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College football
HELLOIRISH?
Tommy
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Notre Dame in the running for the Sun Bowl. 1C
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Michael
Floyd
CLOUDS
AND SUNSHINE
SUNDAY, DEC. 5, 2010
$1.75
COPYRIGHT® 2010, EL PASO TIMES
A Times special report:
BROKEN
PROMISE
JESUS ALCAZAR RUAN / SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Rafaela Mendoza, 38, stands next to her mother and father in her hometown
of Tlacotalpan in the Mexican state of Veracruz. She is one of about 1,600 Veracruz residents who returned home under a state-sponsored program that paid
their way from Juárez. An additional 1,300 are on a waiting list to leave Juárez
because of the violence that has killed more than 7,000 people since a drug
war erupted in 2008. More photos from the exodus, 6A
Violence chases
families back to
native Veracruz
Bliss helps, but
EP jobless rate
remains high
By Adriana Gómez Licón
EL PASO TIMES
VERACRUZ, Mexico — Thousands of families left this depressed coastal state 15 years ago
for blue-collar jobs in the bustling factories of
Juárez.
Now many of them are fleeing Juárez, one of
the most violent cities in the world, to return
to Veracruz, an impoverished place that has
been ravaged by natural disasters.
The Veracruz state government is subsidizing the exodus from the border. This year, it has
paid for seven charter flights that ferried 1,600
people from Juárez to the port of Veracruz.
An epidemic of extortion, kidnapping and
murder has led these people to the same conclusion: It is better to be poor in Veracruz than
to be prey in Juárez.
“We prefer to be in these floodings than to
live in a violence-torn city,” said a woman
named Lilia, who witnessed the shooting
deaths of three men on a Juárez street. Fearful
of retribution, she asked that her last name not
be published.
Juárez this year has had about 2,800 murders
— twice as many as New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago and Houston combined. More than
7,000 people have died violently in Juárez
since 2008, when a war erupted between the
Sinaloa and Juárez drug cartels.
Veracruz was the port that U.S. sailors invaded in 1914 on orders from President
Woodrow Wilson. Wilson feared that Ger-
Please see Veracruz 7A
TODAY AT
elpasotimes.com
•See a narrated slide show of images
of the Veracruzanos leaving Juárez and
returning to their homes.
By Zahira Torres
AUSTIN BUREAU
RUDY GUTIERREZ / EL PASO TIMES
El Paso Museum of Art Director Michael A. Tomor talks inside one of nine
galleries at the museum Thursday. The museum begins a yearlong 50th anniversary celebration this weekend.
Year of events to mark
museum’s 50th birthday
By Doug Pullen
EL PASO TIMES
Like thousands of other El Pasoarea schoolchildren, Michael A.
Tomor’s first experience with the
El Paso Museum of Art was a tour
he took with his fourth-grade
classmates from Western Hills Elementary School in the early 1970s.
“Had it not been for the museum
when I was a kid, I would have not
gone into it,” Tomor said.
Now 48, the El Paso High School
graduate is the director of the city-
run art museum. It begins a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary this weekend.
The museum was in the historic,
Trost-designed William W. and
Iva Turney mansion at 1211 Montana when Tomor was a schoolboy. Now it is part of the city’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and is on 2.75 acres in a
renovated Greyhound bus terminal. It houses the world-renowned
Samuel H. Kress Collection of Eu-
Please see Museum 8A
The real job
of the museum is to preserve our
culture for
future generations.
Michael A. Tomor,
Art museum director
Inside|Business » 1E | Classified » 1D | Crossword » 4D, 10F | Deaths » 4-5B | Movies » 11F
AUSTIN — To a large degree, Fort Bliss
and other government jobs have insulated El
Paso from the recession that has crippled
many other border communities, economists
say. Even so, El Paso’s unemployment rate is
consistently higher than the state and national averages.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of
Dallas, which adjusts raw unemployment
numbers to reflect for seasonal changes such
as holiday hiring, El Paso had a 10.4 percent
unemployment rate in October. In contrast,
during the same period Texas averaged 8.1
percent and unemployment nationally was
9.6 percent.
The difference may be jarring to some, but
Please see Jobless 8A
Living
Christmas in El Paso
Love music, lights and sentimental
holiday movies? El Paso’s holiday celebrations have it all. See story, 1F
Broken Promise from 1A
elpasotimes.com
Veracruz
Continued from 1A
many was sending arms to Mexican President Victoriano Huerta, who rose to power through a
bloody coup during the Mexican Revolution.
Today, historic Veracruz is
Mexico’s third-most-populous
state, but it also is a place where
poor towns are as common as
the primary crops of sugar cane
and coffee beans.
One recent day, 177 people
who returned to Veracruz from
Juárez stepped off the plane
with mixed feelings. In the
sticky heat they no longer are
accustomed to, their foreheads
filled with beads of sweat.
The muggy day was only one
reason for their discomfort.
They have no homes and no job
prospects. Relatives would have
to provide many with temporary shelter.
“We are going for quite an adventure,” said Clara Ramírez, 45.
Still, life will
•Four
be much more
peaceful than
officers
ambushed it was in
and killed Juárez, she
in Juárez said, where
gang mem1B
bers
kidnapped her for failing to pay extortion money at the soup
kitchen she ran.
PHOTOS BY JESUS ALCAZAR RUAN / SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
At a government hangar, former governor of Veracruz Fidel Herrera welcomes people who had been living in
Juárez for years. Herrera, whose term ended Tuesday, subsidized their return through his administration because of
the violence that has spread throughout the city of Juárez.
A journey for jobs
Veracruzanos are nicknamed
Jarochos. But those who left for
Juárez received a label that
mixed their origin and their destination — Juarochos. They settled in neighborhoods on the
outskirts of Juárez that would
become the most dangerous areas on the border.
Many had worked in the sugarcane fields or at low-paying
jobs in the city of Veracruz.
The Mexican government,
which had once provided incentives to farmers and fisherman,
began eyeing bigger industries
in the early 1990s, said Carlos
Garrido de la Calleja, a professor at Universidad Veracruzana
who specializes in migration.
One reason was that the North
American Free Trade Agreement was on the horizon.
Other economic troubles led
many to begin looking to Juárez
for employment.
“The privatization of the sugar mills worsened the agricultural crisis,” Garrido said.
The price of sugar has always
fluctuated, but production under the new private model
shrank and slowed the economy, Garrido said. About 2 million people in Veracruz state
depend on the sugar industry.
Another blow came when
thousands saw their industrial
jobs end after the construction
of a nuclear power plant near
the city of Veracruz was completed, Garrido said. Those
workers did not want to go back
to the fields, he said.
All the furniture Rafaela Mendoza left behind in Tlacotalpan was ruined by flood waters caused by a hurricane. She is ready to start from scratch in Tlacotalpan after a
decade of living and working in the maquilas of Juárez.
Out of the fields,
into the plants
Peasants were desperate for
jobs in the ’90s. Luis Gabino
Ventura was one of them.
At 17, he would travel by bus
for at least an hour from the
small town of Potrero Nuevo to
a sugar mill. Supervisors would
randomly choose workers for
the day.
“I would go in the morning. If
I was not chosen, I would go
back in the afternoon, then at
night,” he said.
Ventura made the equivalent
of $12.66 a day. When he was
lucky, he would work three days
a week. But some weeks he
would get only one shift.
From his vantage point, the
factories in Juárez beckoned like
a distant but attainable oasis. After NAFTA was signed, maquiladoras boomed as more foreign companies relocated to
Mexico to attract cheap labor.
Juárez needed workers, and Veracruz had a ready pool of unskilled and uneducated people.
Ventura and others said charter buses hired by companies
would pick up people in rural areas and take them north, promising jobs, homes, health coverage and education for their children. With megaphones on the
roofs of their cars, recruiters
would tout factory jobs in
Juárez.
Ventura heard from a cousin
in March 1996 that Juárez was a
destination for those seeking
steady work. The cousin had
married a mechanic who found
a job at a plant that manufactured wiring for cars.
“She said there were jobs,”
Ventura said. “She talked about
the benefits.”
Ventura traveled alone by bus
to Juárez a few months after that
conversation. The trip took 40
hours and covered 1,300 miles.
With the help of his cousin,
Ventura soon joined the emerg-
Lilia, holding her young daughter, says she did not feel safe in Juárez. Taking her two
sons to school was not safe, she says. “I told my neighbors in Juárez, ‘I can’t live here
anymore.’ ”
ing blue-collar work force composed of many Juarochos like
him. He got a job at the same
plant as the cousin’s spouse.
Companies would place
workers with no relatives in
buildings that resembled cattle
sheds. Some would stay for 15
days. Others would sleep in the
sheds for up to two months.
Whoever could endure the
work at the factories would stay
and earn other benefits, such as
buying little homes from the
federal housing agency. The rest
would move on to the next
plant.
Even with the hardship of
moving to a faraway place, jobs
brought happiness. Just walking
the streets of Juárez would remind them that opportunities
were everywhere, Ventura said.
His eyes widened and he flashed
a rare smile as he described cars
scouting Juárez in search of
workers.
Ventura met his wife while
working at another maquila,
Scientific Atlanta, in June 1998.
At the plant, they built cable
modems and digital cable boxes. They married after two
years, had three children and
bought a little house near the
airport. Each earned about $70 a
week.
As a hobby, Ventura sang in a
band that played cumbia music
at quinceañeras and weddings.
“It was a different Juárez,”
Ventura’s wife said of the years
before 2007, when fear made its
way to the poor neighborhoods
where thousands from Veracruz
had settled.
‘The drug trafficker
clipped our wings’
The pattern of crime in Juárez
is like a map of the areas Juarochos populated in the ’90s and
early 2000s. Most murders occur in colonias southeast or
northwest of the city.
One neighborhood in particular, Rivera del Bravo, is nicknamed Riveras de Veracruz because so many residents migrated from the coastal state. In this
subdivision only a few yards
from the border fence in Socorro, Texas, people speak a distinguishable accent in which they
do not pronounce the letter “s”
and where cursing is part of the
local tongue.
Far from the center of the city,
newcomers started their lives in
Juárez. Local government did
not seem to care about these immigrants, Garrido said.
“It is a shame that local authorities knew about the influx
of immigrants from Veracruz
and allowed them to establish at
the edges of Ciudad Juárez,” he
said.
In February 2007, the Veracruz government conducted an
informal census and calculated
that 200,000 former Juarochos
lived in Juárez, said Luis Ramos,
director of the program that
helps Veracruzanos in Juárez.
Juárez is a city of 1.3 million.
“Veracruzanos found a way to
create a mix,” he said.
Ramos said buses would arrive with fruits, seafood and other fare from Veracruz every other week. A restaurant named El
Encanto Jarocho, or the Jarocho
charm, became popular with
people of Juárez and of Veracruz.
In one of the poor colonias of
the Juarochos, the Echevarría
family struggled as violence escalated.
In 2004, the Echevarrías left
their traditions, relatives and the
tropical weather of Veracruz to
work at the maquilas, Rafael
Echevarría said.
“But the drug trafficker
clipped our wings,” he said.
Armed men stormed into the
Echevarrías’ home twice this
year, stealing their valuables
and ordering the family of six to
vacate the home or face death,
said Cristian Echevarría, 22, son
of Rafael and Alejandra.
“The third time, we will rob
the house and kill you,” Cristian
said they told them.
“But why?” Cristian thought to
himself. “We are poor.”
Life in a
pressure cooker
The Echevarrías knew crime
was out of control when the
teacher of 7-year-old Valeria
asked each child to pay 300 pesos, or $24, per week to extortionists.
“We were not sleeping,” said
the father, Rafael Echevarría.
“We were defenseless.”
Cristian said living in those
neighborhoods was also a temptation for young men who were
recruited by drug cartels.
While hanging out with
friends one day, Cristian said,
several men pulled over in latemodel SUVs, their AK-47s visible. One reached into his pocket
and pulled out a bundle of bills
that he said amounted to 5,000
pesos, or about $400.
