Hecho en Tejas to be a book that lands in as many high schools and colleges as it can -- and should! -- or touches as many Michaels and Jennifers, Miguels, and Raquels as possible, I also want it to reach everyday readers of all kinds who love Texas,” wrote editor Dagoberto Gilb in the introduction. “I want it to be a book that so many can learn from, both the young who don’t know and the old who do but want it remembered, both those inside the culture and outside. “I want this book to overwhelm the ignorance -- and I emphasize the ‘ignore’ root of that word as much as its dumb or mean or nasty connotation -- about Raza here in Texas, the people who settled and were settled and still remain in Texas, who will soon be the largest population group in the state, not to mention the region beyond.” Hecho en Tejas -- an anthology of Texas Mexican literature -- is loaded with wellwritten and edited short stories, poems, and songs from a variety of writers with direct, visible Texas connections. Author and Texas State English instructor Gilb, sitting on one of two panels in the Feb. 10 event in the school’s Alkek Library, said he had to draw a line somewhere or the book would have been much longer. He said he later discovered that some Hispanic, or Chicano, writers considered appeared to be from out-of-state, but he later found out some of them were Texans. Gathered literary heads said Hecho en Tejas seeks to connect the writers’ neighborhood and background with the rest of the world. San Antonio author and contributor Carmen Tafolla saw a similarity between Hecho’s frequent bilingual presentation with Spanish on one page and English on the opposite to the works of Chaucer when Germanic Saxon and Norman French languages were joined in England to form English. Some of Hecho’s works are entirely in English, others in Spanish, and some ofWWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M Conjunto Atzlan performs in the launch for Hecho en Tejas fer both. “I will write, speak in two languages,” she said. “It is a testament to our history, roots.” Tafolla also noted that Hecho has numerous commonalities, which readers in either language will understand equally. “We are all created in the most basic ways. This says we are all related. We all belong,” she said. The late Jovita Gonzalez’s “Los Mexicanos que hablan inglés,” or “The Mexicans Who Speak English” reads and sounds well in both languages. “En Texas es terrible por la revoltura que hay, no hay quien diga ‘hasta mañana,’ nomas puro goodbye,” it reads in Spanish on p. 106. Its rhythm is little different in English. “In Texas it is terrible how things are all mixed up; no one says ‘hasta mañana,’ it’s nothing but ‘goodbye,” reads the same paragraph on p. 107. After opening acknowledgements and introduction, Hecho is led by the story of one of the world’s great survivors -- Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. Cabeza de Vaca, as he preferred to be called, was one of four to survive an ill-fated Spanish expedition to Florida in 1528, turning up eight years later on the Mexican Pacific Coast. Hecho follows with the ironic story of Juan Seguín -- an early San Antonio mayor who fought against Santa Ana, but racial tensions forced him to flee to Mexico where he helped to found Nuevo Laredo. Hecho follows literary and musical voices through most of the last seven decades of the 20th century with many poetic and artfully worded works. Laredo-related entries help the overall quality of Hecho. Laredo’s Fermina Guerra, Cecilio García-Camarillo, Roberta Fernandez, and Norma Cantu add their talents to the collection. Other South Texas writers include San Diego’s Servando Cardenas, Jose Angel Gutierrez, and Tomás Rivera of Crystal City. The lyrics of songs written by Selena, Freddy Fender, and Grupo Fantasma are printed, as is “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” -- a socially important true event, which eventually became a movie starring Edward James Olmos. Historically important stories on soldiers Roy Benavidez and Felix Longoria are included, too. Tafolla is listed as being from Laredo, but no reference is made to confirm that. Such questions and a few visible scattered errors like letters missing on p. 60 and p. 166 and no captions for any of Gregorio Barrios’ black and white photos will make it hard for this first printing of Hechos to get past some picky school boards to the classroom, but secondary and college students might find some of its content useful in some English, or Spanish class assignments. Dallas Morning News reporter and Hecho contributor Macarena Hernandez taught school in her hometown of La Joya for a year and believes the book has a chance to succeed because people will see themselves in the literature. “If they would have brought in Latino literature books when we were kids we would have fought over them,” Hernandez said. “I read Shakespeare and all the usual when growing up, but at Baylor I finally read Sandra Cisneros and others and saw that it was I in these books.” Cisneros, who is from Chicago and now resides in San Antonio, was the best-known author attending the launch of Hecho. She was enthusiastic about promoting the book, noting that English teachers attend conferences where potential textbooks are introduced and Hecho could be exhibited. She also advocated sending a copy to First Lady Laura Bush, but spoke to the need for detailed editing for errors. Cisneros holds her Macondo workshop in San Antonio each year, aiming to improve the craft of young Latino or Latina writers. “It’s a non-academic kind of Latino Sundance,” she said, noting Robert Redford’s annual independent film festival in Utah. “It’s where we can tell you don’t publish yet. Let us edit it and then send it on with our blessings. We can’t afford mediocre. We have to be excellent.” Connie Todd, curator of the Texas Statebased Southwestern Writers Collection, said the University of Texas Press offered to print Hecho, but it was taken to the University of New Mexico Press because of an already established relationship with them. Todd credited her assistant Steve Davis with the idea for Hecho.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 41 Mystery Customer In-love gas monkey is phone jock first; Alas and a-Lack’s, where’s my baker’s rack? BY THE MYSTERY CUSTOMER I guess as long as everybody’s going to be talking on the phone while carelessly driving a vehicle, including one bus driver I saw last week, the basketball-headed Thursday evening gas clerk at the northwest corner of McPherson and Calton who handles gas sales for a government-approved inflated price thinks that he may as well do the same, even though he also has convenience store duties which require him to attend to the paying customers. Although he’s by no means unique within the gas clerk fraternity, this particular peckerwood got on the wrong side of the Mystery Customer. I like to be waited on properly when I blow $30 at one pop for emergency gas and a lousy gallon of milk. I don’t like the looks of a portly hooligan crooking his neck like a crook on a cross to hold a dingy white store-phone receiver between his chubby cheek and lifted right shoulder while ignoring me while taking my money. Aside from not gunning for a promotion, this working class hero was doing two other bad things at the same time, looking as proud of himself as a blind seal juggling three sticks of dynamite. First, this no-look, no-talk personal representative of the multi-billion dollar Shell Oil Corporation desultorily went through the motions of waiting on the money-proffering Mystery Customer and at first slid the gallon jug of milk back across the counter at me without bagging it while cooing a blue streak of mushy Spanish nothings to the lucky little señorita on the other end of the line. Then, when the mysterious shopper protested, the conscientious attendant grabbed a handful of plastic bags that hung in a bunch from one of those metal rings, and ripped one right off its hinge without making eye contact with the bags or the metal ring. He then proceeded not to put but to throw my gal- lon of the pasteurized into the plastic bag. I thanked the jerk out of habit and made for the exit door about three feet away, but crash! down to the floor went the dairy product when the bag’s carryloops gave way. -D---! I uttered almost inaudibly, and the phone jockey behind the counter with a sideways neck like plump Peking duck responded to the crisis by securing the once-white phone receiver into a greasy sub-earring blubber-fold that readily made itself serviceable, and told his sweetie, “Espere un minuto, un cliente está alegando.” “No estoy alegando, buey!” said the Mystery Customer on his way out the door, gallon jug of milk in his hand. Note: The economics textbook I used in college says: “Pleasing the customer is the most important thing in retail sales.” The MC would have liked a serving utensil for a shared dish at Tacolare on San Bernardo, but it was too much to ask for. The waitress handed the MC another diner’s fork! And with a bit of attitude. The lamentable service is a mirror image opposite of the really good food the restaurant prepares. A Lack’s customer reported some pretty messy customer service on an order for a baker’s rack. There’s probably a good corporate reason for why the company stocks nothing locally and you have to wait for the schlep from Greater Lacklandia to this outpost on the frontera, but it’s the one thing we don’t like about doing business there. The MC wants City Hall to know what a great thing it is that real people answer the phones for city government, and not just real people, but mannered, good, competent, smart people. And speaking of phone answering, what a sad thing that the Laredo Public Library has implemented a not-user-friendly system. Though they were backed up with lots of repairs, the diesel experts at Sames Motor Company had the MC’s utility vehicle ready before the time it was promised. What great service the small staff at China Border offers its patrons. It’s an unpretentious place to eat, but the food is very good.u Television CW – try it; you’ll like it By MIKE McILVAIN “P eople want to be heard,” CW Network affiliate sales director Kim Wilcox said in a visit to KGNS-TV, which also houses her channel’s local connections. The CW, combining programming from CBS and the WB, has been on in Laredo for several months through the shared facilities on Del Mar, but is beginning to find its own traction and looks ahead, expecting big name entertainers to join the fold -- without naming any now. Actresses Kelly Bishop, Lauren Graham, and Alexis Bledel lead CW’s more popular Gilmore Girls show with Tom Welling, Annette O’Toole, and John Schneider guiding Smallville. Chris Benoit, Gregory Helms, and Rey Mysterio are three of Smackdown’s stars with names off the police blotter and uniformed patrol officers starring in Cops, but CW wants to do better. Wilcox notes that viewer ideas, issues, 42 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 and opinions come through e-mail and voice mail nowadays. “I have two teen daughters and they like America’s Next Top Model and my husband’s a Smackdown fan, and there are shows that appeal to others,” Wilcox said. Television isn’t always correct in its decisions to cancel shows, which might have missed ratings points, but still carry strong followings. Public input has come a long way since someone at NBC decided to cancel Star Trek after only three seasons back in the 1960s, saving several shows at various networks in recent years. Wilcox, who meets with network affiliates all over the country, says CW is fighting an image misconception that it is a teenager network. “Our median age is 33,” she said. “We gear toward the 20s and 30s.” In the 1849 and especially in the 18-34 age bracket there are a lot of first timers out to own a car, a house, and a lot in that demographic watch CW.” Wilcox says CW does not plan to bid for NFL games or other sports, but wants to further develop programming with “high profile talent.” KGNS General Manager Carlos Salinas notes that advertisers benefit from the unique dual offering from his station and the CW. “It is substantially less than the NBC affiliate,” he said of advertising rates. Salinas ads that while there is no consistency in television rates, differing widely from time slot to time slot and from show to show, but a $20 bill could allow a small business person to make a first time experiment in television advertising. CW advertising time is based on 30 second segments, increasing up to 120 seconds. The shortest spot on KGNS is 5 seconds. “For a salesman, wow. Now I can offer two things,” KGNS’ Arturo “Bubba” Moore said. Moore said he’s heard positive comments from the public on CW programs Smallville, Smackdown, Top Model, and 7th Heaven as well as reruns of “established shows” Will and Grace and King of Queens. “Sometimes people like to catch something they might have missed before and some are learning about it. It is the CW and it ain’t Country and Western,” Moore said. “CW is making it easier for people to get on board. If their budget is tight, we can also offer the CW. It’s the old ‘try it, you’ll like it.’” Moore says Smackdown is the No. 1 show, attracting viewers from all parts of the family -- even mom when not cooking supper. “A lot of older men watch Tyra Banks and the models, but all types watch wrestling, and it’s No. 1 in Texas, California,” Moore said. “You just can’t put it to one area.” Anyone wanting to contact CW about programs, or other matters, can find them online at www. cwtv.com, or if they prefer, the new cable network accepts old fashion letters and post cards at: The CW, 3500 West Olive Ave., 5th Floor, Burbank, Calif. 91505. The CW is seen on cable channel 19u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM News he World Affairs Council of San Antonio has named Dennis E. Nixon, chairman of International Bancshares Corporation, the organization’s 2008 International Citizen of the Year. Barbara Schneider, president of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, said Nixon was recognized as “a major player in the effort to involve citizens in the critical international issues of our time.” She said Nixon epitomized leadership in that area. Each year the Council honors a South Texan for his or her leadership in international affairs, diplomacy, or business with this distinction. The mission of the Council is to promote public understanding of world affairs and United States foreign policy, and to enhance the ability of its citizens and future leaders to participate in a global community. “I am humbled to be selected for such a prestigious honor and to have the trust of this community to serve as an advocate on issues that will benefit not only San Antonio and Texas, but our nation as a whole,” said Nixon. Nixon has served as IBC chairman, president, and CEO throughout 30 of the bank’s 40 years of operation and has helped secure the bank’s place as one of the largest Texas-based financial institutions and the largest minority-owned bank in the continental United States. Additionally, he has steered the financial institution through acquisitions and expansion to elevate it from a $45.6 million bank to its current status as a $10.7 billion bank with a large branch network that stretches from Texas’ border region and upper Gulf Coast northward into Oklahoma. Nixon has long been a leader in advocating for policies that will benefit Texas as well as the entire country. Because of IBC’s extensive branch network along the strategic IH-35 NAFTA corridor and the bank’s Laredo base, IBC is acutely aware that the preservation of key international trade relationships are integral to maintaining economic prosperity. Additionally, Nixon was a leading proponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement and was instrumental in its passage. IBC has also been involved in WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M helping promote the Trans-Texas Corridor initiative which seeks to widen and expand IH-35 into a mega-trade passageway and has actively supported IH-69. Nixon’s support of continued economic development and trade opportunities between the United States and Mexico has made him an authority on the necessity of maintaining the integrity of current economic relationships with Mexico, especially in light of US-VISIT implementation and the current immigration reform debate. Nixon is one of many public and private sector leaders who are concerned that US-VISIT and tougher immigration enforcement will inadvertently and negatively impact crucial North American border economies, and undermine the nation’s GDP and workforce. Nixon is a founding member of the Association of South Texas Communities and chairman of the Alliance for Security and Trade. Both are coalitions of public- and privatesector organizations and other stakeholders that are focused on raising awareness of issues such as US-VISIT and immigration reform and their potential impact on economic development in South Texas and throughout the United States. Nixon’s commitment to South Texas extends beyond economics, as he is a strong advocate of corporate social responsibility, service, and charitable outreach. By instilling IBC’s “We Do More” philosophy of communityminded leadership into the bank’s corporate culture, Nixon has shaped and developed IBC’s strong reputation for philanthropy and active community partnership. In 2005, IBC was named a finalist for the United States Chamber of Commerce’s Corporate Citizenship Award in the Corporate Stewardship, Small/Mid-size Business category. Last year, IBC was also awarded the Texas Bankers Foundation Cornerstone Award for its active community involvement and dedication to service on a corporate-wide scale. In 2001, IBC received the Governor’s Volunteer Award in the corporate-business category for the state of Texas. In recognition of his own personal civic and community involvement, Nixon has received numerous national and international awards. Last year, Nixon was inducted into the 2006 Texas Business Hall of Fame, which identifies top-notch Texas business leaders and honors them for their contributions to their community and state. Few inductees are chosen each year, and this elite group represents the most influential visionaries in Texas business. He has also received the United Way’s Platinum Corazón Award, the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Citizen Award, Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow Award, and the State of Israel’s Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award. As an indication of his commitment to Laredo, Texas, where IBC has its roots, Nixon has served as past president of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, past chairman of the Laredo Bridge Committee, and past president of the Laredo Development Foundation. About the World Affairs Council of San Antonio The World Affairs Council of San Antonio is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, dedicated to increasing public awareness about issues of global concern by organizing forums and lectures on current international issues.u Photo by Armando X. Saldaña T Dennis E. Nixon named 2008 International Citizen of the Year by the World Affairs Council of San Antonio At the WBCA VIP luncheon Olga and Jorge Verduzco are pictured at the recent 13th Annual WBCA VIP Luncheon hosted by La Posada Hotel Suites. LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 43 44 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Photo by María Eugenia Guerra color Head ‘em up, move ‘em out The Border Patrol road revisited Photo by George J. Altgelt Cattleman Meme García of Zapata lends a hand at a recent San Ygnacio roundup. Cool weather and cooperative cattle made the day’s work a pleasant and rewarding experience. He was assisted by his son Refugio. USDA inspectors Cesar Ramos and Leroy Gonzalez look on. How many times does a road have to wash out before it is understood that the fragile riparian habitat of the Río Grande is not a good place for a road? Dr. Jim Earhart and talk show host Jay St. John look at the thick silt of the eroded, washed out roadway, on which the City will likely build a high impact road that will have serious consequences for wildlife habitat and the general health of the river banks. We invite City Council members to tour the riverbanks with us. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 45 46 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 47 News Six Cultura de Oro recipients awarded scholarships L as Damas de la Cultura de Oro, which promotes Latina culture and heritage, recently awarded six scholarships at a reception at the Laredo National Bank Plaza. Recipients of the $250 scholarships are Kathleen Klarissa Hein of United High School, Denize Dyan Solis of Nixon High School, Karina Cruz of Laredo Community College, Sara Herrera of Laredo Community College, Amanda M. Rendon of Alexander High School, and Melissa Ann Cavazos of Northwood University. The recipients were participants in a gala event sponsored by the Damas on September 16, 2006, Mexican Independence Day. At that event, its participants were presented as “Princesas” representing different states in Mexico. Each wore a traditional costume from their respective state and highlighted the contributions of that state to the culture of the United States. Diana Rendon-Gutierrez, director of the organization, noted that as initial participants in the first Damas de la Cultura de Oro presentation, these girls lead the way by educating others about the richness of Hispanic culture. Las Damas de la Cultura de Oro is dedicated to supporting the success of all Latina women, and its scholarships are a step in that direction. In its first year of existence, the organization aspires to make a difference in the Laredo community through scholarships and education.u Congratulations, John Mayers Photo by Armando Saldaña 2007 Rancher of the Year TARGET LAND Las Damas de la Cultura de Oro scholarship recipients Recipients of the $250 Damas de la Cultura de Oro scholarships are Kathleen Klarissa Hein of United High School, Denize Dyan Solis of Nixon High School, Karina Cruz of Laredo Community College, Sara Herrera of Laredo Community College, and Amanda M. Rendon of Alexander High School. Melissa Ann Cavazos of Northwood University is not pictured. Want to own, not lease, your hunting land? Capital Farm Credit helps people like you invest in land for recreation, weekend escapes or country homes. We understand your desire to own land and offer the best ways to finance it. Call us for more details. 1303 Calle Del Norte, Suite 200 Laredo, Texas 78041 Toll Free: 888-218-5508 956-753-0758 SERVING ALL YOUR RURAL FINANCING NEEDS Part of the Farm Credit System 48 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 www.capitalfarmcredit.com WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Movie Review Notes from A Scandal: no heroines in this dirty, nasty psychodrama Terror wears a kilt in The Last King of Scotland By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA A n afternoon at the Bijou Crossroads Theatre in San Antonio watching back-to-back Oscar nominated Notes from A Scandal and The Last King of Scotland, with their scorched earth plots of psychodrama and emotional violence, were quite enough to obliterate any concerns I may have entertained that day. Both were high-pitched thrillers that prompted asking along the way, is it really possible the drama could be cranked up any higher -- the drama of Notes inside the hearts and heads of its mundane and seemingly civil, domesticated characters; the drama of The Last king of Scotland making much of the love and loyalty in the life of the heinous Ugandan leader Idi Amin contrasted with the vile wrath he exacted in general on his country and in particular on those he called traitor. In Notes from A Scandal Dame Judy Dench portrays the pitiful, bitter control freak Barbara Covett to Cate Blanchett’s Sheba Hart, both teachers at a London boys’ school, Covett a history teacher for far too many years and Hart newly arrived as an art instructor. The differences between the two women build and build -- Covett’s dour beige and brown persona in a monomaniacal life, Hart’s beauty cloaked in dissheveled sophistication as wife and mother. Even as they are presented as near polar opposites, author Zoe Heller brings them together as Covett discovers Hart’s sexual trysts with a 15 year-old student. It would seem the proper Covett would run to school authorities, but she does not, opting instead to use the information as a means to bring Hart, the object of her desire, closer to her. Get it, Covett-Hart, covet heart. As if the sick, chilling drama wasn’t unfolding succinctly enough, it is Covett’s voice-over narrative and diary entries in meticulous penmanship about the glamorous art teacher that heightens the pitch WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M of the story. Covett’s journal does not mirror real life; it is filled with the penned vain hopes that Hart will come hither to friendship, to something more than friendship, indeed to the lifelong companionship Covett seeks so as not to die alone. Dench’s convincing immersion into the eerie, unhinged obsessive life Covett lives in her head is riveting, not unlike her portrayal of the writer Iris Murdoch in Iris, which like Notes was directed by Sir Richard Eyre. The jilted Covett hits overdrive with a methodically orchestrated blackmail maneuver that signals the end of Sheba Hart’s teaching career and detours her life and the life of her family in nothing less than a train wreck. Covett, far more than a curious witness to Hart’s affair with her student, is also taken out, exposed as a stalker in an earlier affair of her distorted heart, and losing her job for not reporting Hart’s criminal dalliance to school authorities. There are no heroines in this dirty, nasty story so well told.u T he Last King of Scotland -- this, too, is a movie hard pressed to find heroics in the behavior of its protagonists, the famously brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin or the naive young Scottish physician Nicholas Garrigan, who is sucked into the drama of becoming Amin’s doctor and confidante and later a person of significance to many of Amin’s decisions. Though it is fiction we are watching and though Garrigan (portrayed by James McAvoy) is actually a composite of several individuals close to Amin, Forest Whitaker breathes life into the charming and joshing though deadly Amin, who accorded himself such bizarre titles as “The Last King of Scotland” and “Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea.” Even in so black a story about so vile and murderous a man, the film offers little nuggets of humor, as Whitaker’s self-important Amin fairly jangles in three-foot square shirtfronts ablaze with gold buttons, medals, and decorations. There is also Amin the Scotophile -- kilt and bagpipes and all. Garrigan’s head-spinning tenure in Amin’s favor is every bit as dizzying as his fall from grace, the long, slow moment he decides he can no longer bear the sin of complicity in Amin’s murderous reign of sectarian violence. Garrigan is doomed by his own stupidity to death at the hands of Amin’s goons, and it looks as though he will die hanging from his own flesh in the gift shop of the airport at Entebbe on the June 1976 day an Air France Airbus has been hijacked from Athens by Palestenian hijackers. He is saved, however, as he escapes into the crowd of the released hostages who board their flight to France. The Last King of Scotland is based on a novel written by Giles Foden.u TMC, Women’s City Club sponsor essay writing contest T he Texas Migrant Council, Inc. (TMC) and the Women’s City Club announce this year’s El Dia de los Niños Essay Writing Contest. The contest’s theme is “College and My Future Life.” Trust fund scholarships will be awarded for first, second, and third place for each grade of high school. Additionally the contest will include an award for the best “Migrant Family Aspirations Essay” by a high school student who is the child of a migrant family. Each essay must be three to four paragraphs in length and must be written in the classroom and identify the name, school, and grade level of the student. Classroom teachers, counselors, or school administrators will collect the essays. The contest deadline is March 30. Winners in each grade category will be notified in advance of the Monday, April 30, El Dia de los Niños Celebration. For more information on the essay contest, call (956) 722-5174.