“We only needed to take the
cell phones and wait to receive
instructions,” Cristian said the
man told them.
Cristian said he declined, but
some of his friends took the
phones and the money.
The memory that haunts the
Echevarrías most at their hot
one-bedroom home in Veracruz
was being caught in crossfire between hit men and police.
It happened on a Saturday,
one day before they left Juárez
in May. Rafael and Alejandra
were riding in a city bus with
Valeria. They heard gunfire and
bullets riddling the metal bus.
Police were on one side, reputed criminals on the other.
Valeria ducked and crawled
beneath the seats, smashing her
teeth on the floor when the bus
screeched to a stop. The girl saw
blood everywhere. Her parents
cried out in panic, assuming that
their youngest daughter had
been shot. Fortunately, she was
not. She only lost a tooth.
The Echevarrías moved back
to Veracruz.
“She is the reason why we are
here,” Alejandra said. “We don’t
want her to grow up in that
city.”
Since the shootout, Valeria behaves differently. Nightmares
haunt her. Her parents said she
barely speaks. They believe she
was traumatized, but they don’t
have money for psychologists.
Distracted and anxious, Valeria just sits and draws on recycled sheets of paper. Mostly, she
draws heart shapes and writes
messages such as “I love you.”
Far away from the murders —
Juárez averages nine homicides
a day — the Echevarrías still feel
suffocated by the violence of
their former city.
Any time an SUV with tinted
windows drives by, Cristian
Echevarría said, the family is
terrified. He starts running or
walking in the opposite direction. It is his instinct.
“I had grown used to Juárez,”
he said.
Back where
it all started
In the town of Carlos A. Carrillo, population 22,000, residents are familiar with the smell
of sugar burning and the sight of
ash piling up on streets and inside crudely built homes.
People depend on the sugarcane mills to survive. “No ashes
means no money,” they say.
During the six-month off-season
for sugar production, people eat
what they can, including deepfried turtle.
Residents of this downtrodden town were the first to speak
to Fidel Herrera, former governor of Veracruz, about the dangers relatives faced in Juárez.
Herrera, whose term ended
Tuesday, conceived the idea of
returning at least some Veracruzanos to their native soil at
taxpayer expense. The program
began in March. It also helps
people from Veracruz flee Reynosa, a border city in the state of
Tamaulipas that is plagued by
drug-cartel violence.
The program intensified an
exodus from Juárez that has left
more than 100,000 houses abandoned and prompted the closings of at least 10,000 businesses, according to the city planning office and the chamber of
commerce.
Luis Ramos, the program director, said 400 families have already left Juárez through government subsidizes. An additional 500 families are on a waiting list. All travelers underwent
criminal background checks and
El Paso Times
Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010
7A
were clean, Ramos said.
The recent flight carrying 177
travelers was part of the government program. None had
been on a plane before.
Herrera welcomed the families at the government’s hangar.
The state department of health,
education and labor and other
agencies set up booths to hand
out information to newcomers.
“You are our source of pride,”
Herrera told them.
He said he brought back Veracruzanos more as an act of
kindness than to better their
economic condition. He said the
program has nothing to do with
the fact that his wife, Rosa
Borunda, is native of Juárez.
“It was the humane thing to
do,” Herrera said.
Some returning families stay
in the metro area of Veracruz,
where 700,000 live. It is the
largest port in Mexico, handling
nearly a million tons of vehicles
every year. Others travel in buses to towns trying to recover
from natural disasters.
Rafaela Mendoza was one
happy-go-lucky traveler. She recently arrived at her hometown
of Tlacotalpan, battered in September by Hurricane Karl. The
river Cotaxtla swelled and its
waters destroyed the road that
connects Tlacotalpan, a town of
8,000, to the coast.
The aluminum sheets that
once sheltered Mendoza, her
husband and three children
were taken by the floods or by
people rebuilding their homes.
What few belongings she had
were lost in heavy rains.
“See? I am poor, poor, poor,”
she said.
Yet Mendoza smiled.
“My husband will build it once
he gets here from Juárez,” she
said. Her husband, two daughters and son are still in Juárez.
The daughters are already married and will stay. The father
and the son plan to meet her in
Veracruz before the end of the
year.
“We’ll be eating rice and
beans, but there is peacefulness,” Mendoza said.
She has no job prospects and
does not know what she will do.
A reunion brings joy
On a recent afternoon, Mendoza’s parents and six siblings
gathered to celebrate her return.
Mendoza’s mother fried a type
of bream fish from the river.
Then she cut onions, green
chiles and tomatoes to prepare a
sauce. The steamy house
smelled like fish with a scent of
lime. Flies covered the slices of
vegetables and a bottle of CocaCola.
Lacking doors, the house has
curtains that separate the one
bedroom from the dining area
and from the bathroom. Behind
the house, Rafaela’s brothers
climbed the palm trees to get coconuts for everyone. With a machete, they cut the outer husk of
the orange-yellow coconut just
enough to make a small hole to
drink the liquid. After the juice
was gone, they cut the shells in
half to remove the tender meat.
As poor as Mendoza’s family
is, her mother still invites
strangers into the house to eat.
Poverty dominates rural areas
of Veracruz. Of 7.1 million people, half struggle to pay for a
place to live. About 1.5 million
cannot afford to eat.
The poverty rate dropped 11
percentage points from 1994 to
2006, according to the National
Council for the Evaluation of
Social Development Policy. But
Veracruz still is prone to poverty, said Adolfo Sánchez Almanza, an economist at the National
Autonomous University of
Mexico.
Since 1970, Veracruz has
dropped 10 spots to fourthworst state in Mexico when it
comes to welfare, Sánchez said.
The southern states of Chiapas,
Oaxaca and Guerrero are worse
off.
Sánchez said the living conditions are a result of “nanny
state” policies.
“The government has historically helped those living in extreme poverty with socialist
programs that don’t end poverty,” he said.
Juarochos returning to Veracruz will put more pressure on
a feeble economy, he said.
“The government has already
sent them there, but now what?”
he said.
They have tasted what it was
like to own a house, a car and to
earn at least $60 a week living in
an industrial city so close to the
modern United States.
He said the floating population of Veracruzanos may be
forced to go back to Juárez if
their homeland turns out not to
be productive for them.
“If their living conditions
don’t improve,” Sánchez said,
“they will be prone to return.”
Adriana Gómez Licón
may be reached at
agomez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6129.
44º / 31º
TUESDAY
FEB. 23, 2010
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FONDNESS
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1D
SPOTLIGHT Drug war violence
Fleeing Juárez
Obama’s new
health plan
In a final effort to achieve historic
health care changes, President Barack
Obama unveils his most detailed plan
yet. Realistically, he’s just hoping to
win a big enough slice to silence the
talk of a failing presidency. 2A
As the death toll mounts, and the inequities between
law enforcement agencies and the cartels they are
trying to battle become more disparate, an estimated
420,000 residents along with a slew of businesses
from this border city of 1.2 million have sought
refuge from the seemingly endless crackle of gunfire.
Scenes of abandonment
Photos by Jesus Alcazar / Special to the El Paso Times
Right: The former location of Aroma restaurant now sits
vacant after a fire swept through the restaurant’s Juárez
location. Aroma has since relocated to El Paso.
Below: A “for sale” sign hangs outside this house in
Juárez, an indication of exodus the city has experienced.
Bottom: The former location of the Maria Chuchena
restaurant sits vacant in Juárez. The restaurant has
moved to El Paso.
County confirms
medical examiner’s
résumé problems;
no action taken
By Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times
EL PASO — County Human Resources
Director Betsy Keller said her staff found
discrepancies in Chief Medical Examiner
Paul Shrode’s résumé.
She reported her department’s findings
at Monday’s meeting of the County Commissioners Court.
The commissioners first
discussed Shrode’s résumé
during a closed session.
Then, once back in open
session, they announced
that no action would be taken at this time.
Shrode did not attend
Monday’s
meeting and has
Shrode
not returned phone messages for comment.
Keller said Shrode does not have a graduate law degree from Southwest Texas
State University, which he claimed he had
on the résumé he submitted when he applied in El Paso.
“He took several graduate courses at
Southwest Texas,” Keller said.
He has a medical degree from Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Center
but no other graduate degree, the county
confirmed.
In a previous job application — for Harris County — Shrode indicated he had a
paralegal diploma or degree from Southwest Texas State University, now known
as Texas State University. However, according to the registrar’s office, he attended the school for only one semester in 1979
and was enrolled in political science
courses.
Shrode also said on his résumé that he
was a deputy medical examiner for the
Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office before coming to El Paso.
However, the Human Resources Department confirmed that he was actually an
employee of Texas Tech in Lubbock,
which had hired him as a professor of
pathology.
At the time, Texas Tech was on contract
with Lubbock County to perform medical
examiner duties, and Shrode was one of
the Texas Tech employees who did autopsies and was allowed to use the title of
Please see Résumé 7A
By Adriana Gómez Licón
El Paso Times
E
Single mom
saw 2 killings,
moved family
By Stephanie Sanchez
El Paso Times
EL PASO — Silvia’s selfimposed exile in El Paso has not
been easy.
She and her two children fled
Juárez to avoid the violence that
has ravaged the city. She relied
on family members for help, but
they had their own problems to
deal with.
Now in a shelter for women,
she and her children wait for
their next move.
Silvia saves the little cash she
earns working odd jobs. Her
daughter, Julia, 10, and son,
Manuel, 9, attend school and
make good grades.
“I want my children to be better than me. I don’t want them to
struggle like I have struggled,”
said Silvia, 27.
Printed on recycled newsprint
using a soybean-based ink
TODAY AT
elpasotimes.com
•Online poll: Do you know
anyone who has fled the violence in Juárez?
Silvia, who asked that her family’s last name not be published
for fear of retaliation, came to the
United States with $300 in June
2008. She brought only a change
of clothes for herself and her
children. The violence was
touching too close to home, she
said.
Silvia, who wears her dark
brown hair long, sat on a chair on
the shelter’s porch. Julia and a
friend, wearing their school uniforms, rested on the ground in
front of Silvia. They chatted and
giggled. Manuel, sweaty with
messy hair, played ball with a
friend in the shelter’s gated playground.
It’s hard to imagine a little
more than a year ago, Julia and
Manuel saw a bloody body
Please see Mom 7A
L PASO — Hundreds of thousands of people from
violence-torn Juárez are abandoning their homes,
closing their businesses and moving elsewhere.
Although reliable numbers are hard to come by, El
Paso police and real estate agents, and Juárez demographers, detect an increase in refugees from Mexico
living in El Paso.
The city of Juárez’s planning department said
110,000 houses have been abandoned from 2005 to the
beginning of 2009. Which means that, based on average family size, about 420,000 people, or 30 percent of
the city’s residents, have moved out of Juárez, either
to other parts of Mexico or to the United States.
In addition to the violence,
more than 75,000 people have
lost their jobs since December
of 2007 in Juárez, according to
numbers from the Instituto
Mexicano Seguro Social. Most
of the jobs have been lost in
the maquiladora industry.
Restaurants, hairdressing salons, clinics and bakeries have
closed. About 40 percent, or
10,678 businesses, were forced
to close in Juárez because of
the fear of extortions and assaults for not paying fees, or
“cuotas,” to criminal organizations, according to the Mexican chamber of commerce.
“Let people here tell how
scared we are of even answering the phone,” said Julia
Monarrez Fragoso, professor
at the Colegio de la Frontera in
Juárez, to Mexican President
Felipe Calderón during his
first visit to the city Feb. 11.
Many people in Juárez want
to leave the city, where more
than 4,600 people have been
killed since 2008. María del
Socorro Velázquez Vargas, a
professor at the Autonomous
University of Ciudad Juárez,
UACJ, said the results of a survey conducted with 1,800 people last December showed that
about 47 percent of Juárenses
want to move to the United
States because of the violence.
Even though brutal attacks
have scared away many residents, the weak state of the
maquiladora industry also has
increased the migration.