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 49 50 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Movie Review Apocalypto: despite well-worn box office-friendly craft and stretches of history, it’s a story well told By MIKE McILVAIN A t the instant when it looked safe to assume Mel Gibson had finally worked the family-in-crisis formula too many times, he sprints out of the jungle with success in Apocalypto. Gibson hit the talk show circuit peddling the movie last year before he hit the bottle too many times in a Los Angeles party and slurred his infamous anti-Jewish comments, making Apocalypto sound too much like The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, Signs, and, to an extent, Braveheart -- all pretty good movies, but we’ve seen them and their common theme. It was the same moviemaker, and some of that well-worn box office-friendly craft was in Apocalypto’s script, but it was well connected to the climaxing action in which 25-year-old former Belton, Texas track runner and amateur boxer Rudy Youngblood, as Jaguar Paw, outran and fought off Mayan empire slavers to return to his floodendangered son and wife as she gave a water birth to their second child. Youngblood, whose real surname is Gonzalez and got the role auditioning to be a mere lowly extra, handles his surprise starring role well, as do the rest of the cast, including those evil slavers and those in the big Mayan city where captives show a lot of heart -- at the hands of the blood lusting high priest. Jaguar Paw is spared by the miracle of a solar eclipse passing overhead just as he is about to lose his heart. It isn’t over there, as he is wounded trying to escape through a cornfield into a jungle and home, and forced to kill the slaver’s warrior son in exit. That sets the chase scene in motion, which includes a black jaguar running after him only to grab an intercepting slaver instead. Other pursuing slavers kill the jaguar, but its corpse casts an evil eye on them before they resume the deadly chase. Jaguar Paw loses or bumps off all but two who could have whacked him when he sat stunned, exhausted, and wounded on the beach -- sitting much like Gibson’s hero Benjamin Martin did in The Patriot in the instant before he turned around and surprised his British counterpart at the Battle of Cowpens -- but the sight of ships and approaching white men that they have never seen stops everything. The wise Jaguar Paw opts to bolt from the beach and get to his endangered family who needs some serious help rather than meet the newcomWWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M ers. “Should we go to them?” Jaguar Paw’s wife, Seven, played by Dalia Hernandez, asks, looking toward the sailing ships. “No, we should go to the forest,” JP replies in a slight ironic twist. History books say Mayan civilization had already gone to the forests by the time the Spaniards showed up in their territories after Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas in 1492. It was the latter-day Aztecs who met the Spaniards only to see their empire crumble before its then high tech weaponry and horseback attacks. JP and his captive neighbors saw massive construction going on around them when brought into the city to be sold or sacrificed, but that probably wouldn’t have been the case in any Mayan lands at that time. The Mayan language, with English subtitles, was used throughout the movie, adding a feeling of immersion, and it helped for those who have been there, or nearby, that it was filmed close to Mayan turf. Gibson’s cameras captured the action, wildlife, and scenery on Mexico’s Gulf Coast inland in the states of Veracruz, Campeche, and farther south in Costa Rica. Most of the Mayan culture and cities were situated between those areas. But it’s a Hollywood movie, so truth and fact have their place somewhere aside from get-them-in-the-theater-style entertainment and screenwriting. Humor has its place as does the art of storytelling in several high points. One of JP’s village mates and hunting companions has yet to have children with his wife and his plight is deepened by pranks played on him and a demanding mother-in-law who wants grandchildren and lets him know he’s a failure for not having done so. A one-armed old man storyteller makes the nighttime campfire a worthwhile event by reciting a tale using the jungle animals they all know. The storytelling casts the village into a sense of comfort, making the following morning’s attack by slavers that much more out of place. A young diseased girl on the trail between JP’s destroyed village and the big Mayan city puts the evil eye and word on the “vile” slavers, telling them that their end would come through the “Jaguar man” who is already among them. Special effects are lightly applied and nicely done in this scene, which stands out further with the girl’s piercing eyes and slight inconsistencies in her facial sores. The stares and fear seen in the slavers’ faces enhances this scene, too. Apocalypto’s violence is noted by many critics, but nobody ever said slavery was nice, and the movie appears to have some staying power. The sequential segments of hunting, village life, capture, transport, the big city, escape, and the ending could serve as mini-movies years from now when time permits only partial re-watching on some cable network when one would be better served by going to bed and getting some sleep. Scenes like the trail girl’s warning, the old storyteller’s campfire talk, or the lifesaving solar eclipse could show a veteran Mel Gibson movie viewer something new each time. No matter how many times it might be seen. By that time, several years from now, we might be familiar with more of these numerous unknowns in Apocalypto, which rates a good 7-plus habaneros here. And somewhere up Interstate 35 it is almost certain that someone is saying it’s only appropriate and expected that Youngblood should succeed in a jungle movie -he is a former Belton Tiger.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 51 52 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM IBC Brush Country President Renato Ramirez of Zapata is pictured with Dr. Kitty Sue Quinn and Ann Pargac of the Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association, a non-profit advocacy group that protects and enhances the property rights of the surface and mineral owners. They are pictured at a recent reception in Zapata at which Quinn, executive director of the TLMA, met with Zapata County landowners to identify the scope of TLMA’s efforts to protect groundwater resources, reduce litigation, and to pressure the Texas Railroad Commission to use Oil Field Clean-Up Funds for environmental purposes. Photo by María Eugenia Guerra Zapata landowners hear of valuable resources of TLMA Photo by María Eugenia Guerra 2 Zapata inspectors Livestock inspectors Cesar Ramos, Leroy Gonzalez, and Mike Budro are part of the USDA’s Zapata County team for tick eradication. They are pictured after making short work of “scratching” a herd of cattle near San Ygnacio. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 53 Entertainment sets the mood for Jamboozie festivities J amboozie 2007 featured one of laredo’s new cover bands, Bucket of Six, which pleased the crowd with songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and current music. Bucket of Six was first created in 2005 and has been on a short hiatus after the replacement of their drummer. BO6 is preparing to play at various local bars and venues including The Old Number 2, TKO, Medusa’s, Average Joe’s, and other locations. Members of BO6 include Armando Saldaña on guitar and vocals, EJ 54 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Laurel on bass and vocals, and Curly Castillo on drums. The Jamboozie setlist began with a crowd-pleasing rendition of the Beatles “Come Together” and then to an electrified version of “Black Dog” by Led Zeppellin. They moved forward to the 80s with music from The Cure. The 90s jams were filled with STP, Foo Fighters, Cake, and 311. Current songs were from Tool, The Gorrillaz, and System of a Down. The Bucket looks forward to playing for Laredo fans in the near future. Come out and support them.u Bucket of Six at Jamboozie 2007 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM LC4A seeks Martinez intern The Laredo Center for the Arts is looking for someone who has a deep interest in the arts and wants to live and work in them. The LCA is accepting applicants for a graduate nine-month internship program supported by the Guadalupe and Lilia G. Martinez Foundation. The Laredo Center for the Arts hosts the internship each year with the goal of providing a college graduate the opportunity to learn and work in a museum setting and pursue a career in the arts. The internship is designed seek to provide significant specialization experiences, which include working with outreach educational programs and temporary exhibitions. Applicants are required to submit a resume, college transcripts, one letter of recommendation, and a letter of interest with a focus statement. Applicants should have a bachelor’s in art, studio art, art history, or a related field. There is one full-time position available. The selected applicant will receive a $10,800 stipend. Application deadline is March 2 and will be filled by March 22. The Laredo Center for the Arts, located at 500 San Agustin Ave. in the old Mercado, coordinates, promotes, encourages, and supports the arts in Laredo and South Texas. The Center, an independent nonprofit organization, receives support from private and public sources including members, the City of Laredo, Webb County, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. For more information please call 956.725.1715 or visit www.laredoartcenter.org for the latest updates.u WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M Mayor gears up for D.C. talks By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER Mayor Raul Salinas addressed the Feb. 13 Kiwanis meeting to cue in the Laredo business and professional community on how he intends to approach Washington movers and shakers at meetings that are on the immediate event horizon. “I get a lot of negative emails from people who are antiMexican and pro-wall, but they don’t phase me,” he said. “I stand tall as a Mexican-American, and that’s what I’m going to tell the Secretary of Homeland Security when he comes down to the border on the 21st to meet with me and nine other mayors of cities along the border,” he added. “I’m going to be adamant about stressing that the $49 million for a dividing wall should be spent on building bridges of friendship,” said Laredo’s new presidente municipal. “As for my trip to Washington coming up in March, believe me, I’m going to see to it that we get every dime that we have coming - we don’t want crumbs, we want our fair share of the pie,” Salinas said. “We have a true friend in office in Congressman Henry Cuellar, and I’m sure he’ll be receptive and listen to our concerns.” Touching on more quotidian matters, the mayor said of the City Council, “They’re eight good people, and we work together and negotiate with open minds -- we have a good team. I’ve let them know that I want to make our city the greatest city in the country.” He added, “We can start by being thrifty and economically sound.” After passing along some enthusiastic news about multiple new jobcreating firms heading Laredo’s way and city-county cooperation, Salinas reminded the members of Kiwanis, “I’ll do everything I can to support Laredo.”u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 55 Celebrating the New Year in Taos Unfettered by the biggest ice storm in Taos in 50 years, Zapatan Patricia Ramirez enjoyed a New Year’s vacation with her children and grandchildren. She is pictured with her five granddaughters -- Abigail, Kaitlyn, Kathryn, Kristin, and Erika. 56 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Photo by George J. Altgelt Pounding out policy over coffee Over coffee at the Rialto Hotel dining room Mayor Raul Salinas hears from Laredoans Mario Perez, Ale Arreguín, and Jorge O, Gutierrez about their concerns over city services. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 57 Photo by George J. Altgelt Flores law office opening Attorneys Russell Jordan and Rene Barrientos and Mayor Raul Salinas are pictured at the recent opening of the law offices of Christina Flores and former district judge Manuel Flores. Also pictured is baby Gianna Vela. 58 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 59 Music Jamboozie’s musicians love the venue By MIKE McILVAIN J amboozie has started billing itself as South Texas’ largest music festival and edges closer to being a fan-friendly efficient one, too. The five-stage band arrangement allowed for ambitious music fans to catch up to five bands playing in the same general time sets, ranging between an hour and two hours. Music genres seem to vary more and more each year with some bands exhibiting such variety that they might be moving into uncharted areas. The event’s musicians enjoy the tasty buffet of sounds, too, when not on stage themselves. “We all loved the eclectic focus of Jamboozie,” Brave Combo’s Carl Finch said. “Before we performed I had a blast just circling the site and hanging out at each stage for a few minutes. It’s obviously an ambitious endeavor, and my hats are off to the people that make it happen. “The variety of music and openness of the audience was refreshing, and we were surprised to find such a colorful music palette available. The town people really turn out and that’s what really matters. We’ll come back anytime. Let’s polka!” Denton-based Brave Combo bills itself as a contemporary polka band, but dishes out such a wide variety of rock, pop, waltzes, sarcasm, and comedy that their polkas seem to be simply part of the mix. “La Paloma Blanca,” “Cielito Lindo,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “In the Mood,” and “Woolly Bully” were among their first numbers to close out the evening on Stage 3 at the intersection of Flores and Lincoln. Twenty bands, juggler Kaj Fjelstad, and a small troupe of belly dancers entertained thousands of walking and standing fans in this year’s cool but dry Jamboozie. Two previous moist Jamboozies weren’t as enjoyable. Laredo doesn’t get much rain, but no one complained that recent rains and drizzle took a break for Jamboozie. George Barrera, of the Zydeco Angels, is a Jamboozie regular, returning home to play every year, despite challenges the weather or getting a band together throw at him. Barreras’ Angels closed out action at the intersection of Hidalgo and San Agustín on Stage 1 where Fjelstad’s energetic fiery show followed Joe Guerra’s Jazz Trio, playing like they’ve played to- 60 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 gether for many years, despite members living in both Laredo and San Antonio. San Antonio experimental jazz group Geisha kept a Stage 1 audience with its smooth mix of sound and voice after the Mt. Olive Baptist Choir opened that venue. “I would love to see us perform in Laredo, at the Jamboozie in the coming years,” Barrera said. “The music we do is rare in these parts of Texas. Even in Austin, ‘The Live Music Capitol of the World.’ Austin does have a festival every year, in its downtown area called the Cajun Crawfish Fest. Bands from the East Coast, Texas up to Louisiana perform. Draws thousands of folks.” Barrera notes Jamboozie crowds are growing every year. “We want word of mouth to spread and let people know that we indeed would love to do this any time,” Barrera said, adding that perfection has not yet been reached. “Two of the five years we performed, the last event, it rained. Turnout was not as jam-packed, but the crowds that came out were great. I’ve noticed that security has its flaws, especially at most of the gated areas.” There is more to that upbeat music Barrera and his band mates play than meets the naked ear. People might say they play Cajun or Zydeco music, but an unseen division greets the ears. “Zydeco and Cajun music are actually two different styles of music, in which Cajun is an older form,” He said. “Its ancestry is of over a hundredplus years with very strong influences of French and Creole, though we do mix it a dash. “Instrumentation is very different as well. Zydeco is very upbeat.” There is also an unseen battle to make it to the bandstand on time. Barrera said getting the talent of players who can play these styles of music is not easy due to other engagements, last minute bookings, and those other bands demanding their talents. “I have to have plenty of time, two months tops, just so I can save my hair from falling off,” Barrera said. “For me, I love to perform! I have a day job and my music is a priority. I will do as many as three different events in one day. I work with as many as six bands. Many musicians do this to stay busy and keep their chops up. Of course, this stops when you are under contract with a big record la- bel. “The Zydeco Angels did not rehearse. We ooze Zydeco from our blood, sweat, and heart. It’s a connection.” San Antonio’s nine-piece Bombasta entertained a strong following with its brass, strings, and percussion sounds, closing out Stage 5 at San Agustin and Iturbide. Several followers danced to their Latin funk and Caribbean sounds. Fans included Josh Gonzalez and some of the Laredo-based Supa Phat band, whose 10piece hip-hop and funk sound had their own crowd jumping only a few minutes earlier over at Stage 3. Other bands turning out good stuff were Bucket of Six, Grupo Eterno, and Los Conquistadores de la Cumbia. Jerry G. and the Badd Boyz Band, Tribal, Laredo-based singer Phoebe Marie, The Y’Alls, Jus-B-Cuz, Bordertown Entertainment, 3 Ft. III, The Reen, and Kash Kasanova all also played on the five stages. The Chain Gang, a Dixieland Swing band, played in various clearings in the always moving crowd and participated in the Mayor’s March with new City Hall boss Raul Salinas and wife Yolanda along with Samba Vida, Los Taquilleros Mariachis, the Laredo Independent (motorcycle) Riders, Bucky and the Laredo Bucks Dance Team, and the Belly Dancers. Note: This year’s Jamboozie ended on a sour note for a few who found the advertised free parking in the nearby El Metro building to not be free after midnight. The last five bands didn’t quit playing until midnight, and anyone lingering to buy a CD, eat something on the way out, talk to a friend or musician found themselves facing an unexpected charge of up to $10. El Metro was refunding those receipts for a week after Jamboozie. El Metro’s Danny Gonzalez offered apologies and attributed the error to a misunderstanding with security, saying free parking was supposed to end at 1 a.m. The 1 a.m. cap wasn’t advertised either, but Gonzalez said such times will be more correctly advertised in the future.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Courtesy Photo Courtesy Photo Look like a Soldier, Act like a Gentleman, Study like a Scholar Pvt. Carlos Mariano Guerra, the son of Bertha and Armengol Guerra, is a freshman at Missourri Military Academy in Mexico, MO. He is pictured after moving up in rank from cadet to private. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M At the WBCA’s VIP luncheon WBCA president Rick Valls, Norbert Dickman of Fasken, Ltd. Bishop James Tamayo, Dedra Dickman, and James Notzon were among the many who enjoyed good company and a delicious meal at the luncheon hosted by La Posada Hotel Suites. LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 61 Feature BLIND FAITH - shot in the dark hits the bullseye By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER S ometimes one can get to feeling isolated and out of touch living way down here scrunched up against the boundary banks of a fabled frontier flood of legend and lore. That flood being, of course, the raucous Río Grande. Isolated, because these thorny, scrub-desert hinterlands can dust off your line of sight until it is clear that you can’t see your own shadow blowing away in the searing sirocco. Out of touch, because San Antonio and Padre Island are both situated at a three hour remove from Laredo. But, on the other hand, “Why are we here?” as the existential philosopher always asks. “Because we’re not somewhere else!” answers the homey in his/her homily. The point is, I would point out, that isolation, physical and spiritual, is a relative, often interchangeable duality of reality. Downtown Manhattan can seem like mid-Sahara, they say, if there’s no corresponsive communication, and by the same token, one might converse with a billion souls at a time while walking on the surface of the moon. These are utterly pedestrian realities in this spaced-out modern world. Technologcal contraptions can practically put anyone in touch with anyone else, will one, nil one. In fact, in the late 20th Century, many worldshrinking transportation and communication systems included Laredo on their grid, and some pretty well-known celebrities made publicity pit stops in the Border City. Many fellow citizens of the two Laredos and I saw President Dwight D. Eisenhower cruise by standing in an open Cadillac in front of White’s Landing just west of Arkansas Ave. on Hwy 59; at Washington Park, Laredo’s beautiful and wonderful baseball stadium that disappeared without a trace in1964 under the inadequate-from-day-one Laredo Civic Center, my grandfather, my brother, and I saw future Cincinnati Reds superstar and National League All-Star Vada Pinson, a Reds farm system star at the time, who batted .343 in the majors in 1961 and is known as “The greatest player who was considered for the Hall of Fame but never got in,” and was signed by the Reds right out of McClymonds High School in Oakland along with legendary Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Curt Flood; at Martin High Gymnasium, my fellow Laredoans and I saw Harlem Globtrotters originals Goose Tatum and Meadow Lark Lemon, and theit special guest, Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige, “perhaps the greatest pitcher in baseball history”, who was forced by the color barrier to spend most of his career in the Negro Leagues, playing with several teams, among them the Birmingham Barons (Michael Jordan’s future team), the Kansas City Monarchs, and the New York Black Yankees; he became the oldest Major League rookie ever in 1948, at the age of 42, when he helped the Cleveland Indians win the American League pennant; Paige was also known as “baseball’s greatest storyteller,” and entertained audiences throughout the Americas, including in Laredo, appearing at Martin Gym seated in a rocking chair; also, at Casa Blanca Golf Course many fellow Lardoans and I saw: golf Hall of Fame member Julius Boros, known as “the slowest man getting to the ball and the fastest once he got to it, and winner of the ’52 and ’53 U. S. Opens and ’58 PGA Championship; Luis Aparicio, Venezuela-born Chicago White Sox All-Star second baseman, nine-time Gold Glove winner and Hall of Famer; and University of Houston golfing sensations Marty Fleckman, and Homero Blancas, who once shot at 55, the lowest competitive round in tournament history. At San Antonio’s Brackenridge Golf Course, my grandfather Roberto Rosenbaum, brother Robbie and I witnessed hot-tempered Tommy Bolt in the 1956 Texas Open, who went on to win the U.S. Open in 1958, cursing out loud and Meadowlark Lemon Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige Julius Boros Tommy Bolt 62 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 44 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 62 then angrily throwing a short iron a long way straight down the fairway and onto the elevated green, where the ball he had just sliced into the right rough should have gone; and, of course, we also saw The 1956 Texas Open winner Gene “the Machine” Littler, who also won the 1961 U.S. Open.Admittedly, most of these close encounters close to home with people of notoriety involved sports personalities. But I assure you, if you were ‘into’ baseball and golf in the 1950’s as much as Robbie and Johnny Snyder were, these were nice encounters. But sports heroes don’t usually persevere like the ageless Satchel Paige, who was finally persuaded to retire from organized baseball when he was 59. And along with most other sports-silly-in-the-‘50s kids, I graduated in the mid-1960s from baseball heroes to rock and roll rebels. We had Beatles going into and coming out of our ears, and most teen ears began to disappear behind Beatle locks. Things British were in vogue like no time before or since. Among these ‘things British’ was Great Britain itself, and my mostly Scottish dad gave me his blessing to go and bought me a ticket to fly. What a ride! On the night that followed the day of my arrival in London, June 5, 1969, I bought a music tabloid off the rack in the hotel lobby and read about a “unique, free” rock concert to be held in London’s famous Hyde Park on Saturday, June 7. The featured group was called Blind Faith -- the “world’s first super group, comprised of the stellar remnants of Cream – Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, Traffic -- Steve Winwood, and Londonbased progressive rock group Family -- Ric Grech. You might say my sense of blind faith was awoken or aroused, for I decided that I would attend, even though, to be honest with you, pretty much all I knew about any of these musical chaps was what I had seen spray painted on a downtown London wall while riding the bus from Heathrow Airport to my hotel. Someone had spray painted “Clapton is God.” It looked very much like I was on a collision course with an epiphany. “What a trip!” was my double-barreled thought at the prospect. London was the center of the world in the decade of the ‘60s, in a sense, and its incredibly well laid out web of Underground lines and stations made it an easy place to feel right at home in, even for a rip-roaring Río Grande rover. Getting to the mysteRíous concert was somehow easy for this mystified stranger - perhaps because I remembered to touch all the bases - Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Hyde Park. Believe me, the panoramic scene I witnessed at the park, more than the concert itself, was one for the books. I mean, it was what you might call historic, and I can’t say whose mind was more blown at the monde bizarre flowering of the grassy lawns with 100,000 Beautiful People from all over Europe -- Blind Faith’s or mine. Winwood later commented, “It was our first gig, and to do that if front of 100,000 people was… very daunting.” Clapton said, “I came offstage at the Hyde Park concert shaking like a leaf…” Unforgettable, the whole ball of wax – the ‘60s London fashions, the beauty of the flower children, the spirit of the European Hour and the British Moment, the hair everywhere, the Babel of languages rippling through the clouds of cannabis vapors, the collective sense of awe, glee and gratitiude! Not to mention the amazing fact that I was there to witness it! Since British blues weren’t and aren’t my cup of tea, begging your pardon, I remember more of what I saw than what I heard, begging your indulgence. Perhaps “You would gaze and gape too, if it happened to you.” My apologies to Miss Gore on that score. It was what came to be known as a “happening,” and I happened to have enjoyed it ‘to the max,’ in the parlance of the day. The one and only Blind Faith album features the original songs they performed at Hyde Park on that memorable day, and it is rightfully considered a rare and coveted classic. Later that summer, the stellar group toured Scandinavia, stopping at small venues, and then made an abbreviated American tour mostly for publicity purposes. Blind Faith did not outlast the golden age of the supergroups, but three of its elements, Clapton, Winwood, and Baker have all continued to be busy and in demand, and all three are still avid experimenters and consummate musicians. Clapton is still considered a deity by any member of any generation who has heard him play the guitar. Sadly, ace bass guitarist Ric Grech passed away in 1990. Aside from a pocketful of memories of a unique event in a bygone age in the faraway Oz that was Londontown of the 1960s, I still have an experience-sharpened sense of perspective on who and where I am in the lonely drift of time. The Blind Faith interlude, like the whispered whine of the winds through the weathering cliffs that writhe along the Ríoside, is an object lesson that reminds one to reminisce respectfully, and acquiesce attentively to the often patternless Providence that brings us into the world and brings the world to us on a delightful daily basis.u Review 25 years of eye-opening images and exciting adventures in the wild Be more surprised THE BEST OF NATURE — 25 YEARS Sunday, March 4, 5:00 p.m. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M klrn.org LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 63 By The Way A lovely trip to D.C. and a return home to prepare for whirlwind of WBCA festivities BY JENNIE REED By The Way appears monthly in Greater Laredo Magazine. It is reprinted here with permission. W here to start? Our wonderful month began with a trip to Washington D.C. to view our friends Joyce and Frank Early’s daughter Kathleen perform in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at the Eisenhower Theater of the Kennedy Center. Quite an entourage of Laredoans, present and past, plus over a hundred of the Early family and friends were there. Starring in the play were Kathleen Turner, _____, our own Kathleen Early and __. The play has been receiving rave reviews and is currently in Los Angeles for a several weeks run. Following the performance, Joyce and Frank hosted the cast and crew and friends at a beautiful reception at the historic Willard Hotel, where many of the guests were staying. Among those attending, were Joyce’s sisters Nella Saldaña, her husband Dr. Tony Saldaña, Lucile Earls and her daughter Diedra and son Tommy; Linda Farias, her children Leticia and Carlos as well as Joyce’s nephew Mark Johnson. Joyce and Frank’s daughter Patricia and husband and several of their children joined the group as well. Long-time friend and former Laredoan Pat Yates also made the trip. The following morning, Joyce had arranged for a tour of the White House, through the offices of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. It had snowed, and in the very cold weather, we walked the short distance from the hotel to the White House. The President was rehearsing his State of the Union address, and we were directed by another hallway on our tour. To see the inside of the historic national treasure is amazing, whether for the first time or on repeated visits. Security was very tight, as it should be, but we were treated courteously and made to feel welcome. We visited the Corcoran Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, another treasure! We watched from our hotel windows as ice skaters performed on the rink below. 64 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Joyce arranged for a moonlight guided tour for some of our group. To see the huge, magnificent monuments, lit so well, with a gentle snow falling, was a sight we shall not soon forget. To say that we had to catch up on lost sleep on our return home, is an understatement. Our suite at the historic Willard was filled with well-wishers and old friends till the very wee hours every night! Two of our Laredo group were unable to make the trip and we promised to catch the tour in Tucson with them. This month has been filled with more Washington activities, this time our local and wonderful Washington’s Birthday Celebration. The calendar for the 110th celebration has been full to over-flowing. The Webb County Historical Commission unveiled a historical marker in honor of the Celebration that began at the very site in 1898. Penny de los Santos was honored with an exhibit of her photographs at TAMIU’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Gallery. Her project is called The Tejano Project. She said she set out to define what a Tejano was, with camera in hand and list of ideas that intrigued her about Latinos in Texas. She talked to Latinos from all walks of life and photographer the land and culture that embody South Texas. Our own George and Martha, James Notzon, better know as Jimmy, and Adrienne Goodman Treviño, are enjoying every single minute. They have made visits to several schools and locations around town, welcoming all to share in the Celebration by attended some of the many events and especially the Grand International Parade. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty, a group sponsored by the Society of Martha Washington, have accompanied them that depict historical characters who lived in colonial times. Thanks to the WBCA for bringing another special guest, in the person of Dean Malissa, portraying General George Washington. Malissa is part of the American Historical Theatre, a non-profit organization devoted to the dissemination of history in an entertaining yet educational manner. Malissa regularly performs as General George Washington at venues including Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Constitution Center. He is an accomplished performer and has appeared in films, commercials, and TV shows. He is only the sec- Actors Kathleen Early and Kathleen Turner, center, with Joyce and Frank Early following the performance of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In Washington, D.C. ond actor approved to portray Washington at his estate, Mount Vernon. He made several presentations to schoolchildren who were bussed to the TAMIU Fine and Performing Arts Center. Each time, the auditorium was filled to capacity with children who were held spellbound by the sight of the 6’5” General in his military uniform, black boots, saber at his side, with his shock of white hair, combed in the colonial fashion, tied to the nape of his neck with a black ribbon. He patiently or sometimes dramatically led them through a very realistic picture of life as he saw it growing up in colonial America. They were literally with him as the young boy that he was ran freely down to the wharf to smell the mysterious and delicious odors of cargo brought from foreign lands. They heard him describe the dance his brother Lawrence arranged for surrounding youngsters who were taught the minuet by a Belgian dance master, and laughed at the mischief he and his young friends got into. His final performance was at night and geared to a more adult audience. A fascinating tale unwound as the listeners were made to feel they were actually there for the events he described. Plaudits to the WBCA for initiating this fascinating glimpse of living history. Each student was given a large poster of Washington as painted by Gilbert Stuart, that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. These educational materials were produced in conjunction with “George Washington: A National Treasure,” an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, and made possible through the generosity of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The packet also included a teacher resource guide. All of the excitement of the annual Celebration that brings thousands to participate in or view the many events that are geared at appealing to all ages includes the Jalapeño Festival, the Air Show, Youth Dance Festival, Jamboozie, Taste of Laredo, Princess Pocahontas Presentation and Ball, Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball, Noche Mexicana and other head-spinning exciting events. The Abrazo Children and the International Bridge Ceremony and the two parades, add to the excitement. Our two Parade Marshals will be Congressman Henry Cuellar for the 2007 Anheuser-Busch Washington Birthday Parade and Terry Ruskowski, head coach for the Laredo Bucks, will be Parade Marshal for the IBC Youth Parade Under the Stars. LULAC –sponsored Señor and Señora Internacional 2007 honors Long-time actress and comedian Carmen Salinas and Latino comedic personality Paul Rodriguez. The WBCA Carnival will again take place at the Laredo Entertainment Center, with rides and entertainment for the whole family. A host of other activities will fill the calendar, culminating with the giant fireworks display, and then it begins again. The day the Celebration is finished, plans begin for next year! Until next month, take care.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 65 66 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Street-Wise FARRAGUT, Hispanic first admiral of the Navy BURNSIDE, Leader of the Mud March By JOHN ANDREW SNYDER F David Farragut Ambrose Burnside WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M arragut Street in old downtown Laredo is named after David Glasgow Farragut, first admiral of the Navy and son of Spanish immigrant Jorge Farragut Mesquida, who served his adoptive country in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. David Farragut is remembered for his brilliant and gallant naval exploits in the Civil War. To him we owe the proud wartime exclamation, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 6, 1801, Farragut was appointed a Navy midshipman when he was only nine years old, saw his first combat at 11, and got his first command of a ship at 12. Fifty years later when the Civil War broke out, the southern native remained staunchly loyal to the United States and moved his family north from Norfolk, Virginia, to Hastings-on-the-Hudson, New York, and soon accepted the post of Flag Officer in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in January 1862. His first orders were tall ones -- capture the city and port of New Orleans, a feat he accomplished by April 28, 1862. The dangerous but successful deed was brought off by Farragut and his complement of 700 men aboard 18 wooden ships and a good number of mortar boats. The always-thinking commander had the hulls of his flagship Hartford wrapped in chains and daubed with Mississippi mud for reinforced strength and camouflage. His main strategic move was to bypass Fort Jackson, Fort St. Phillip, and the Chalmette, Louisiana, batteries by night en route to New Orleans. The strategy was effective, and the action was intense. “The smoke was so dense that it was only now and then we could see anything but the flash of the cannon,” he commented after the running of the gauntlet and the taking of the Crescent City. Farragut’s brother-in-law, David Dixon Porter, who directed the mortar flotilla, had been skeptical about Farragut’s strategy before the action was commenced. Union soldiers under Gen. Benjamin F. Butler occupied and secured the city and port on May 1. Inspired by his success at New Orleans, Farragut decided on June 28 to take his fleet upriver to Vicksburg, Mississippi, the “Gibraltar of the West,” pro- tected by 200-foot bluffs and defended by 29 heavy artillery pieces. The “Father of Waters” runs just south of the city, and the beetling bluffs gave the well-positioned Rebel defenders an ideal vantage point, but Farragut snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat. Attempting to repeat the strategy that worked at New Orleans, he raised two red lanterns on the Hartford’s mast as a signal to his fleet, and set off upriver under and past the bluffs. Farragut lost only three ships, and his mortar reply wreaked havoc on the Rebel position atop the bluffs. Abraham Lincoln’s government created the rank of rear admiral for Farragut on July 16, 1862, out of gratitude for its premier sailor’s feats of heroism and deeds of military importance in wresting control of the lower Mississippi from Rebel hands, thus quashing Confederate dreams of blockade-running in the Gulf of Mexico. BURNSIDE ‘Sideburns’ were named after the leader of the Mud March Union General Ambrose Everett Burnside did not distinguish himself as a military strategist and leader of fighting men as did Admiral David Farragut. In a slightly irreverent manner of speaking, Farragut walked on water between New Orleans and Vicksburg, and Burnside sank in the mud at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Before having important infantry commands thrust upon him in the early Civil War, this reluctant West Point graduate had participated in the occupation of Mexico City in 1848 in the Mexican War and had been wounded by Apaches in 1849 in New Mexico Territory. Resigning from the military in 1853, the inventive and enterprising Burnside spent the interval between 1853 and the outbreak of hostilities in 1861 seeking unsuccessfully to garner a government contract for an improved breech-loading carbine that he had been promoting. While involved in this business venture, he served as a major in the Rhode Island state militia. He was granted brigadier general status and rank in mid-1861 when he rejoined the United States Army to fight against the rebellious southern Confederacy. Right off the bat when the war started, Burnside led union troops indifferently at the first Bull Run, and participated with some of his troops at the second Bull Run. Soon afterwards he bungled his command at Antietam, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. His hesitancy to lead his men across a narrow bridge proved disastrous, and still today the bridge is pointed out to tourists and curiosity seekers as Burnside’s Bridge. Sensing his own inadequacy as a commander, Burnside only reluctantly accepted a promotion to the position of commander of the Army of the Potomac, after McLellan, Lincoln’s first commander, put together a gaudy string of fiascos that left the Union reeling and the outcome of the war in serious doubt. So the beleaguered Burnside plodded on at Lincoln’s urging. Next, employing tiresome tactics like frontal assaults that guaranteed the slaughter of countless Union troops at Fredericksburg On September 13, 1862, when 12,653 Union troops fell. Feeling despondent and guilty, Burnside attempted to lead an assault with him at the head of his troops, which dismayed his subordinates to no end. On top of this, when January, 1863 rolled around, he ordered a second assault against Lee in relentless winter rains, and got bogged down to the point that the fruitless offensive is referred to in textbooks and by tourist guides as the Mud March. General Burnside’s Civil War portfolio still had room for one final faux pas -- the infamous Battle of the Crater. This was one of the most bizzare battles in the history of civilized warfare. In Pennsylvania coal country Union soldiers dug a tunnel toward the Confederate bivouac near a crater and packed loads of explosives under the Rebel encampment. The dynamite was to be ignited at a given hour. The plan was well conceived and success was feasible until General Meade interfered and ordered Burnside not to use the black soldiers who were trained for the mission. The ill-prepared white troops entered the crater instead of skirting it, and when the explosives detonated, the alerted Rebels cut the Union soldiers down mercilessly with rifle fire. Burnside was wrongfully blamed. Happily for Ambrose Burnside, his post-Civil War career was an extraordinary success. He was president of several corporations and was twice elected to the governorship of Rhode Island. In 1874 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until his death in 1881.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 67 Notes From La La Land Golden Globes showcase Mexican film genius BY DR. NEO GUTIERREZ (Dr. Neo is a Ph.D. in Dance, Señor Internacional de Beverly Hills 1997, and MHS Tiger Legend 2002. Contact neodance@aol.com) I f you want to know what the world thinks of American and worldwide films in general, watch the Golden Globes Awards, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. If you want to know what Americans think of the same topic, watch for the Academy Awards, the Oscars. And shine Mexico did at this past January’s Golden Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Not only did Latinas America Ferrera and Selma Hayek fare very well for their work in TV’s new hit, Ugly Betty, but the best film of the year honors went to Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, for his incredible job in the movie Babel, starring Brad Pitt. I remember watching the movie a few months back, wondering for the first two hours how Iñárritu was going to pull it all together, to end the film. Made in five languages and shot on three continents, the film consists of what seems a hodge-podge of unrelated stories in different parts of the world, about unrelated people. But with the stroke of true genius, Iñárritu pulls it all together, and the movie makes perfect sense. The film received the most nominations at the Golden Globes, a total of seven, including best dramatic picture, best director, and best screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga. The international nature of the movie really appealed to the Hollywood Foreign Press. The film is about globalization and the world we live in. Babel is a perfect example of multinational movie productions, a perfect example of the movie business today. The Golden Globes celebrates Hollywood’s borderless production frontier. Iñárritu said, “I think culturally the world is getting bigger. Now we are living in the world, we are not living anymore in a country or a society. We are part of the whole. We have a lot in common beyond the borders, beyond the ideologies. We are getting the sense that we are truly one world.” 68 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 Never mind that Iñárritu also provided the best one-liner of the whole night of Golden Globes celebration, when his first sentence in his acceptance speech was directed at Califas Governator Ahhnold -- “I want to assure the Governor that my papers are in order.” Known by the nickname of “el negro” to his close friends, Iñárritu is over six feet tall and posseses movie star good looks. From his biography, we learn that he was born in México City in 1963. Alejandro González Iñárritu started his show-business career in 1984 as a DJ at top-rated Mexican radio station WFM. At the same time he studied filmmaking and theater. From 1988 to 1990 he composed music for six Mexican features, including Garra de tigre (1989). In the 1990s he became one of the youngest producers in Mexican TV when he was in charge of the production of Televisa, Mexico’s most important TV company. After leaving Televisa he started Zeta Films, his own company. He began writing and shooting TV advertising for Mexican television (some of them can be seen in his first feature, Amores perros (2000)). However, for him those commercials were just rehearsals for a future movie. At the same time he continued his studies of filmmaking in Maine and Los Angeles, under Polish director Ludwik Margules. His first half-length feature, Detrás del dinero, was produced in 1995 for Televisa and starred Spanish actor Miguel Bosé. Looking for good stories, he read a lot of scripts and one day was introduced to Guillermo Arriaga, a screenwriter, and they planned to make 11 shorts to show the contradictory nature of Mexico City. After three years and 36 drafts, they ended up settling on only three stories and expanding them. That movie, Amores Perros, became a major hit at its release at the Festival de Cannes 2000, where it received the award of the best film by the Semaine de la Critique, and went on to huge worldwide success. It also earned an Oscar nomination for best foreign movie. In 2002 Iñárritu was one of the directors involved in the making of 11’09’’01 - September 11 (2002), a film about the influence of the terrorist attack of 9/11 on the world. Also participating in the film were such major filmmakers as Wim Wenders, Ken Loach, Mira Nair, Amos Gitai, and Sean Penn. The success of those films opened the doors of Hollywood to Iñárritu. His sec- ond feature, 21 Grams (2003), was also written by Arriaga, was shot in English and starred Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts. All received Academy Award nominations for their participation. At present Iñárritu is collaborating with Arriaga in the writing of a third movie that will form a trilogy about death with his other two first pictures. Almost by divine coincidence, as Hollywood celebrates Iñárritu, the Oscars org, known as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is celebrating 100 years of Mexican film. Mexican movies have really come a long way since, as a kid, I used to religiously go to the old Royal Theater in Laredo, where I would watch Mexico’s best for nine cents admission price, one penny for candy, and 15 cents for three bags of popcorn. There went the 25 cents allowance for the week. Upon visiting the Academy’s beautiful headquarters near where I live now, I learned that the important role of Mexican filmmakers working in Hollywood and the influence of international filmmakers working in Mexico are all explored in the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery exhibition “Made in Mexico: The Legacy of Mexican Cinema.” This remarkable history is brought to life through movie posters, behind-the-scenes photographs and star portraits, costumes and costume design sketches, fan magazines, original scripts, letters, documents, and other artifacts pertaining to the Mexican film industry’s vibrant past and compelling present. Also on display are video clips showcasing key performances and productions from a century of Mexican film. Since the advent of public film projection in the late 1890s, Mexican audiences have proved enthusiastic, and Mexican filmmakers have been actively involved in documenting their country’s history and culture. As narrative filmmaking in the silent era gave way to the early sound era of the 1930s, stories that spoke to audiences from Spanish-speaking cultures literally found their voice. At the same time, Mexican performers became popular Hollywood stars, and important international filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein (and later Luis Buñuel, Fred Zinnemann, and John Huston) traveled to Mexico to make films. Mexican cinema enjoyed a “Golden Age” in the 1940s, widespread commercial success in the 1950s, and a remarkable string of three consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film in 1960, ‘61, and ‘62. The international profile of Mexican cinema has recently been raised once again by the Oscar-nominated films Amores Perros and El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, directed by Carlos Carrera. Exhibition highlights include costume design sketches for stars Dolores del Río and Ramón Novarro, documents and photographs relating to the early sound recording system invented by the Rodríguez brothers for use on the groundbreaking film Santa (1932), and marketing materials for some of the Golden Age’s biggest hits, including the films of Mario Moreno, better known as “Cantinflas.” Complemented by items related to the most current Mexican releases, the displays feature, for the first time, captions and explanatory text in both English and Spanish. For more information, visit www.oscars.org/events/past/2006/ madeinmexico. Every year when I watch the Golden Globes, housed at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, I always remember the year that Laredo’s Golden Spurs stayed at the Beverly Hilton Hotel when they came on a dance tour to Califas with their director Estella Zamora Kramer. That year they danced at BevHillsHS, Dodger Stadium, Disneyland, and Universal Studios. I also remember I managed to get the Beverly Hilton room cost down to about $15 per night per student, four in a room. And when a group of four was assigned to a poolside cabana, so the girls could have access to a room right by the swimming pool, the girls turned it down because they wanted to be together with the rest of the group. And this is when room rates were at about $500-plus per night. Asi como lo oyen. And all of this came back to me because of all the Golden Globes action on TV . . . que recuerdos tan sabrosos. Upon closing, I must send happy birthday greetings to our beloved MHS English teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Nye Sorrell, who is 98 and living happily and still writing in San Antonio. Don’t forget the Oscars Feb. 25, and I promise to try not to hate Simon Cowell of American Idol, for the way he exploits disadvantaged American youth, as he laughs with million$ all the way to the bank. And with that it’s time for, as Norma Adamo would say: TAN TAN!u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Laredo Area Community Foundation The benefits of strategic philanthropy; grant applications available -- March 9 deadline BY PATI GUAJARDO Pati Guajardo is executice director of the Laredo Area Community Foundation she can be reached at pguajardo@lare dofoundation.org S trategic philanthropy is defined best by The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc. as “effective giving which is designed around focused research, creative planning, proven strategies, careful execution and thorough follow-up in order to achieve the intended results. To be truly effective and rewarding, strategic philanthropy must also reflect and be driven by your core values and concerns.” To define it simply, strategic philanthropy aligns your charitable giving with your vision of the future in order to get the most from philanthropic efforts. So, how do you establish strategic philanthropy for your family or even within your company? The first step is to clarify your values and establish your areas of charitable interest. Next, you create a vision for your community or a particular cause. You then need to determine the best way to achieve the intended results. This means making decisions as to the funding of projects based on their research, planning, careful execution and follow through. It is critical to stay focused and align your resources (social networking and leveraging your expertise might be as useful as your monetary contribution). How do you know if you have achieved strategic philanthropy? The following checklist can assist. If you review your strategy and find the following to be true, then you have succeeded. 1. It meets personal and/or corporate charitable interests. 2. It defines an essential mission, purpose and/or priority 3. It addresses/responds to real needs in the local community. 4. It incorporates clear, established rationale and operational procedures. 5. It integrates an ongoing evaluaWWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M tive component that is meaningful, flexible, and accessible to all involved. 6. It benefits from, and contributes to, the experiences of others by connecting to the larger philanthropic community. 7. It serves as a journey of learning and listening. 8. Most importantly, it is fun and deeply fulfilling. If the idea of establishing a strategy for your family’s philanthropic endeavors sounds overwhelming, contact us at the foundation office. We can assist in strategic philanthropy due to the flexibility that is inherent in community foundations. 2007 Grant Applications are Available this Month It’s that time again, when we are accepting applications for our annual grant funding cycle. This is made possible by a grant from The Houston Endowment, Inc. Application guidelines are as follows: Grants are made only to organizations recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)3 tax exempt organizations. Applicants must demonstrate fiscal responsibility and accountability. The organization should have a committed volunteer board and should be based in the Laredo area. Projects funded should benefit residents of the Laredo area. In awarding grants, particular consideration is given to established, ongoing programs as well as new, innovative proposals. Collaborative initiatives are encouraged. Projects should address root causes and work on long term solutions of identified societal problems. Priorities have been developed for the following five sectors: •Social Service (children, youth, adult and seniors) •Health •Education •Arts and Culture •Environment The following requests are not eligible for funding: •Fu nd ra i si ng events or campaigns •Endowments •Debt reduction •Operating deficits •Political activities, organizations or lobbying •Individuals Applications are carefully reviewed by the Grants Committee, which is comprised of community representatives who volunteer their time to the foundation. Once the Committee has evaluated the ap- plications, recommendations are submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. The Board awards the grants within the limitations of the available funds. Foundation staff cannot assess applicants’ chances for approval. Applicants are notified in writing shortly following the Board’s decision. The grant application deadline is March 9, 2007. Applications must be delivered to the Foundation office no later than 5 p.m. on that date. Applications may be obtained by contacting the Foundation office at (956) 796-1700 or via e-mail to pguajar do@laredofoundation.org.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 69 Keeping A Weather Eye Panel on climate change: global warming real, worsening, and man-made BY JUAN ALANIS Juan Alanis is an Associate Member of The American Meteorological Society (AMS) and is currently employed as a teacher at United Middle School. C limate change due to global warming has been in the spotlight again as nations from across the globe met in Paris earlier this month to issue a report on this topic. According to the report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global warming is real, worsening, and man-made. The group says the signs of this warming are already here with rising sea levels, worsening droughts, and stronger hurricanes. Some of their conclusions include: • The significant increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide since 1750 is due to human activities. • If levels of greenhouse gasses double as compared to the pre-industrial era, then the planet could see temperatures rise from 3.6 to 8.1°F over the next century. • Sea levels could rise up to 1 meter (about three feet), by the year 2100 if the polar ice caps and glaciers continue to melt as the temperatures rise. • Snow cover has decreased in many regions. The maximum extent of frozen ground has decreased by 7% over the Northern Hemisphere over the latter half of the 20th century. These are just a few of the findings from the IPCC. The group will be issuing three more parts of this climate report later this year. The idea that global warming is causing stronger hurricanes is still debatable among many in the world of meteorology. The World Meteorological Organization’s 6th International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (WMO-IWTC) was held recently in Costa Rica. The group of 125 tropical weather experts 70 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 7 from around the globe issued a statement that said, “No firm link can yet be drawn between human-induced climate change and variations in the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones.” This statement was issued in response to numerous high profile events including Hurricane Katrina; the record breaking 2005 hurricane season; and a record 10 typhoons (hurricanes) hitting Japan in 2004, among others. And while this may sound like the WMO-IWTC is denying any existence of global warming, they are not. This group of tropical weather experts is simply saying more research is needed before a definite link, if any, can be made to global warming. One of the reasons cited for by the scientists is the same one that Dr. Neil Frank, former director of the National Hurricane Center, now Chief Meteorologist at KHOU-TV in Houston, has always stressed during my numerous conversations with him, that global warming is not the cause of increased tropical activity, but rather the variations of sea-surface temperatures every few decades, officially called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in this part of the globe. About every 30 to 40 years, sea surface temperatures warm, then cool, in a naturally occurring cycle. Hurricane archives from Dr. Frank and the National Hurricane Center in Miami point out that from 1870 to 1900 it was a warm water era, with very active hurricane seasons, then from the early 1900s to late 1920s, a cool water period, with less tropical activity. From 1930s to 1960s, warm and active, mid-1960s to mid-1990s, cool and quiet, and since 1995, warmer sea temps and very active. Based on this pattern, the Atlantic will be active for another 20 to 30 years and then quiet down. Researchers and tropical meteorologists will now try to determine if this pattern occurs in the tropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The problem with trying to determine sea-temperature changes and other historical patterns of tropical activity is the lack of or inconsistent archives, equipment, and measurement techniques across the globe. The report from the WMO-IWTC stated, “There are large regional variations on how hurricane in- tensities are recorded.” The group points out that while the accuracy of tropical cyclone monitoring has greatly improved over time, there are some regions of the world that do not have equipment such as aircraft, buoys, and radars to take specialized readings of tropical systems. The United States uses “hurricane hunter” aircraft to investigate storms at sea, while Japan and many Asian rim nations do not. As a result, measuring a storm’s true structure and intensity (air pressure, wind speed, movement, etc.) while at sea in these regions is difficult at best. These nations simply rely on satellites to estimate a storm’s strength. Chris Landsea, Science and Operations Officer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, admits tracking historical trends is hard due to the lack of tools prior to the 1960s. “This comparison is complicated as we observe hurricanes much more accurately today than