“It is the first time that population will increase less than 1
percent,” Velázquez Vargas
said. “It’s historic.”
During World War II, the
Bracero Program allowed
farmworkers from Mexico to
temporarily work in the Unit-
Please see Juárez 7A
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El Paso Times
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010
elpasotimes.com
7A
Juárez
Continued from 1A
ed States. During those days,
Juárez had huge growth because immigrants arrived in
the area to work in the program. The population grew
from 49,000 to 123,000 people.
When the program ended
in the 1960s, the maquiladora industry skyrocketed and
attracted Mexicans from different parts of the country.
The growth in the sector
continued throughout the
1990s. It peaked after 1994,
when the North American
Free Trade Agreement was
implemented.
Just like the automotive industry, maquiladoras began
to face competition from
low-cost offshore plants in
Central America and Asia.
Many have shut down or
laid off workers since 2000.
Maquiladoras offered jobs
to 250,000 workers in Juárez
at the beginning of 2008.
The number dropped to
176,700 as 2009 concluded.
“It’s always recurrent that
every time there is a recession in the United States, we
feel the impact,” Velázquez
Vargas said.
The growth from 2000 to
2008 was slow compared
with the decades after 1940.
The Instituto Nacional de
Estadística y Geografía, the
counterpart of the U.S. Census, reported 1.2 million living in Juárez in 2000, and 1.3
million in 2005. Estimates by
UACJ demographers calculated that Juárez grew by
55,000 people in 2008, mostly led by births.
The natural growth, which
is the difference between
the number of people who
are born and die, is still what
drives population growth in
El Paso’s sister city. More
couples are having children
than the number of people
who are dying.
On the other side of the
border, El Paso Police Chief
Greg Allen said that, in the
past two years, 30,000 people have moved to El Paso
after fleeing Juárez. The
county’s population is about
750,000.
Allen was attempting to
justify the purchase of 1,100
M4 rifles by saying his department needed to be ready
for a possible spillover of violence from Juárez. He said
Jesus Alcazar / Special to the El Paso Times
Residents in this Juárez neighborhood have placed large boulders in the street to block vehicles from entering or exiting in hopes of quelling the
violence that has plagued much of the city.
he arrived at the 30,000 figure through comments he
heard at intelligence briefings.
Sergio Ramirez, a real estate agent in El Paso, deals
with clients who have come
to Juárez in the past few
years. He said most Mexicans fleeing Juárez are looking for rental homes and
apartments.
“They are all renting because they cannot afford the
expenses,” he said. “For
every 50 (people) who are
renting, two or three are
buying.”
Century 21 APD reports
the latest rental vacancy rate
at 2 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau said the rate was
9.2 percent in 2008, and 10.5
in 2007.
Meanwhile, some southwest neighborhoods in
Juárez are virtually deserted.
“That is a problem that is
going off like a red light ...
These are a lot of homes,”
Velázquez Vargas said.
Adriana Gómez Licón may be reached
at agomez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6129.
Commercial real estate for rent is abundant in Juárez — 10,678 businesses have closed their doors as the city continues to be ravaged by violence.
Mom
Résumé
Continued from 1A
Continued from 1A
dumped behind their school
in Juárez.
“It was shocking for the
children. I was in shock
when they told me. I never
thought they would experience something like that,”
Silvia said. “We don’t talk
about it anymore. ... They do
remember though.”
Silvia called for Manuel.
He said he recalled seeing
the body and how it frightened him.
“Juárez is a bad place.
There are bad people who
rob and assault people,” he
said, gasping for air after
running to his mother. “I felt
like they didn’t take care for
us in school. I was scared
they could kill students and
teachers, too.”
Silvia said she was glad her
children do not live in that
environment anymore.
Silvia worked in the perfume and jewelry section of
a department store in
Juárez. About a month before coming to the United
States, she said, she was
driving home and witnessed
two execution-style killings.
“I saw one on the road, then
turned on another street and
saw another execution. They
were back to back, in less than
15 minutes. They were shootings,” she said. “At that moment, you think ‘I hope I am
not caught in the crossfire.’
They shoot randomly, and
sometimes stray bullets hit
innocent people.”
More than 4,500 people
have been killed in Juárez
since the beginning of 2008.
Most killings have been
linked to warring drug cartels.
Silvia said she fears her
brother might be among
those who have died. She
said he was involved in drug
trafficking and disappeared
two years ago.
“I don’t know what happened to my brother,” she
said. “One day, he called and
told us goodbye. He told us
if anybody called to ask
about him, we should say we
didn’t know anything about
him. His telephone has been
off ever since. We haven’t
heard from him since.”
Countless other families
have fled the city, which
once was home to 1.5 million
deputy medical examiner on
the paperwork.
David Fisher, a government watchdog in Elgin,
Texas, said Texas Tech was
forced to dismantle its former medical examiner
arrangement with Lubbock
County because it was allegedly illegal.
“Shrode’s previous supervisors at Texas Tech in Lubbock did not have the authority to confer the title of
deputy medical examiner on
anyone,” Fisher said.
Fisher has a complaint
against Shrode pending before the Texas Medical
Board.
Keller said Shrode received his undergraduate
degree from Indiana Central
University in world history
and Spanish in 1972, and not
in 1973, as his résumé indicated.
Keller also confirmed that
Shrode passed only one of
the two required exams to
become board certified. “He
is no longer eligible to sit for
those boards (exams),” she
said.
Elizabeth Gard, who also
filed a complaint with the
Texas
Medical
Board
against Shrode, complained
to commissioners about the
way Shrode’s office delayed
releasing her late husband’s
autopsy report and death
certificate, and about alleged errors in the documents.
County Assistant Attorney
Holly Lytle defended how
the county handled the release of the autopsy report
and death certificate.
Later, Gard said, “What
Lytle presented was inaccurate because she did not
have the complete informa-
Victor Calzada / El Paso Times
Silvia and her two children have taken refuge in El Paso for more than a year in fear of the
drug violence in Juárez. The family first lived with relatives in Albuquerque in June 2008.
but has shrunk by tens of
thousands. Precise numbers
vary, depending on which
government
agency
is
counting.
Silvia, who was born in
Sonora, Mexico, and grew
up in Juárez, was a single
mother living with her parents. She worked long hours
daily to support her family.
Before moving in with her
parents, Silvia was married
to the father of her children.
She moved to the United
States after her children
were let out of school for
summer vacation. She said
she had a visa to cross into
the United States and her
children are U.S. citizens.
She, her children and her
father set out for Albuquerque, where her sister
and brother-in-law lived.
Silvia said she had a job as a
cashier at a grocery.
Four months later, Silvia’s
brother-in-law was deported. He did not have documents to be in the United
States.
Silvia said her sister moved
back to Juárez to be with her
husband. She said she left Albuquerque with her sister
because she did not know
anyone else in New Mexico.
“We came back on Halloween 2008,” she said. “We
were driving past Las
Cruces and I told my sister,
‘What am I going to do in
Juárez?’ She said, ‘Well,
work.’ I said, ‘We’re going
back to the same thing.’ ”
When they reached El Paso,
Silvia said, she decided to stay
at her aunt’s house in Central
El Paso. After three days she
moved to the shelter.
“I left everything behind,
but it has been worth it. ... I
feel like I’m starting from
the bottom. But everything
is for my children — all my
sacrifices. We feel at ease
here. Even though we’re
right next to Juárez, life is
completely different here.
Things are peaceful. I know
my children go to school and
they are safe.”
Stephanie Sanchez may be reached
at ssanchez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6137.
tion from my husband’s
medical records.”
After the meeting, County
Judge Anthony Cobos said,
“I’ve lost confidence in Dr.
Shrode. As time goes on, I
believe a lot more is going to
come to light regarding him.”
County
Commissioner
Veronica Escobar said the
district attorney and county
attorney consider Shrode
qualified to be the medical
examiner. Under Texas law,
the only requirement for a
medical examiner is that he
or she be a licensed medical
doctor.
Escobar said Shrode did
embellish his résumé, but
commissioners already admonished him a couple of
years ago.
“It would be irresponsible
for the county to fire someone simply to do the politically expedient thing,” said
Escobar, referring to other
politicians who’ve said the
county should fire Shrode.
Lawyer
Theresa
Caballero, who is running for
county attorney in the Democratic Party primary
election, said she would
have advised the commissioners to fire Shrode.
“I told the commissioners
(Monday) I wanted this to
go to a vote, and for everyone to be able to see how
they voted,” Caballero said.
“Shrode is dishonest. I
would like for him to be
fired. Lives are at stake.”
Lawyer Sergio Coronado,
a county judge candidate
and Canutillo ISD board
member, also has called for
Shrode’s ouster.
County Attorney Jo Anne
Bernal, who faces a challenge by Caballero for the
county attorney’s post, said
Shrode is qualified to stay
on as El Paso’s chief medical
examiner.
Diana Washington Valdez may be
reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6140.
SUNDAY
68º / 46º
MARCH 7, 2010
$1.75
CLOUDY, BREEZY
A MEDIANEWS GROUP NEWSPAPER
Ó
Living
Business
Maquilas
For love
of music
fight recession,
not violence
1F
IT’S THE
OSCARS
DECISION ’10
Primary election runoffs
District 76 race
draws big money
By Ramon Bracamontes
El Paso Times
•Who will win? Doug Pullen makes his
Oscar predictions and events coverage 1F, 11F
•Red carpet at 6 p.m followed by awards
show coverage at 6:30 p.m. today on ABC.
•All is ready for Hollywood’s big night 5A
1E
EL PASO — The median
household income in state
House District 76 is $23,400 a
year, a little more than half the
national average.
Almost half of the voters do
not have a high-school diploma.
About 12.4 percent of the
adults are unemployed, more
than 2 percentage points higher than in El Paso as a whole.
But these days, big-money
lobbyists from across Texas
are courting the district’s
73,174 registered voters.
Norma Chávez has been
their state representative
since 1997. Just 8,641 of those
registered voted in last week’s
Democratic primary election,
which saw Chávez and her
main challenger, Naomi Gonzalez, advance to a runoff election in April.
A third candidate, Tony San
Roman, polled in single digits
but got enough votes to prevent Chávez or Gonzalez from
breaking the 50 percent
threshold to win the nomination outright.
Gonzalez, 31, an assistant
Drug war in Juárez | Caring for the victims
county attorney, is making her
second try for public office.
She lost a City Council race in
2008 to Emma Acosta.
Chávez, 49, has won seven
two-year terms to the House.
Gonzalez said she received
an unpaid leave from the
county attorney’s staff about
one month ago so she could
Please see Race 9A
City employee benefits
Not all church
leaders oppose
coverage for
the unmarried
By David Burge
El Paso Times
Jesus Alcazar / Special to the El Paso Times
Dr. Arturo Valenzuela Zorrilla leads the Juárez doctors’ committee, which meets to discuss ways to protect its members from organized crime. Recently, Valenzuela Zorrilla organized a workshop for doctors on tactics for negotiating ransoms.
‘I know that
now I’m too
exposed. I am
the tipping
point. If they
kill me, then
we know that
was the limit.’
Dr. Arturo
Valenzuela Zorrilla,
treats victims of violence
Juárez physician helps
when others refuse
By Adriana Gómez Licón
•Woman held in kidnapping cases 9A
El Paso Times
JUAREZ — Dr. Arturo Valenzuela Zorrilla fills a
void left by two years of violence committed by
warring drug cartels.
The secretary of the surgery specialist summons
him one day to the General Hospital in the deadliest city in Mexico. Gunmen had hit a man with
three bullets, one to the neck and two to the torso.
“It happens every day,” Valenzuela Zorrilla said.
Many times a day, actually.
More than 4,600 people have been murdered in
Juárez since January 2008. Many more have been
wounded. Health care is under siege.
Valenzuela Zorrilla is one of the few doctors who
take phone calls or drive to hospitals late at night
to try to save victims of attacks. Many hospitals
Printed on recycled newsprint
using a soybean-based ink
Business
Calendar
Classified
Crossword
EL PASO — Not so fast in condemning the unmarried, say various churchgoers and leaders in
El Paso’s religious community.
Not all Christians and religious groups, they say,
are against the city government policy that extends health insurance benefits to gay and unmarried heterosexual partners of city employees.
“It’s a shame that this is being portrayed that it’s
the religious community versus the secular community,” said Larry Bach, the rabbi of Temple
Mount Sinai, a reform synagogue. “I’m a religious
person and I believe that anyone in a long-term,
committed, monogamous relationship shouldn’t
be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation.”
A vocal group of churchgoers, pastors and business people, however, has been a fixture at City
Council meetings since July, when the city’s governing body first proposed its controversial domestic-partner benefit program. Soon after, City
Council members approved health insurance
benefits for unmarried partners of city workers.
Opponents are circulating a petition to call for
a citywide vote on overturning the policy. They
want the city to limit health benefits to its em-
Please see Benefits 9A
Iraq vote crucial test
for future of country
By Rebecca Santana
Associated Press
now turn down patients with bullet wounds because, in some cases, hit men followed them all the
way to the operating rooms to finish the job.
Clinics have closed after assaults and extortions
have left owners with empty pockets. Doctors have
closed their offices for fear of extortions and kidnappings.
“The medical profession is a very sensitive one,”
Valenzuela Zorrilla said. “We are in the epicenter
of the situation.”
From his office window, Valenzuela Zorrilla can
see El Paso’s Downtown buildings and the Franklin
Mountains. In the same office, he takes calls from
BAGHDAD — Though today’s parliamentary
election is billed as a key test of Iraq’s nascent
democracy, Iraqis fear that the vote will lead to a
protracted period of uncertainty while the winners and losers try to cobble together a new government — even as American forces prepare to
go home.
None of the main political coalitions is expected to win an outright majority, and that outcome
could mean months of negotiations and more violence despite hopes the balloting will boost efforts to reconcile Iraq’s divided ethnic and religious groups.
Iraq’s second nationwide election for a full par-
Please see Physician 9A
Please see Iraq 8A
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Continued from 1A
Physician
Continued from 1A
fellow doctors who go to him
for advice on how to deal
with extortions and kidnappings.
Valenzuela Zorrilla leads
the local doctors’ committee,
which meets to discuss ways
to protect its members from
organized crime. Recently,
Valenzuela Zorrilla organized a workshop for doctors
on tactics for negotiating ransoms. He carries a cell phone
provided by the committee to
take calls from people with
questions about public safety.
“People don’t know how to
confront kidnappings, how to
negotiate kidnappings. They
panic,” he said.
Then he talks about capitulating to the kidnappers to
save a life by paying ransom.
“For instance, you can get it
down to 10 percent of the first
sum demanded,” Valenzuela
Zorrilla said.
He was the first person to
publicly speak to Mexican
President Felipe Calderón
when he visited Juárez last
month. Valenzuela Zorrilla
criticized Calderón’s use of
the military to help police
Juárez, and what he considered a belated response to the
violence. Valenzuela Zorrilla
also said the government
needs a strategy to solve extortions and kidnappings.
“I know that now I’m too
exposed,” he said. “I am the
tipping point. If they kill me,
then we know that was the
limit.”
Nobody has extorted or
threatened Valenzuela Zorrilla, a single dad raising a 9year-old girl. She often calls
and sends text messages to
check on him. Valenzuela
Zorrilla said his daughter understands how important it is
to be vocal on issues related
to violence.
“My daughter told me,
‘Dad, when you die I will continue to do what you are doing.’ With a daughter like
that, you can’t back out.”
For decades, countless people in El Paso depended on
health-care services across
the border. In late 2008, a
study by the Paso del Norte
Health Foundation found that
nearly a third of El Pasoans
had used some kind of medical service in Juárez. That
same year, dentists in Juárez
began losing U.S. patients.
Physicians were among the
first to protest against organized crime. In December
2008, the doctors’ committee
was formed. Hundreds of
health-care workers covered
their faces with sterile masks
and gathered at the giant Juárez flagpole in Chamizal Park.
Valenzuela Zorrilla was
there.
He said the medical profession became vulnerable to
the violence throughout the
second half of 2008. The
threats abated in 2009.
Criminal organizations began kidnapping doctors again
this year. This prompted one
physician, general practitioner Leticia Chavarría, to interrupt one of Calderón’s visits
to ask the president for measures to better investigate kidnappings and extortions.
“My problem is the same all
doctors have,” she said. “That
they look at us as victims easy
to kidnap.”
At least 11 doctors whom
the committee knows about
have been kidnapped since
June 2008. Doctors said family members are afraid to call
the police.
“There’s no report because
there’s no trust,” said Dr.
Miguel García, another general practitioner.
García estimates that about
200 doctors’ offices and seven clinics have closed. Fearing retaliation, he did not
want the El Paso Times to
publish the name of the clinic
he owns.
The clinic’s gynecologist
was recently kidnapped, and
García said the criminals confused that doctor with him.
In the past two weeks, Mexican authorities have arrested
members of two alleged kidnapping rings. Police said one
was led by a doctor who targeted other medical professionals. Rene Romeo Ruiseco
Salinas, nicknamed “El Doctor,” remains a fugitive.
Ruiseco Salinas is a 28-yearold general practitioner.
On Friday, Mexican authorities arrested Soledad Aldana
Rodriguez, known as “La
Chole,” in connection with
Ruiseco Salinas’ alleged ring.
She is accused of feeding and
guarding 15 kidnapping victims until bribes were delivered. One of those victims
was a dentist, officials said.
Other members of the ring,
including El Pasoan Sergio
“El Toki” Iglesias, were arrested last weekend.
The effects these crimes
have had on health care are
felt on both sides of the border. The number of people
treated in the United States
after attacks in Juárez continues to rise. University Medical Center of El Paso treated
83 people shot in Mexico last
year, compared with about 50
patients in all of 2008. More
than three-quarters of the patients it treated in 2009 were
U.S. citizens
Members of the doctors’
committee against organized
crime said they do not see
how Calderón will keep a recent promise to extend health
coverage to 300,000 people in
Juárez. The committee members prefer to see a change in
crime-fighting tactics. They
want government to cleanse
police departments and
courts of corruption.
Meanwhile,
Valenzuela
Zorrilla continues to respond
to emergencies in the early
hours of the morning. He said
no other doctor wants to go
out when it is dark.
“Going out at night is an extreme sport,” he said.
The surgery specialist has
become more alert. He takes
different paths to go to the
hospital and back home. He
tries to vary his schedule to
avoid premeditated attacks.
Even with all the shootings
and people in need of longterm treatment, Valenzuela
Zorrilla said, he is not getting
much out of it monetarily.
“It is not profitable. It is not
safe. It is dangerous, so why
would you risk being a doctor?”
Adriana Gómez Licón may be reached
at agomez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6129.
elpasotimes.com
By Chris Roberts
El Paso Times
EL PASO — A Juárez
woman who allegedly participated in the kidnapping
of 15 people, including a customs agent’s wife and a dentist, has been arrested by
Mexican authorities.
Soledad Aldana Rodriguez, known as “La Chole,”
allegedly was part of a kidnapping ring headed by
René Romeo Ruiseco Salinas, known as “El Doctor.”
Rodriguez was arrested
Friday, according to Chihuahua state attorney general’s staff. Her duties included renting six houses where
victims were held, bringing
them food, and guarding
them until bribes were delivered, authorities said. The
houses were in neighborhoods spread throughout
the city.
Other kidnapping victims
included two grocery store
owners, the brother of a woman who owns a laundromat, the wife of a store owner who sells floor coverings,
the relative of a doctor, and
the cousin of a store owner
who sells paintings in Chihuahua City.
The victims were 10 men
and five women.
Two of the alleged kidnappings occurred in February.
The rest were in 2009.
Continued from 1A
Race
Continued from 1A
campaign full time. She said
Saturday that she intended to
remain on leave through the
runoff election.
This decision was difficult,
she said, because of the loss
of pay, but she wanted to
avoid any appearance or allegation that she was campaigning on taxpayers’ time.
Other attorneys in the civil
division are handling her cases during her leave, Gonzalez
said.
Both Chávez and Gonzalez
have received buckets of
campaign money — nearly
$500,000 combined — from
political action committees,
business associations and
businessmen who do not live
in the district. Just how much
influence the outside money
has will not be measurable
until the votes are counted af-
The Rev. Kati Houts, the pastor at the Metropolitan
Community Church of El Paso, is an outspoken supporter of domestic-partner benefits. “It has to do with laws
and fairness.” Houts says.
cost of up to $287,000.
The overall city budget is
$673.9 million, of which about
$35 million is spent each year
on health benefits for municipal employees and their families.
“I think the opponents have
gotten so much coverage and
made such a wave about it,
I’m concerned that people
think that’s the way all Christians view things,” ClugySoto said. “It’s not.”
Barney Field, executive director of the citywide ministry El Paso for Jesus, is one
of those opposed to benefits
for unmarried partners of city
employees.
Field is involved with a
group called El Pasoans for
Traditional Family Values.
He said the group is trying to
protect and promote traditional marriage between a
man and a woman.
Field said his group has
never tried to portray itself as
representing all Christians.
“But we represent the vast
majority of them,” he said.
If his group is successful in
getting the issue on the ballot,
he said, he is confident it will
win.
“I think you’ll be surprised
at how many Christians turn
out to vote in favor of traditional family values,” Field
said.
Churches that get involved
in politics straddle a thin line
to keep their federal taxexempt status, said Kay Bell,
tax editor for the national
consumer finance Web site
Bankrate.com
Churches and other nonprofit organizations cannot
directly support or oppose a
particular candidate. They
can, however, lobby on behalf
of issues or legislation as long
as it is not considered to be a
“substantial part of their activities,” Bell said.
The Internal Revenue Service determines violations on
a case-by-case basis. Churches found in violation of campaign restrictions could lose
their tax-exempt status.
The Rev. John Stowe, a
spokesman for the Catholic
Diocese of El Paso, declined
to be interviewed for this story. He previously said the
Catholic Church would support the city’s new benefits
program but with reservations.
Catholics oppose changing
the basic meaning of marriage, but also oppose discrimination, he said in a December interview. Stowe also
said it was important to extend health coverage to more
people.
The Rev. Ed Roden-Lucero,
pastor of San Juan Diego
Catholic Church, urged compassion and took a swipe at
the opponents’ tactics. He
stressed that he was speaking
for himself and not his church.
“The people who are affected by this policy are ordinary
people,” Roden-Lucero said.
“They’re somebody’s brother
or sister or son or daughter. I
just think the self-righteousness of these opponents doesn’t serve the Christian faith
ter the runoff
on April 13.
David Luna,
75, a longtime
Lower Valley
resident, said
the origins of
the
money
Chávez
would not influence him.
He said he
supports
Chávez and
will vote for
her again.
“People will
decide based
Gonzalez
on who they
know and what
the candidate has done in the
community,” Luna said. “No
one is looking at the money
and where it comes from.
Norma has done a lot for us,
and Naomi is unknown.”
Central El Paso resident
and voter Alejandro Sepulveda, 71, mostly takes the opposite view.
“Norma has done a lot for
this community, but it is time
for her to go,” Sepulveda said.
“Naomi is humble and willing
to work with everyone. Her
opponent has forgotten
where she came from, and
she is no longer working for
the people.”
House District 76 stretches
from the University Medical
Center area to Ysleta in the
Lower Valley. Only a small
part of the district is north of
Interstate 10.
Cheryl Howard, a demographer at the University of
Texas at El Paso, said she understands why special interest groups are pouring money into this race.
The profile of District 76,
Howard said, may leave the
impression that many voters
are looking for someone to
tell them how to vote. This,
she said, led to the outpouring of television, radio and direct-mail ads largely financed
by insurance and attorney
lobbies based outside the dis-
trict.
“When you have a population that doesn’t feel entitled
to give their thoughts, then
they get their thoughts from
someone else,” Howard said.
Chávez and Gonzalez have
received large amounts of
money from organizations
lobbying on different sides of
the same issue.
Finance reports show that
Chávez has received more
than $272,000 in contributions. She received money
from political action committees representing banks in Alabama and Washington, D.C.
Chávez also received about
$108,000 from the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and a
Houston law firm.
Gonzalez has received
about $192,000. Most of it
came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which paid for
television and radio ads. The
group wants to limit awards
in lawsuits, a position at odds
with the trial lawyers associ-
Photos by Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
The Rev. Mike Hamilton, pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, says he supports domestic partner benefits.
“It’s mainly a civil rights and justice issue and not a religious issue,” Hamilton says.
9A
Juárez woman held
as alleged kidnapper
Benefits
ployees, their legal spouses
and their dependent children.
Bach said opponents of the
policy will be able to get
enough signatures to call a
city election on Nov. 2. They
need about 1,500 signatures to
get the issue on the ballot.
But, he said, it is not a slamdunk that they will prevail in
an election.
“I’d like to believe and do
believe that many, many El
Pasoans are proud of their
City Council and will vote accordingly,” Bach said. “This
includes many religious El
Pasoans.”
Bach said that for him the
policy is a matter of fairness.
“I read the same Bible as
folks on the other side. I come
away with an understanding
that there’s an important
principle of fairness and justice and important principle
on health. We should be seeking to get more people covered with health insurance.”
The Rev. Deborah ClugySoto, pastor of Desert View
United Church of Christ, said
she thought the issue would
have blown over if the city
had merely given benefits to
unmarried heterosexual partners of city employees. Opponents, however, have
latched on to the fact that it
gives more rights to gay and
lesbian people, she said.
“What’s this about?” ClugySoto asked. “It’s about everyone having adequate health
coverage. To us, it’s not an issue of what your sexual orientation is about. We’re not
talking about a huge amount
of people or budget. It’s about
getting more people coverage
that they need.”
The City Council voted 7-1,
with Rep. Carl L. Robinson dissenting, to include domesticpartner benefits in this year’s
budget.
Just 19 city employees
signed up to have their partners receive taxpayer-funded
health benefits. The estimated cost is $42,000, city budget analysts say. The city originally estimated that 45 employees would be eligible at a
El Paso Times
Sunday, March 7, 2010
well, nor does it serve the real needs of real people well.”
The Rev. Kati Houts, pastor
of Metropolitan Community
Church of El Paso, has been
an outspoken supporter of
domestic-partner benefits.
“It’s something our denomination supports,” she said.
“We believe in equality for
all, like most Americans do.”
To Houts, domestic partner
benefits have nothing to do
with religion.
“It has to do with laws and
fairness,” she said. “That’s it
in a nutshell for me. We believe all people are created
equal in the eyes of God.
“It’s also in the Constitution
that we are all created equal,
so we should all receive
equality under the law.”
The Rev. Mike Hamilton is
pastor of St. Timothy
Lutheran Church, which is a
member of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, the nation’s largest
Lutheran denomination. The
national church voted last
summer to allow gays and
lesbians to be pastors if they
are in committed relationships, he said.
In the past, the church allowed gay and lesbian ministers but they needed to be
celibate, he said.
There are two other large
branches of Lutheranism in
the United States, and they do
not allow gay and lesbian
ministers, Hamilton said.
Hamilton said that his
church had not taken a stand
on the domestic-partner isation.
City Rep. Steve Ortega,
whose city district mirrors
most of the House district,
said both candidates had to
take the money or else they
would not be able to get their
message out.
“Unfortunately, until the
system is refined, you are going to have huge amounts of
money being given to candidates by special interest
groups,” Ortega said. “If you
choose to take the high road
and not accept the money,
you will probably lose because you will not be able to
get your message out.”
City Rep. Eddie Holguin,
who represents a part of the
same district, said he hoped
voters would take the time to
look closely at who is giving
money to whom.
“I don’t think the voters understand right now that the
money is coming from
Austin,” Holguin said, “and
the media isn’t accurately
Ruiseco Salinas remains a
fugitive. Police are also
looking for at least seven
other people they think
were involved in the ring,
including Rodriguez’s sister,
son and nephew.
Rodriguez allegedly was
introduced to Ruiseco Salinas through her son’s girlfriend in late 2008, when he
prescribed medicine for her
sick daughter. About a
month later, she was invited
to join the kidnapping ring,
officials said.
Rodriguez, according to
authorities, said Ruiseco
Salinas participated in all 15
kidnappings.
Last weekend, five other
alleged members of the ring,
including an El Pasoan, were
arrested.
Doctors and other professionals have been targeted
by kidnapping rings in Juárez since 2008, when a war
between two drug cartels
erupted.
An estimated 200 doctors’
offices and seven clinics
have closed.
Some doctors, trying to
protect themselves, reportedly vary their schedules
and take different routes between home and work.
Chris Roberts
may be reached at
chrisr@elpasotimes.com;
546-6136.
sue, but that he personally
supports extending health
benefits to unmarried partners of city workers.
“It’s the right thing to do,”
he said. “It’s mainly a civil
rights and justice issue and
not a religious issue.”
Hamilton said he sees the
issue as one of tolerance.
“I can’t see Jesus taking a
stand against people living
together, who love each other but don’t have a document
from the county,” he said.
“Everything for Jesus boiled
down to love. Does love boil
down to resenting or trying
to block the person your
neighbor loves the most from
getting insurance?”
Hamilton said public money spent on the program was
a trickle.
“This is just a drop in the
bucket,” he said. “There are
so many more important
things to involve ourselves in,
like immigration reform and
justice for the poor. Spending
all this time on this is really
puzzling to me. The priorities
of people who oppose this in
an organized way are out of
whack.”
Van English is a gay El Pasoan and a lifetime churchgoer. He said opponents of domestic-partner benefits are
using religion as a weapon.
“They’re not alone,” he
said. “A lot of groups have
used religion that way. Many
of the wars in the history of
the world have been religionbased. That’s not what Jesus
or God intended.”
The Rev. Wayne Kendrick
is pastor of Peace Lutheran
Church, which has not taken
a formal stand on domesticpartner benefits. Kendrick’s
church also belongs to the
same branch of Lutheranism
as Hamilton’s.
“Our national church body
would hold a couple of convictions,” he said. “One, cohabitation is not the proper
relationship to be in; marriage is the standard. At the
same time, our church advocates for justice. It supports
legislation and policies to
protect civil rights and prohibit discrimination. To me,
this is an issue of justice.”
David Burge may be reached at
dburge@elpasotimes.com;
546-6126.
portraying that.”
El Paso educator Lily
Limon spent 20 years of her
career working in District 76.
She said that the district is not
as poor as people think and
that the voters will analyze a
race before voting. She based
this on the fact that the parents she met at the schools
were working 10-hour shifts,
yet their main concern was
their children, their family
and bettering themselves.
“Parents are involved in
state legislator politics only
when an issue is close to their
heart,” she said. “More parents would be involved if
politicians took time to really
meet with them and explain
how legislation will affect
them. Too often, they feel unwanted at meetings where
they may not understand the
issues, especially if there is a
language barrier.”
Ramon Bracamontes
may be reached at
rbracamontes@elpasotimes.com;
546-6142.
THURSDAY
87º / 64º
SEPT. 23, 2010
SHOWER OR STORM
75 CENTS
COPYRIGHT® 2010, EL PASO TIMES
Memphis vs. UTEP
FALL
DECOR
1D
Weather
Flash flood watch
The storm that soaked parts of El Paso on Wednesday is likely to drop more rain today. See story, 1B
1C
A FAMILY
AFFAIR
Ascensión vigilantes
take on kidnappers
By Adriana Gómez Licón
EL PASO TIMES
ASCENSION, MEXICO — In a small rural
town of Chihuahua, the rule of law is a vague
concept, and angry residents felt justified in
killing two presumed kidnappers Tuesday.
The two 17-year-olds, Raymundo Rascón
•La Polaka website editor reportedly receives asylum 1B
Ortega and Andres Ramírez González, were
part of a group of eight who had abducted
16-year-old Thelma Díaz Salazar from a
seafood restaurant, state police said.
Ascensión is a farming town 120 miles
southwest of Juárez and close to the U.S.
border with New Mexico.
The town had been the scene of a rash of
kidnappings in the past few months. In the
past, Ascensión residents had banded to-
Please see Ascensión 7A
UTEP | Title 9 awareness
OLYMPIC MEDALIST VISITS
Developers:
Flood-plain
maps could
cut revenues
By Chris Roberts
EL PASO TIMES
A federal effort to ensure that the nation’s levees can protect homes from
100-year floods could drastically slow
development in the Upper Valley and
cost local governments property-tax
revenue, say area homeowners and developers.
“People continue to look at this as just
a West Side issue,”
said Pat Woods, a developer who owns an
Upper Valley home.
But a drop in the taxes collected would affect the entire city and
county, as well as
Lilly
Canutillo, Anthony
and the region’s school districts, said
Woods. He was among about 20 people
who attended a meeting at City Hall to
discuss the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance rate
maps.
In El Paso, a proposed FEMA map
would put about 24,500 homes in the
Rio Grande flood plain, which is about
8,700 fewer than are considered at risk
on the current map. In part, that is due
to efforts to improve levees that protect
the Lower Valley. However, nearly
5,300 Upper Valley homes were added
to the flood plain. And no new building
permits would be issued for flood-plain
areas.
If the proposed flood-plain map is approved, which probably will take more
than a year, local governments would
lose about $12.3 million each year in
property taxes, said Sal Masoud, a developer and Upper Valley homeowner.
His calculations assumed a 30 percent drop in property values. Those
values would drop, he said, because of
the additional insurance costs, possible
difficulties in getting building permits
for major home improvements and
caps on what the insurance will pay if
the home and its contents are destroyed.
However, some say the 30 percent
figure is too high. And because more El
Paso homes would be removed from
the flood plain than added, the overall
tax impact could be positive.
FEMA’s nationwide effort to certify
levees that protect low-lying areas from
flooding came soon after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, said
Isela Canava, acting chief of the International Boundary and Water Commission. The commission is responsible for
levees that run from Hatch, N.M., to
Brownsville, she said. Most of those
levees did not meet federal certification
standards.
City Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly, who represents the area, called the meeting.
“We need to know what do we do to get
them certified so we can get a decent
Please see Flood 7A
RUBEN R. RAMIREZ / EL PASO TIMES
Jessica Mendoza, left, autographs a softball for Arielle Gomez, 6, on Wednesday at the UTEP Union. Mendoza spoke at the campus as part
of a UTEP Athletics and Frontera Women’s Foundation initiative to raise awareness about Title 9. Mendoza is a two-time Olympic medalist
as a member of the U.S. softball team, capturing gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver in Beijing in 2008. A four-time All-American
while at Stanford, she is the president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and was voted the organization’s 2008 Sportswoman of the Year.
See story, 1C.
Track owner
thanks backers
in tax election
Fort Bliss: Shooting aftermath
Officials defend
post’s system
for notification
By Felix Chavez
By Maggie Ybarra
EL PASO TIMES
EL PASO TIMES
Fort Bliss on Wednesday defended
the system used to alert Army personnel of the shooting at a convenience store that left two people dead.
The post sent out an initial alert on
Monday when a retired Army sergeant shot two women in the head at
a post convenience store. The alert
did not mention the shooting, but it
did inform personnel to stay clear of
the area.
Questions about the effectiveness of
the system arose Tuesday during a
news conference with post commander Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard.
Mike Lister, emergency manager for
Fort Bliss, said the alert was distributed through a mass-notification system inside the post’s Installation Operation Center. The system distrib-
screen. It was installed about six
months ago, he said.
Lister said that the post tests the system every Wednesday, but that the
Live horse racing will stay in Ruidoso for at least five more years, and
owner R.D. Hubbard couldn’t be happier.
“I was pleased,” Hubbard said. “I
just want to give
thanks to all the supporters we had. Now
we can move forward
and continue to give
people a good product.”
On Tuesday, voters
in Lincoln County ap- Hubbard
proved a business retention gross receipts tax increase that will help keep
the racetrack in Ruidoso. The tax in
Lincoln County will be raised by
three-sixteenths of 1 percent. There
Please see Shooting 7A
Please see Track 7A
VICTOR CALZADA / EL PASO TIMES
Fort Bliss commander Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard speaks Tuesday to
news reporters and photographers outside the Shoppette that was
the scene of a fatal shooting Monday.
uted e-mail, text and voice messages
to Army personnel in less than six
minutes, he said.
The system, which cost more than
$200,000, includes 22 workstations,
several televisions and a projection
Inside|Business » 1F | Classified » 1E | Crossword » 7D, 4E | Deaths » 4B | Movies » 2D
Continued from 1A | Texas
elpasotimes.com
El Paso Times
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010
7A
Texas has increase in Hispanic-owned firms
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — As the number of
Hispanics has grown in Texas,
so too has the number of Hispanic-owned businesses, the
Census Bureau reports.
Texas is ranked third nationally, behind California and Florida, in the number of Hispanicowned businesses, according to
new figures. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in
Texas grew by 40 percent between 2002 and 2007, reaching
447,000.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday that
Texas was also No. 3 in percentage of businesses that are Hispanic-owned — 21 percent.
David Hinson, national director of the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, said he was
“highly encouraged” by the
growth data but said the Hispanic business community’s full
potential has still not been realized.
“The average Hispanic firm is
too small,” said Hinson. “What
we have to do is work hard to
make the investment that these
firms can grow larger so they
can create more jobs and have
more economic output for the
nation.”
The data are especially encouraging in Texas, said Gabriel
Sanchez, the Dallas-based regional census director for Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi.
“These trends … are completely self-evident, I think, to
anyone who has spent time driving around Texas and going to
different areas. You see tremendous growth in Hispanic-owned
businesses,” said Sanchez. “In
these times when people are so
concerned about jobs, businesses create jobs, so growth of any
businesses is good overall.”
Hispanic business growth in
the Austin area is a good example of the trends that have
helped Texas weather the recession, Sanchez said.
The number of Hispanic-
the cotton fields. The passengers of the third vehicle are at
large.
By then, dozens of residents
had already joined the search for
the kidnappers, forming a group
of about 200 people.
Thirty minutes after the crash,
about 9:30 a.m., people found
two alleged kidnappers a mile
from the crash scene. The people attacked them.
Ignacio Ramírez said he
paused to observe what was going on.
“Everywhere I looked, I saw
people whose family members
had been kidnapped in the past,”
he said. “The hate had been accumulating from months before.”
Finally, he said, the military
and the federal police separated
the alleged kidnappers from the
mob.
But the crowd would not drop
the matter so easily.
The crowd made federal police take the alleged kidnappers
in a civilian truck supervised by
residents.
Many more followed the truck
carrying the two boys back to
the military barracks.
At the barracks, one of the
boys told the mob, “See you here
in 15 days,” witnesses said.
The crowd, now grown to
nearly 2,000 people, exploded
again. Crowd members broke
into the barracks with trucks,
took the two boys outside and
beat them, witnesses said.
Federal police agents tried to
separate the disorderly crowd
from the alleged kidnappers by
putting the boys inside a police
vehicle for several hours. The
windows were closed.
People obstructed police from
helping the two boys inside the
vehicle and also blocked the
area where a federal police helicopter was trying to land.
About 3 p.m., a man informed
the crowds that the boys were
dead.
It is unknown whether the
boys died of the beating or were
asphyxiated. The Chihuahua
state attorney general’s office
had not determined the cause of
death Wednesday.
The alleged kidnappers the
Mexican army detained were
Obed Alberto Flores Arellanos,
Jesús Manuel Rascón Ortega
and Arturo Matancillas Lozoya.
Officials did not release their
ages.
The suspects were taken to
Juárez and are detained on suspicion of kidnapping. State police were expected to present
the suspects before a judge today, said Jorge Leyva, of the Chihuahua state attorney general in
Ascensión.
Leyva said the state attorney
general opened an investigation into the kidnappings and
also into the killings of the two
boys.
On Wednesday, the mayor of
Ascensión, Rafael Camarillo,
said it was clear the power of the
residents on Tuesday was
greater than that of the authorities.
Although he opposes the
way residents acted, Camarillo
does not want the people of
Ascensión to face homicide
charges.
“It would make them even angrier,” he said.
Camarillo on Wednesday
fired his 14 municipal police officers. He said people demanded
the firings, and he did not want
any more conflicts.
Soldiers meanwhile patrol Ascensión, a town that has seen
devastating effects because of
organized crime.
Ascensión is a rural town
where residents grow cotton,
onions and red chile. Some work
in the factories or own small
businesses.
Camarillo said crime is worse
in his town than in Juárez, a city
known worldwide because of its
drug-cartel violence.
“It has been a difficult administration,” Camarillo said. He
will leave office the second
week of October.
More than drug-trafficking,
Camarillo said, the economic
crisis has caused gang crime in
the rustic town.
“This has never happened
before in the history of the
state of Chihuahua or Mexico,”
he said.
Ascensión used to be a safe
town, people say, until recently.
For several months, multiple
kidnappings have taken place in
town. Residents organize to donate money for ransoms of up to
tens of thousands of dollars.
Ignacio Ramírez will become
the second-in-command in Ascensión in October.
Ramírez said Tuesday’s
events prompted residents to
form a civil police, or vigilante
group, that will respond to future kidnappings. He said he did
not know whether the residents
would be armed.
He has contacted the
LeBarón community, which is
also under siege because of
kidnappings.
This religious community, also of northwest Chihuahua, became known last year when
Eric LeBarón was kidnapped.
The community protested
against the governor until Eric
LeBarón returned home.
But later, his brother and a
community leader, Benjamín
LeBarón, turned up dead. Now,
vigilante groups in LeBarón and
other communities in Chihuahua patrol towns with hunting weapons, the only ones allowed by the government.
“We can’t go on living a life
that is like hell,” Ramírez said.
was distributed to Army personnel was handled with precaution because the facts were
developing by the minute and
the Army did not want to create
a panic on post by releasing inaccurate information.
“We didn’t have all the facts at
first, and I refer to that as the fog
of war,” he said. “We had to wait
until the fog had cleared before
we released any of the facts.”
Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean
Offutt said the Army immediately sent out a short two-line
message after the shooting ad-
vising everyone to stay way
from the area. The shop is at 1333
Cassidy.
“We knew there was no danger. That much we knew — not
only to the community on Fort
Bliss but to anybody,” Offutt
said.
The shooter, retired Army Sgt.
Steven Kropf, 63, was killed by
Army civilian police while he sat
in his car with his gun. Officials
have not elaborated on what led
the military police to shoot him.
Both women were taken to
Beaumont Army Medical Cen-
ter, where Bettina Maria Goins,
44, died. The other woman,
whom the FBI declined to name,
was shot in the head and chest.
She was still in stable condition Wednesday afternoon,
said FBI Special Agent Michael
Martinez, spokesman for the
FBI.
Garrison commander Col.
Joseph Simonelli said that if anything ever occurred on post that
had the potential to endanger
the lives of civilians living outside the post’s gates, he would
immediately provide that perti-
nent information to the public.
Lister gave local news media
representatives a tour of the
center Wednesday and offered a
demonstration of the mass-notification system at Fort Bliss.
Soon, he said, contact information for the FBI, El Paso Police Department and El Paso
Fire Department will be added
to the system, and they will receive notifications of post emergencies as well.
track. Hopefully, down the road
we can seek help from the state
in terms of tax relief.”
Hubbard has said that casino
profits at the track are down 58
percent since 2003 in part because of competition from a
pair of Native-American casinos — the Inn of the Mountain
Gods and Casino and the Casino Apache Travel Center. In addition, Hubbard pays a significant amount of taxes, 26 percent, to the state, says he pays 20
percent as dues to the New
Mexico Horseman Association.
Before voters passed the tax
increase, there had been talk of
moving the racetrack to another city in New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Clovis and
Alamogordo.
“We have plans to market our
product better,” Hubbard said.
“We plan on being in Ruidoso,
and we’re not looking at moving the track anywhere else.”
Earlier this month, the racetrack celebrated the 52nd running of the All American Futurity, the top quarter-horse
event in the country and the
richest — $1 million going to the
winner. Mr Piloto won the Labor Day event at 22-1 odds.
The racetrack is also home to
the Ruidoso and Rainbow futurities, along with the Ruidoso,
Rainbow and All American derbies.
Live racing takes place from
Memorial Day through Labor
Day.
“I’m grateful that the track
will stay because it is an important part of our tradition and a
big part of our economy,” said
John Underwood, a Ruidoso attorney and a member of the
Lincoln County Economic Development Committee, which
campaigned for the business retention tax. “This wasn’t just for
the track; it’s about economic
development. Money will come
for other developments so we
can diversify the economy.”
Longtime
quarter-horse
trainer Blane Wood was ecstatic with the vote outcome.
“Awesome,” said Wood
about the tax being passed. “It
doesn’t take a rocket scientist to
figure out what the racetrack
does for Ruidoso. I have a home
in Ruidoso, and it was impor-
tant that the tax passed. Ruidoso has a great history of racing, and it means so much to so
many people. I really didn’t
want to have to move my operation to another city in New
Mexico during the summer.
Ruidoso is just a wonderful
place to be in the summer.”
Quarter-horse
trainer
Michael Joiner, who maintains
stables at the track, was also
pleased with the results, and
now he, along with others, can
make plans for the future.
“We can move forward and
not have any doubt for the next
five years,” Joiner said. “That’s
important.”
mission spent between $2 million and $4 million annually on
levee improvements, she said.
“We have been able to do within a couple years what it would
have taken 20 years to accomplish,” said John Merino, principal engineer in the commission’s
Engineering Department.
Because floodwaters flow
through and around gaps in levees, long stretches must be certified by FEMA before an area
can be removed from the flood
plain, said City Engineer Alan
Shubert. For Upper Valley residents, that means the levees
must be certified from the
American Dam near the old
Asarco plant to possibly beyond
Hatch, N.M., Merino said.
The commission is working
on sections of that stretch and
will present them to FEMA as
they are completed, Canava
said. If the map is finalized before those projects are completed, it becomes more difficult to
make changes. “If you wait for
the next map cycle, it could be
years,” Shubert said.
Homeowners who think they
will be added to the flood plain
can purchase federal flood insurance for the zone they currently are in, which would provide a lower rate, Shubert said.
That zone will be locked in as
long as the policy is maintained.
Those policies have caps that
might not cover all losses.
Although interim measures
exist to ease the problems for
homeowners, ultimately it will
be necessary to “get the levees
done and certified,” Shubert
said.
“I think the city needs to put a
lot more time into appealing
these (proposed) maps,” Masoud said. He said the maps are
“riddled” with mistakes.
“We have done that to the extent we can with the resources
we’ve got,” Shubert said. “It’s
very difficult to come up with a
technical appeal.”
Ascensión
Continued from 1A
gether to raise ransom money.
On Tuesday, they banded together to get revenge.
The kidnapped girl’s aunt,
Maricruz Salazar, said the group
had been carrying out at least
three kidnappings a week for
months. People of Ascensión
knew the kidnappers because
they were members of the small
community.
“We are a town in so much
distress,” Salazar said. “We are
sick of the kidnappings.”
What occurred Tuesday was
bound to happen, many residents say.
State police said eight gunmen
arrived about 8 a.m. at Mariscos
Lolo, a restaurant owned by
Noel Dolores Loya. He is a town
alderman and the uncle of the
kidnapped girl.
The eight kidnappers appeared to have confused the girl
with Dolores’ wife. They
grabbed the girl and escaped in
three vehicles northbound toward Buena Vista, a ranch of
Mennonites, officials said.
Meanwhile, the father of the
girl and the owner of the restaurant called the Mexican army
and federal police.
They also called friends and
relatives in town to organize a
mob.
“I don’t understand how they
could gather everyone so quickly,” Salazar said.
On their way to Buena Vista,
the kidnappers were already
being followed by at least 20
people on horseback and in vehicles.
One of the kidnappers’ vehicles, a Ford Explorer, rolled over
on the highway. The second vehicle, a truck, turned over and
fell into an irrigation channel to
avoid crashing with the Explorer.
A gunfight then erupted between the Mexican army and
the kidnappers. The army captured the three men traveling in
the first car.
The passengers of the second
vehicle tried to flee by hiding in
Shooting
Continued from 1A
post used the system in an official capacity only six or seven
times.
“The Monday incident was
the first of that nature,” he said.
“Most of the incidents were
weather-related — high winds,
rain and flooding.”
Lister said the information
about Monday’s shooting that
Track
Continued from 1A
were 3,719 votes in favor of the
tax increase measure and 3,299
against.
The increased tax will provide Hubbard with $750,000 a
year for five years and will help
offset losses the track has incurred during the past several
years. The 75-year-old Hubbard
has owned the track since 1988.
“We wanted to stay in Ruidoso; the track has so much history,” Hubbard said. “To get 53
percent of the vote was great
and it shows people in the community wanted to keep the
Flood
Continued from 1A
insurance rate,” Lilly said.
About $220 million from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which
was known as the “stimulus
bill,” has been dedicated to levee improvement projects, Canava said. Before the stimulus
money was available, the com-
EL PASO TIMES
Ascensión Mayor Rafael
Camarillo says he is
against the attack his constituents performed on two
alleged kidnappers.
Adriana Gómez Licón may be
reached at
agomez@elpasotimes.com.
owned business nationwide
jumped by nearly 44 percent,
reaching 2.3 million, compared
with the national rate of 18 percent growth during the same
five-year period.
Hispanic-owned businesses in
Texas took in $62 billion in revenue in 2007 and employed almost 400,000 people, according
to the Census Bureau.
The survey is conducted
every five years as part of the
nation’s economic census. The
2007 survey collected data from
a sample of more than 2.3 million businesses, the Census Bureau said. The survey defines
Hispanic-owned businesses as
those in which Hispanics own 51
percent or more of the equity,
interest or stock.
The Census Bureau’s estimated population figures Wednesday listed Texas at nearly 24.8
million, with people of Hispanic
or Latino origin making up nearly 37 percent of the overall figure.
Online: http://www.census.gov
Immigration
takes back seat
in governor race
By Paul J. Weber
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — Texas
Gov. Rick Perry, who runs a
state with an estimated 1.6 million undocumented immigrants,
is giving a roomful of real estate
agents his greatest hits from the
campaign trail.
More job growth. Fewer
school dropouts. A retreating
federal government. Retired
Capt. James F.A. Turner, clapping in a white cowboy hat, likes
everything he hears. Then
there’s what he didn’t hear.
“Did he say anything about
immigration?” the 70-year-old
Turner wondered afterward.
Despite a raging national debate over immigration heading
into the midterm elections, Perry and his opponent, Democrat
Bill White, have barely whispered the word.
Arizona showed it wasn’t happy to leave immigration enforcement to Washington, but
Perry and White have been content to leave the issue out of
their race to lead Texas, which
according to the Pew Hispanic
Center has the second-highest
number of undocumented immigrants behind California.
Perry says discussing immigration policy is pointless until
the border is secure. White said
he’ll have his hands full and can’t
fix all the federal government’s
problems. Political analysts say
it’s business as usual in a Texas
gubernatorial race, going back
to when George W. Bush campaigned in the 1990s.
But when the Texas Legislature convenes weeks after the
winner of this campaign is
sworn in, some lawmakers expect to be under pressure to take
up illegal immigration.
Two
Republicans
have
Maggie Ybarra may be reached at
mybarra@elpasotimes.com;
546-6151.
Felix Chavez may be reached at
fchavez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6167.
Chris Roberts may be reached at
chrisr@elpasotimes.com;
546-6136.
pledged to introduce Arizonastyle legislation, which puts local police officers on the front
lines of enforcing federal immigration law. State House Affairs
Committee chairman Burt
Solomons said he also expects
to see 60 or 70 other immigration-related bills to be filed.
Solomons, a Republican from
conservative north Dallas, said
illegal immigration was second
only to jobs when he surveyed
constituents about their top
concerns earlier this year.
“It comes up in questions in
forums and town halls. ‘What’s
going on with immigration? You
plan on doing anything this session?’ ” Solomons said. “You
hear members say, ‘In my district, this is an important issue.’
And you don’t hear it from one
or two members who seemingly
want to be on the forefront.”
Last month, state officials testified to Solomons’ committee
that undocumented immigrants
cost the state at least $250 million last year for costs of prison
and medical care. Most out-ofsession committee meetings are
typically unlively and sparsely
attended. The room was nearly
packed.
Dueling attacks over ethical
lapses and tax records have
turned the governor race nasty
between White, the popular former Houston mayor, and Perry,
who is seeking an unprecedented third four-year term. But
aside from both stating that Arizona’s law wasn’t right for
Texas, neither has said much on
immigration.
Years-old criticism that White
ran a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants in
Houston? Perry’s campaign has
lobbed the attack infrequently;
White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said the accusation is false.
White rips
Perry over
shortfall
By Paul J. Weber
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — A gaping
budget hole that Texas faces
emerged again in the race for
governor Wednesday after Gov.
Rick Perry equated early shortfall estimates to “Ouija board”
projections.
Democratic challenger Bill
White seized on the remark,
saying Perry lacked business
sense for comparing an estimated $18 billion shortfall from state
budget officials to crystal ball
readings.
Perry said he was referring to
methods used in some projections that he says are much
higher than others.
“I think it’s a little bit premature to be getting your crystal
ball out or your Ouija board or
whatever these people are using,” Perry had said Tuesday at
a campaign stop in Midland.
Appearing in Irving on
Wednesday, Perry tried to clarify the earlier comment, saying
he mentioned Ouija boards and
crystal balls when referring to
methods used in some budget
shortfall projections because
the figures are much higher than
the state Senate finance chairman’s recent estimate of $10 billion to $11 billion.
“So there have been others
who have estimated, guestimated — again, I don’t know the logic or the economic rules that
they’re using to come up with
their numbers,” Perry said.
“You’ve had some that said it’s
18 billion. Another group said
it’s 21Â. You know — I thought
I was at an auction for a while.
‘Who’s going to make it 25?’ ”
RECORD PROFITS
2010
U.S. companies hauled
in profits at a record annual rate of $1.66 trillion
dollars in the third quarter, according to a report
by the Department of
Commerce Tuesday containing a number of economic indicators.
Companies thrive; 10M to stay jobless
By Neil Irwin
THE WASHINGTON POST
2008-’09
WASHINGTON — Unemployment
is set to remain higher longer than previously thought, according to new projections from the Federal Reserve that
would mean more than 10 million
Americans remain jobless through the
The growth rate announced Tuesday is set to
be one-third faster than
the past two years, which
was about $1.2 trillion.
•Economy grows against
pessimism 1F
2012 elections — even as a separate report shows corporate profits reaching
their highest levels ever.
Please see Profits 11A
66º / 37º
PARTLY CLOUDY
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24, 2010
75 CENTS
COPYRIGHT® 2010, EL PASO TIMES
1C
‘DANCING’
QUEEN
MINERS
TOP AGGIES
3A
Drug violence spotlight | Erika Gándara
Obama:
US will
defend
S. Korea
By Hyung-jin Kim
and Kwang-tae Kim
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Strife-torn valley town
has just 1 officer left
By Adriana Gómez Licón
EL PASO TIMES
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE EL PASO TIMES
Erika Gándara, 28, is shown with her AR15 weapon, at the Guadalupe police station
across from Fabens, Texas. Gándara is the
only police officer in Guadalupe.
GUADALUPE, Mexico —
The only police officer in a long
and deadly stretch of border
towns in the Juárez Valley is 28year-old Erika Gándara.
She works in plainclothes but
keeps a semi-automatic rifle, an
AR-15, hidden between cushions
in her stark office. A bulletproof
vest hangs near the door. A portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
the Mexican version of the Virgin Mary, adorns one wall.
These items are all Gándara has
for company at the station.
Eight officers constituted the
police force of Guadalupe. One
Please see Tall 11A
INCHEON, South Korea — South Korean troops
were on high alert today as their government exchanged threats with rival North Korea after a frightening military skirmish that raised tensions on the
peninsula to new extremes.
President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington’s
pledges to protect ally Seoul after the
North shelled a South Korean island
near their disputed border, killing at
least two marines and wounding
civilians. U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon called the skirmish one
of the “gravest incidents” since the
end of the Korean War.
South Korea vowed retaliation and Obama
said today that it would strengthen
military forces in the disputed west- •In focus:
N. Korea
ern waters near the island of Yeonattacks S.
pyeong and to halt aid to the comKorea 2A
munist North, while the North
warned of more military strikes if the
South encroaches on the maritime border by “even
0.001 millimeter.”
South Korea today sent two ships carrying 2,000
boxes of relief supplies to the stricken island, coast
guard official Kim Dong-jin said. He said that about
Please see Defend 11A
Today at elpasotimes.com
Socorro council moves to recall mayor, 1 other
By Aileen B. Flores
EL PASO TIMES
SOCORRO — During a heated
meeting that included shouted accusations and two people being removed, a recall effort began Tuesday against the Socorro mayor and
a City Council member.
The introduction of the recall ordinance comes after councilman
Luis Varela was arrested last week
on suspicion of
selling marijuana
and possessing cocaine, and after
Mayor Guillermo
“Willie” Gadara
Sr. was indicted
G. Gandara Sept. 2 in the continuing FBI public corruption investigation.
At the special meeting Tuesday
night, City Council members
Guillermo “Willie” Madrid, Jesse
Gandara Jr., Gloria Rodriguez and
Mary Garcia introduced the ordinance to remove Mayor Gandara
and Varela from office.
Meanwhile, a group of residents
are also working on the recall of
those four council members.
In response to the ordinance introduction, Mayor Gandara asked
City Council members to include
themselves in the ordinance since
they are already facing a recall
process by a group of residents.
Recall leaders have to collect at
least 500 signatures per district to
call for a special election to remove
elected officials.
“I think it is only fair to include
themselves on the ordinance.
That’s what the majority of the people want,” Mayor Gandara said
Please see Socorro 11A
Inside|Business » 1F | Classified » 1E | Crossword » 5D, 5E | Deaths » 4B | Movies » 2D
Live chat: Jane Steele
Do you need some tips for Thanksgiving
dinner? Chef Jane Steele will take your
questions during a live chat at 10 a.m.
Continued from 1A
elpasotimes.com
El Paso Times
Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010
11A
Profits
Continued from 1A
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE EL PASO TIMES
Erika Gándara joined the Guadalupe Police Department in June 2009. An officer was shot dead the same week. Since then, the other seven officers that constituted the police force have all resigned. Gándara is now the only officer in the small town in the Juárez Valley. But she forges on.
“I am better off alone than in bad company,” she said.
Tall
Continued from 1A
was shot dead the week Gándara
joined the department as a dispatcher in June 2009. The other
seven resigned within a year,
driven out by fear, Gándara said.
The last one quit in June, and no
potential replacements have applied, Gándara said.
“I am here out of necessity,”
she said.
Women have increasingly become the face of police forces in
rural areas outside Juárez. The
territory borders a string of
small Texas towns, including
San Elizario, Tornillo and
Fabens, and stretches all the
way to Presidio.
In the Mexican town of
Praxedis Guerrero, also in the
Juárez Valley, the police chief is
a 20-year-old college student
with a department staffed by 12
women and two men. Most of
them, including the chief, are
unarmed.
The appointment of this
young police chief created an international media frenzy. In
contrast, Gándara has received
little notice, even though her
town of 9,000 is larger than
Praxedis.
It is chilling that inexperienced policewomen are left to
safeguard violent towns, said
Maki Haberfeld, a professor at
New York’s John Jay College of
Criminal Justice. She said cultural perceptions account for females running these police departments.
“They are operating under the
assumption that the killers
would be more likely to kill men
than to kill women because of
the machismo culture,” Haberfeld said.
Speaking specifically of Gándara’s situation, Haberfeld said,
“It is jeopardizing her life.”
Gándara did not go through
Guadalupe is a town in the Valley of Juárez that has been riddled with drug violence.
any type of police academy or
formal training. Still, she said,
given the corruption in Mexican police forces, she may not
be in the worst position.
“I am better off alone than in
bad company,” she said.
Police forces that help drug
cartels are rampant in her country. Even though her salary is
only about $7,000 a year, Gándara said, she is not susceptible
to bribes.
“If they want to kill me, they
can go ahead and do it. I don’t
want to be involved in those
dirty businesses,” she said.
U.S. Border Patrol officials
said the Juárez Valley is an attractive drug corridor for two
organized crime operations —
the Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels. They are presumably responsible for an epidemic of arsons, kidnappings and killings.
The turf war in the valley
reached a fever pitch in March.
Arsonists destroyed homes and
businesses. Cartel members
told townspeople to leave or
face death.
Residents said many fled to
West Texas towns. Others
moved to Juárez, a city also torn
by violence.
The exodus did not bring
peace did to the Juárez Valley or
even to some who left it.
Gunmen arrived in June at the
Juárez home of the former mayor of Guadalupe and killed him.
The man, Jesús Manuel Lara
Rodríguez, had sought refuge in
the city.
In late October, riflemen attacked a bus carrying maquiladora workers, killing three
women and a man, near the
town of Guadalupe.
“We are living in a mess, believe me,” said a 24-year-old
woman named Mari.
Gunmen killed her husband
last year. “People here are
scared,” she said, an understatement in a shattered town.
Most houses and shops in
Guadalupe are abandoned. A
bakery, a liquor store and two
groceries are among the few
businesses still open.
Traffic persists, despite the
lack of commerce. Late-model
trucks kick up clouds of dust
that blind people who still walk
the streets.
The only sounds of laughter
come from children on the
school playground.
Women stand on the corner
near the elementary school, but
not for long. They leave their
houses only to pick up their
children.
Almost nobody visits the
plaza anymore. On a recent day,
only a few construction workers remodeling the town hall
rested on public benches.
Gándara responds to terrible
crimes and carnage, such as the
bus shooting. In another recent
case, a man was stoned to death.
But compared with their
counterparts in the United
States, municipal police in Mexico are limited. Gándara, for instance, does not investigate
murders. Instead, she calls state
police.
Sometimes, police from the
adjacent municipality accompany Gándara to the more gruesome crimes. At least a dozen
soldiers patrol outside and inside the town hall where she
works.
Regularly, however, she travels by herself without the army
for an escort.
“The protection is coming
from up there,” she said, gesturing toward the heavens.
People in town know Gándara
because she is out and about.
RUDY GUTIERREZ / EL PASO TIMES
two people were removed from
the meeting when they stood up
and expressed their opinions.
The meeting then continued
with Madrid reading a series of
memos disclosing complaints
against the mayor and his behavior toward city employees.
Madrid then said the majority
of council members decided to
introduce the ordinance and initiate the recall because they do
not want the image of Socorro to
be damaged any further.
Madrid said businesses have refused to establish in Socorro because of the bad publicity. Among
the projects was a nursing home
that was projected to bring more
than $3 million in revenue to the
city of Socorro, he said.
“Enough is enough! We can’t
continue this; we’re going to
have to recall the mayor and Mr.
Varela,” Madrid said.
Jesse Gandara said the ordinance will give the community
its integrity and voice back.
A second reading and public
hearing will take place Dec. 1 at
the city hall building on Rio Vista
Drive. Public comment will be allowed at this meeting and action
by the City Council can be taken.
If the council adopts the ordinance, a special election to recall the mayor and Varela is expected to take place in February,
Jesse Gandara said.
Socorro
Continued from 1A
during Tuesday’s meeting.
But Jesse Gandara shouted
back, saying the four council
members aren’t the ones facing
criminal charges.
“No one in this council has
broken the law, but you and Mr.
Varela,” Jesse Gandara told his
uncle. “You’re indicted by the
FBI.”
In September, Mayor Gandara
was indicted on allegations he
conspired to commit fraud and
deprive the public of honest
services while he was president
of the Socorro school board.
Gandara has refused requests by
some members of City Council
to resign as mayor.
Varela was arrested after
sheriff’s deputies said they
found 27.5 grams of cocaine in a
truck Varela was driving.
Deputies said Varela helped
three other men deal nearly 44
pounds of marijuana to the officers posing as buyers. The drug
deal allegedly took place Nov. 16
in the parking lot of a Peter
Piper Pizza at 10870 North Loop,
deputies said.
As of Tuesday, Varela remained in the El Paso County
Jail, county records showed.
Jesse Gandara said the recall
movement against him and the
Alfonso Gutierrez, a former Socorro City Council member,
interrupts a special council session Tuesday night. Gutierrez
said he is in favor of recalling the mayor and council and wants
the county to take over the city’s government.
other three City Council members is a “complete fabrication”
from the mayor and his people.
He claimed the residents collecting the signatures to recall
council members are the mayor’s supporters.
Mayor Gandara denied his
nephew’s allegations, maintained his innocence and then
questioned Jesse Gandara.
“Since when are you the jury?
Since when are you the judge
that has condemned me?” Mayor Gandara asked his nephew.
From the audience, Socorro
resident Louis Bolaños loudly
questioned Jesse Gandara Jr.
about accusations of him stealing water.
Lower Valley Water District
officials found Jesse Gandara Jr.
irrigating his land a few months
ago despite the fact he owed $95
in water taxes.
In August, Gandara said he
had recently purchased the
property and was not aware of
the taxes owed and that he was
planning to settle the debt.
Bolaños was allowed to remain in the room, but at least
Aileen B. Flores may be reached at
aflores@elpasotimes.com;
546-6362.
Former police officers taught
her how to fire her rifle and pistol. Soldiers patrolling Guadalupe sometimes mentor her on
details of law enforcement, she
said.
Gándara grew up in Guadalupe and attended school until
ninth grade. She is single and
without children.
She said she does not know
which gangs operate in the area.
Gándara naturally confronts
narco traffickers, she said, but
cannot investigate their operations.
Gándara said her job is more
difficult than that of Marisol
Valles García, police chief of the
adjacent
municipality
of
Praxedis.
“Her ideas have more to do
with family values, with social
programs,” she said. “Our job is
public safety.”
Only 10 miles away from Gándara, Valles held a meeting with
her female officers on a recent
day. Valles, like Gándara, has a
bulletproof vest that hangs inside a cage. But Valles has no
weapon. She does not know
how to shoot a gun.
Valles said she hopes to restore peace by having female
police officers gain residents’
trust.
Valles’ position as chief is
mostly administrative. The
mayor of Praxedis, José Luis
Guerrero, said Valles, at age 20,
was the most qualified person
for the job.
People in Guadalupe, with
their one-member police force,
say they are more vulnerable to
attacks and kidnappings. Many
continue leaving for the city.
The dangerous road from
southeast Juárez to the valley
towns rich in cotton is rarely
traveled.
“We don’t feel safe, not at all.”
Mari said. “We are living at
God’s mercy.”
Adriana Gómez Licón may be reached
at agomez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6129.
Defend
Continued from 1A
340 residents escaping the island
were to arrive at the port city of
Incheon aboard a coast guard
ship around midafternoon.
Images released by the local
government and obtained
through YTN television showed
people huddled in emergency
shelters, children wrapped in
blankets, and rows of destroyed
houses with collapsed walls,
blown-out windows and charred
roofs. A man with a shovel
walked through the rubble.
The skirmish began Tuesday
when North Korea warned the
South to halt military drills near
their sea border, said South Korean officials. When Seoul refused and began firing artillery
into disputed waters — but
away from the North Korean
shore — the North retaliated by
shelling Yeonpyeong, which
houses South Korean military
installations and a small civilian
population.
Seoul responded by unleashing its own barrage from K-9
155mm self-propelled howitzers
and by scrambling fighter jets.
Two South Korean marines
were killed in the shelling,
which also wounded 15 troops
and three civilians. Officials in
Seoul said there could be con-
Even though conditions are
likely to remain miserable for
job seekers for years to come, an
extraordinary bounce-back is
under way in the nation’s corporate sector, where profits rebounded 28 percent during the
past year to an all-time high in
the third quarter.
Businesses’ spending on compensation for employees, by
contrast, rose only 7.6 percent.
Among the reasons for the
strong earnings growth were
that financial companies are no
longer suffering from huge
write-downs on bad investments
as they were in 2008, and that US
companies are increasing profits
by doing business overseas.
The economic recovery,
which had earlier been driven in
large part by government stimulus spending, is now increasingly fueled by demand from consumers and businesses.
That shift had been in doubt as
recently as the summer, when
growth had noticeably slowed.
The Fed’s top policymakers
project that gross domestic
product will rise 3 to 3.6 percent next year — which would
be a solid acceleration over
growth the past two quarters,
but still would be enough only
to bring the unemployment
rate to the 8.9 to 9.1 percent
range in the final months of
2011 and 7.7 to 8.2 percent at
the end of 2012.
Top Federal Reserve officials
project that the unemployment
rate, now 9.6 percent, will fall
only to around 9 percent at the
end of 2011 and around 8 percent
when the next presidential election arrives in late 2012.
The central bankers had envisioned a more rapid decline in
joblessness in their previous
forecasts, prepared in June.
The sober economic forecast
comes despite signs that the recovery is picking up slightly.
The Commerce Department
said Tuesday that gross domestic product rose at a 2.5 percent
annual rate in the three months
ending in September, not 2 percent as earlier estimated.
And there have been solid
readings in recent weeks on job
creation, manufacturing and retailing.
The apparent contradiction
reflects the brutal math that
faces the nation trying claw out
of a deep recession: Moderate
growth, which would be fine in
normal times, will do little to
bring down sky-high joblessness, a reality reflected in the
Fed’s forecasts.
The officials also increased
their estimate of how low the
nation’s unemployment rate
could ultimately slide without
stoking inflation.
Several estimated that level is
6 percent or higher, not the 5 to
5.3 percent earlier thought.
“There are structural issues or
residue from the financial crisis
and the housing bubble restraining the economy,” said Alan
Levenson, chief economist at T.
Rowe Price. “It’s not even close
to being a garden-variety cyclical recovery.”
It was these diminished expectations for growth that led
Fed officials this month to announce plans to buy $600 billion
in Treasury bonds in a bid to
drive down long-term interest
rates and pump up growth.
siderable North Korean casualties.
Shin Sung-hee, a fisherman,
said he was mending his fishing
net near a port on Yeonpyeong
when he saw columns of black
smoke and fire billowing from
the hills. “I couldn’t think of anything. I just thought my wife
would be in danger, so I rushed
to my house,” Shin said.
His wife, Lee Chun-ok, said
that when she fled her partly
collapsed house, she saw black
smoke engulfing the town and
fires erupting from nearby hills;
a woman was crying on a bridge.
Her husband ran over and told
her they had to escape, so they
ran to a port and managed to get
on a ferry with several hundred
other people.
The U.S. government called
the North’s barrages an outrageous, unprovoked attack, but
sought to avoid any escalation
and did not reposition any of its
29,000 troops stationed in the
South. Obama was expected to
telephone South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss
the issue.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers today that the military
will send reinforcements to five
islands near the disputed sea
border, but provided no details.
“South Korea maintains military
readiness to deter North Korea’s
additional provocations,” he
said.