was possible several decades ago,” he said. The use of satellites is now a very important tool as well. Until mid-century, the only way a tropical cyclone was known to exist was by an actual human observation on land or on a ship at sea. Wes Browning, Science and Operations officer at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Hawaii said, “There were no satellites [until the late 1960s], so it is likely some tropical cyclones were not detected.” What does this mean? There may have been many more busy tropical seasons, dating back to the 1800s, but storms were undetected if they did not actually hit land. So, there may have actually been several more category 4 or 5 hur- ricanes in the Atlantic during the early 20th century, but could not be detected or accurately measured due to lack of equipment and since they remained out at sea. As for the future of hurricanes, meteorologists are still debating this as well. Will they be stronger and more frequent due to so called global warming? Landsea points out that a study conducted by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory says hurricanes will get stronger by about 2% per degree F. “If this is in the right ballpark, then hurricanes today (versus previous century) may be about 1 to 2% stronger due to manmade global warming,” he said. At the present time he said, such a small increase is too small to detect due to limitations in measuring a storm’s peak wind speed. Research will continue on this and other issues and patterns for years to come in an effort to find any link to tropical activity and global warming. And why do hurricanes seem to cause more damage each year? The WMOIWTC states that the main reason is due to a booming population in coastal areas, not necessarily because storms are stronger. As for the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the National Hurricane Center will issue its outlook in May. Landsea said, “Historically, hurricane forecasts issued this early in the year have shown little skill.” The NHC is monitoring several factors, such as El Niño, and weather patterns over the United States in order to try to make an accurate outlook for the season.u WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Seguro Que Sí Congratulations to all the kids who survived the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s BY HENRI KAHN Contact Henri D. Kahn with your insurance questions at (956) 725-3936, or by fax at (956) 791-0627, or by email at hkahn@kahnins.com T hey took aspirin, ate tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for every childhood disease known to man. Then after God’s plan of childbirth, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored leadbased paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and never wore helmets when we went bike riding, not to mention the risks of hitchhiking. As infants and children, we would ride in cars without car seats, booster seats, seat belts, or airbags. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a 70-cent bottle of water. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M We shared one soda with four friends drinking from the same bottle, and no one died or even got sick. We ate lots of flour tortillas, white bread with real butter, candy bars, drank Koolaid with sugar, but we weren’t overweight, because we were always outside playing. We would leave home in the morning, report home for lunch, and head out the rest of the day to return home just before suppertime. Our mothers, at home, didn’t panic, and when we came home, we were okay. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scrap and then ride down a hill on Mier Street, only to find out we forgot about brakes. After running into the bushes a few times trying to slowdown with our feet or hands we got smart and made a 2x4 trail brake. We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-Boxes, or video games. Not a single cable channel, video movie, DVD, Gameboy, cell phone, personal computer, or chat room. We had friends, went outside, found them and played all sorts of games like tag, hide and seek, marbles, stick ball, catch. We ate mud pies, mesquite beans, prickly pear atunas, even earthworms, and they did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns on our tenth birthday, played war shooting at each other using homemade guns armed with strips of rubber we had cut from old bicycle tire tubes without putting out any eyes. We rode our bikes, or walked, to a friend’s house, knocked on the door or rang the doorbell, walked in, and talked directly to them. We puffed on cedar post bark and never moved on to marijuana. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t make it learned to deal with disappointment and only the winning team received trophies. Imagine that! The idea of a parent siding with us against a schoolteacher or immediately bailing us out if we broke the law was out of the question! Respect for our elders was expected and practiced as a matter of natural consequence. Ma’am and Sir were the order of the day! These generations have produced some of the finest business persons and creative thinkers ever! The past 50 years have been a continuous eruption of innovation and new ideas. In spite of all the changes in our life we have achieved success in grand style. If you are part of the five generations covered here, congratulations! Share this treatise with others who grew up as kids during these long ago times -- an era before our justice system and government leaders regulated, changed, and politicized our every word or action for our own good. I exercised editorial privilege in this article by making changes based on my personal experiences. The original premise for this article was circulated via the internet and comes from only God knows where! Pray for George W. Bush to bridle his megalomaniac ego.u Henri D. Kahn LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 71 72 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 73 74 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 75 Maverick Ranch Notes Enjoying the same vista my mother photographed BY BEBE & SISSY FENSTERMAKER F rom my mother’s photograph album, I’m looking at a small photograph from the pages labeled 1921. Mama was 15 that year, and much of her album shows her with her friends and siblings doing things girls of that age did then. Later we knew many of those faces as older and very interesting women important in our lives. But the photograph I’m looking at is a shot taken from the road which passes by our gate. The camera was aimed toward the Ranch house far away, barely appearing as a light streak on a hillside. The distance in the photo is considerable and the simple camera doesn’t give a good feel for the height of the hills. Rising up behind the house is Renaberg, a hill named for our grandmother Rena Maverick Green. It lies behind the Cottage and corrals and is wooded with superb Spanish and live oaks and native cherry trees. Visible in the middle of the photograph is the creek that runs between Maverick Ranch and Fromme Farm. A field of deep soil we call the Middle Field is on the Maverick Ranch side. Part of our Black-capped Vireo habitat project is in that field. The hill in back of the Middle Field is steep, heavily wooded with large oaks, and there is a beautiful rock wall midway up. To the right of the field the gray tops of the pecan trees can be seen above the Fromme oaks. That is where the best summer breezes on the Ranch always blow. In the photograph’s foreground two Fromme Farm mules stand at the bottom of the slope from the road. Mr. Fromme’s rock-walled haymow is behind them. Since the mules are loose and the field is bare the season must be late winter. The haymow has a long north side with shorter sides on each end and the whole thing is over six feet tall, a building feat for a man who only stood four-foot-ten. I see there was a roof of some kind on the haymow; I never knew it with a roof. It is enclosed by a wire fence and must have 76 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 been where Mr. Fromme fed his cattle on cold nights. The ground inside that pen looks smooth in the photograph, but today big rocks jut up out of the ground, the result of years of penned livestock. The photograph captures serene smoothness of Fromme fields with a jagged tree line along the creek, all backed by rugged hills, a pretty early Texas Hill Country ranch and farm scene, now fast disappearing from our state. We grew up with these views, but never took them for granted. I remember many evening automobile drives “just to see what there is to see,” as our parents would say. These days I stay at home in order to be able to go out and see something beautiful in the country. Thanks to my family’s care for this place I am able to enjoy the very same view my mother photographed 86 years ago. The mules are gone but good Texas Longhorns stand in their stead. BEBE FENSTERMAKER The ice storm of 2007 left us with many broken limbs and a number of large trunked trees snapped in two. Of particular concern were the old oaks in the cottage yard that leaned over buildings or had lost big limbs, one of which had fallen on a shed roof. We called a tree service in our area, and one of their arborists came to assess the damage and give us an estimate on the most pressing problems. The assessment also included lightening the load of a big oak whose trunk is right next to the schoolhouse. One of its large limbs leaned over the roof and caused Bebe enough concern to check it daily during the storm. Several days later a crew of three men arrived with the arborist. It was a chilly, misty day, not the best conditions for climbing around in the tops of trees. The arborist soon left to attend a meeting elsewhere and the crew got right to work. They unloaded their climbing gear and chain saws from the truck. Neatly coiled and tied ropes were unwound, and the weighted end was expertly thrown way up and over a sturdy limb. Belts were buckled around their waists on which shorter ropes with large metal clasps were attached as well as a hook that held the chain saw when not in use. Then away they went, pulling themselves up with long ropes, walking up the trunks into the treetops. The jagged stumps of broken limbs were cleanly cut and spraypainted to protect against oak wilt/decline. Bebe and I were in awe of the ease with which the three men moved through the trees. There was no wasted movement. Limbs or bits of a limb were used to stand on to reach others to be removed. Later some of those that were stood upon would be removed as the men worked down through the trees. At one point I likened all the activity and noise of the saws to a hive of yellowjackets. The foreman worked on a big, old oak at the back of the cottage. One of its large limbs bent out over the roof and had been a concern of ours for some time. He removed dead wood as well as some live branches to lighten the load the branch. In order not to let what he cut drop onto the roof, he would saw just so far through the wood, then cut the saw motor, and snap the branch off, throwing it to a spot on the ground. Over and over again this would happen, and each time he threw what had been cut right down to the same spot. Thankfully there was a pause for lunch. I was worn out just watching them. After lunch the foreman remained at the cottage to grind up the small stuff from the morning’s work. The larger pieces were neatly stacked in several piles. The other two men began work on the tree next to the schoolhouse. The large limb that stretched over the roof was trimmed of all its smaller branches. Everything that was removed had to be held onto and thrown to the ground. Eventually, removal of the big limb was begun. One of the climbing ropes was thrown over higher limbs and attached to each piece of limb being cut. The man on the ground anchored the other end of the rope and was in charge of each large chunk cut, waiting until its wild swinging had slowed and then expertly using a swing to clear the roof and let it fall to the ground. Bebe and I marveled at the ease with which the men seemed to do their work. They were as at ease in the trees as on the ground. It was work for those men, but for us it had been a fascinating day. After the crew had left we looked up towards the cottage and Bebe commented on how light the yard appeared. It was also a relief to have the havoc left by the storm removed and replaced by a certain amount of order. SISSY FENSTERMAKER Spring Into Art this Year at the Laredo Center for the Arts Saturday Art Class Saturdays 10:30 - 12:30 PM Ages: 6 - 13 Registration Fee: $10 per class Advanced Visual Art Workshops for Children Saturdays 1:00 - 3:00 PM Mar. 24 - May. 5 Ages: 6 - 15 Registration Fee: $100 Basic Acrylic Painting for Adults Thursdays 5:30 - 8:30 PM Mar. 22 - May. 3 Ages: 16 and up Registration Fee: $ 150 500 San Agustin Ave. 956.725.1715 www.laredoartcenter.org WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Lamar Middle School eighth grader Alex Lopez takes a bow after being named Best Actor in UIL middle school competition for one-act plays. He has performed and competed in UIL since sixth grade under the direction of Peggy Phelps. A veteran performer in numerous Laredo Institute for Theatrical Education (L.I.T.E.) productions, including Aladdin Kids, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, and Music Man Jr., Alex won district best actor awards last year for his portrayal of the baker in the district championship play Into the Woods. He performed in the LCC opera workshop production of Camelot and Fiddler on The Roof. His sister Mara and brother Armando Manuel are also accomplished actors. Alex is the son of Armando and Mary Lou M. Lopez. WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M Courtesy Photos Best actor Alex Lopez Donations for Cd. Miguel Alemán Women’s Clinic An effort by Zapata banker Renato Ramirez to establish a women’s breast and cervical cancer center in Cd. Miguel Alemán, will become a reality as donations continue to come in. His own donation of $5,000 from R&P Ramirez, Ltd., IBC’s contribution of $5,000, Alice Rotary Club’s donation of $10,000 and Rotary International’s donation of $20,000, and other contributions -- plus equipment and furniture from the closed Freer Spohn Hospital -- will go to the Miguel Alemán Women’s Clinic. Ramirez, CEO of IBC Brush Country and his son Ricardo, also a banker, are pictured with Benito Barrera Ramirez and Marcos Moreno Leal of the Cd. Alemán Rotary Club. LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 77 78 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM Rincon Del Diablo Disciples dispute date of Jesus’ Ascension by raul casso Raul Casso, an attorney, is a regular contributor to LareDOS. A ccording to the Catholic Encyclopedia (CE), Jesus’ ascension is “the elevation of Christ into heaven by His own power in the presence of his disciples the fortieth day after his resurrection” (Catholic Encyclopedia). The CE further tell us that the ascension “is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles” (ibid.). Imagine: you’re standing there with Jesus, and suddenly He floats up to the sky and disappears into the clouds. You would be guilty of understatement if you were to refer to such an event as “memorable.” Indeed, what could be more astonishing? How could anyone witnessing such a mind-boggling event ever forget it? After seeing something like that, one would be thunderstruck for the rest of his life. Would it be too much to ask that the disciples, who were supposedly there, at least agree on when the miracle of the ascension occurred? Well, it is asking too much because the disciples do not agree even as to this extraordinary event. The CE tells us that the Ascension occurred 40 days after the resurrection. Although the CE cites a verse from each of Mark and Luke, the CE gets its time frame from the Book of Acts, the fifth book in the New Testament supposedly authored by Luke (the author of the Gospel of Luke). In the first chapter of Acts it says: “Until the day which [Jesus] was taken up . . . he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God . . . and when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:2-3,9; KJV). WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M Now we know where the CE gets its 40 days. Reading further in chapter 13 of Acts, however, we find another passage that is not so definite as to when the Ascension occurred. Chapter 13 says “but God raised him from the dead: and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:30; KJV). Admittedly, “many days” could mean anything. It could mean a few days or 40 days. But why would Luke, the writer of Acts, write in Ch.1 about the ascension occurring 40 days after the resurrection, and then, a few chapters later, refer to the time lapse so vaguely? Why would Luke say “many days” when he knew it was exactly 40, and had probably not yet gotten over the shock? If you think I’m quibbling with minor details, keep reading -- it gets better. John, in his Gospel, has something to say about when the Ascension occurred, and he does not say 40 days. Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John begins with the story of the resurrection. It describes how the ladies went to the tomb and found it empty. Later, the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, showed them his wounds, and put Doubting Thomas in his place. At that point, John tells us, “and after eight days again his disciples were within and Thomas with them: then came Jesus . . . and stood in the midst” (J. 20:126;KJV). John says nothing about 40 days. In fact, he says nothing about the Ascension. He assures us, however, that there were, “many other signs [that] truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples that are not in this book.” (20:30). Perhaps John was referring to the Ascension among those “many other signs.” What John does say is that Jesus was with them for at least eight days. One might argue that the eight days John refers to are a subset of the 40. If that is true, however, why would John not mention that Jesus ascended on the 40th day? Why would John mention eight days, specifically but for not special reason, apparently, and leave the all-important 40th day out? Very strange, indeed. Turning now to Mark and Luke, however, the story gets even stranger. The CE makes reference to Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51 as providing narratives of the Ascension. If one didn’t bother to look up those passages, one might think that Mark and Luke agree with the 40 day time frame -- especially in light of how the CE cites those passages as though corroborative of the claim that the Ascension occurred 40 days after the resurrection. The problem is that those passages say nothing about 40 days. In fact, those passages are taken out of context. A reading of the entire chapter they were taken from reveals a dramatic contradiction of the 40 day time frame for the Ascension. Mark 16:19 says, “So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right had of God” (Mk. 16:19; KJV). Nothing is said in this passage about when the Ascension occurred. Now consider the rest of Mark chapter 16: In Mark 16:9-19 (summarized) we are told, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom he had cast seven devils . . . after that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked and went into the country . . . afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen . . . so then after the lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God” (Mk. 16:9-19; KJV). Clearly, Mark does not say that Jesus ascended on the 40th day after the resurrection. Instead, Mark says that Jesus ascended on the day of his resurrection. This is a major contradiction. Now, let’s look at what Luke says. The CE cites Luke 24:51 which reads, “And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” Just as with Mark 16:19, there is no mention of any time frame here - but now have a look at the rest of Luke chapter 24 (summarized): “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher . . . and they found the stone rolled away . . . and returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven . . . and behold, two of them went that same day to a village . . . which was from Jerusalem about three furlongs . . . and it came to pass that while they communed together, Jesus . . . drew near . . . and they drew nigh unto the village . . . and [Jesus] made as though he would have gone further . . . but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening . . . and they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together . . . and as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst . . . and they gave him a piece of broiled fish . . . and he . . . did eat before them . . . and he led them out as far as to Bethany . . . and blessed them . . . and while he blessed them, he was parted from them, an carried up into heaven” (Lk. 24:1-51; KJV) (emphasis mine). Luke, as does Mark, claims that the ascension occurred on the day of the resurrection -- not 40 days later. What discrepancy. On the one hand, we have Mark and Luke telling us that Jesus ascended into heaven on the day of his resurrection. On the other hand, we have Acts (supposedly written by Luke who must have forgotten what he wrote in his Gospel), John, and the CE telling us the ascension happened many days, at least eight days, or, 40 days later. The Book of Acts tells us one thing; John tells us another; and, Mark and Luke tell us yet another story. Which one should we believe? Why should such a choice be put to us to begin with? The Bible is supposed to be infallible; the Catholic Encyclopedia is supposed to know its stuff; Luke’s Gospel should not be contradicting the Book of Acts, which, supposedly, Luke also wrote. What a confused mess. And then the New Testament has the gall to tell us that, ‘God is not the author of confusion” (I Cor. 14:33). If that’s true, then one must conclude that God did not author the New Testament. Either that, or it is all one big hoax.u LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 79 Otro Punto De Vista As a country, as a spiritual group, as individuals – we are but a shadow of our original intent Dear Raul, on’t give accuracy the center stage when reading the Bible. The stories and their characters are meant to reflect the concepts and thoughts of their authors at the time they were documenting their experiences. “Authenticity” and “without error” are attributes maintained by the Catholic Encyclopedia and are legitimate only to the Catholics who choose to believe it. This is true for all belief systems including yours and mine. When god was a woman thousands of years ago, the privileged Mayans, men and women, would travel great distances to the Island of the Swallows, the Golondrinas. it was called Cozumel. Upon arriving at the Island, they would look for the stone road that would lead them to the center of the island, the highest elevation, the temples of Ix-chtel. There they would ask for a husband, a wife, or a child. Children of marriageable age were also taken to be paired off with a suitable mate as selected by their parents and the high priests. The young men and women were separated in different temples, each receiving instruction as to the duties and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. Once the training was completed the marriages would take place and the new couples were observed by the elders and priests for 30 days to insure the lessons had been well learned, the rituals of respect and service were in practice. When god was a man thousands of years ago, the privileged of the Jewish community would also take their children to a temple. These children D 80 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 were separated into different groups. The groups separated by gender were housed in different temples. The girls were trained as to the protocol of their gender within their religious beliefs. The young men were taught to read and understand their holy scriptures. They were ordained into the rituals of their religious society. The high priests were also assigned the responsibilities of selecting the appropriate spouse for these young men and women. Once betrothed and presented to the public, they would continue in their responsibilities and tasks as mandated by the Rabbis and would await the designated date for their marriage as required by Jewish law. What do these different religious cultures have in common? They have followers with a will submissive to the authority of their religious leadership. Religions have been formed, shaped, and made visible by the authority of those the people, their believers, have trusted. The success or demise of any relationship whether of people within a group such as a religion, the government of a country, or the unity in a family or a friendship is based on the strength of this trust. Trust is a well-worn word with good intentions. It proposes to unite with confidence in an outcome that is acceptable to all involved. It assumes that all involved are of the same mind and direction and will accept the will of the leaders. It nullifies ego and its muscle with the gentle submission of its presence as an individual to another’s decision. But trust no longer carries the original concept on its shoulders; it cannot. We have bent, mutilated, and tortured it. Trust now holds our attention in relation to the insurance it carries, so it isn’t trust at all. What is it, this modified concept of an element that is considered a virtue to be sought, upheld, and honored? It is a reflection of who we have become, a people trustworthy and trusting only contingent on outcome. We trust only if the outcomes are agreeable within the scope of our expectations. We trust our leadership until it becomes evident that their erred decisions are costing us more than money. We trust our religious leaders until we read that their opinion of other religions is flawed with their spiritual ego. We trust our friends and family until we perceive that their interpretations of our goals is misunderstood, and therefore it is best not to reveal ourselves. So what have we become as a country, as a spiritual group, as individuals? We are but a shadow of our original intent. This intent is still strong enough to merit modification by governments, the early church, and individuals as they assemble their score sheet of life and its obligations to the matter. In this modification we have rewritten the code of ethics by which trust is interpreted. We try to maintain the original meaning but we have modified the journey of trust. We have streamlined it to answer to our age of technology where the merits must be well selected so there is no chaos in failure. What are the merits? Where does the new journey take us? We travel to a place where all is superficial, where exterior appearances are valued, where the matter is held in high esteem and where trust is a five letter word recently graduated as important on the list of what to do and be. However, the journey to become is treacherous with distractions from its neighboring predecessors ego and self-indulgence. Try it. Take a leap of faith and check out where you have landed. To trust is not an easy task. The benefits can seem of little consequence in a world where the appearence of winning is preferable. In the greater scheme of opportunity and action, trust becomes the mantra of the follower, the brass ring of the leader. It benefits from those that choose to acknowledge it as desirable; it fails when it is overridden by the ambitious as a hollow sound in their effort to be manipulative leaders. The Bible stories and their authors were all trying to say the same thing. Once upon a time there came a man to this earth plane that trusted his beliefs, his heart and his God so much that he released his spirit from his matter to prove that the Divine within us was most trustworthy, dependable, and eternal. He proved it. Today the message of Jesus the Christed prevails over all interpretations of his life by his authors. The greatest gift anyone can give or receive is love, and this precious gift is built with trust. If we could really understand this, there would be no dissention, no conflicts, no wars. Battles would reflect struggles of grace, running to a finish line where everyone was a winner. Measure the love in your life by the trust within you. Don’t be surprised if you find out you have never loved at all.u MAEGC WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 81 82 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 83 Social Notes Kathryne Elyse Williams celebrates quinceañera K Katie Jarzombek, escorted by Michael Elizondo; Kristian Regalado, escorted by David Oliva; Ashley Gutierrez, escorted by Nick Ramirez; Kathleen Pike, escorted by Tyler Garibay; Cynthia Vela, escorted by Chris Soliz; and Amanda Montemayor, escorted by Oscar Lira. Kathryne is a freshman at United High School. She is a member of the United High School FFA Program, LIFE Jr. Board of Director, Texican Jr. Cattlewomen, and her local youth group. She plans to pursue a career in education after high school. Kathryne is the daughter of Claudia Williams and Billy Paul Williams.u Courtesy Photo athryne Elyse Williams celebrated her 15th birthday Saturday, February 24, with a mass offered by her family at the Laredo First Assembly of God Church. A reception at the Monte Carlo Hall followed. Celebrating with her were damas and escorts Monsie Bedolla, escorted by Armando Gonzalez; Amanda Johnson, escorted by Patrick Castañeda; Brianna García, escorted by Michael Martinez; Ashley Light, escorted by Jonathan Cortazzo; Anahi Torres, escorted by Jonathan Galvan; Carissa Gutierrez, escorted by Christian Bowles, Stephanie Balderas, escorted by David Ballesteros, Alyssa Martinez, escorted by Rick Velasquez; 84 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 85 86 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM WWW. L A R E D O S N E W S . C O M LareDOS | FEBRUARY 2007 | 87 88 | LareD O S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 07 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM