75 CENTS ■ CITY EDITION

Quick Read

INDEX

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

To subscribe:883-3800

Local news now.

Download our app with the QR code.

ALICE DIG SITE YIELDS BONESArchaeologists fi nd human bone fragments alongside projectile points at a dig site north of where the Alice multiuse complex is set to be constructed.LOCAL, 1B

SUMMERALL DIES AT AGE 82Pat Summerall, the deep-voiced NFL player-turned-broadcaster who spent half of four decades calling sports famously paired with John Madden, dies at 82.SPORTS, 5C

IMMIGRATION BILL DISCORDThe Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill draws criticism from the right and left — convincing members of the bipar-tisan “Gang of Eight” they’re on the right track.NATION, 3A

NINE YEARS IN DRUG SCHEMEJose Maria Carbajal Jr., 42, of Corpus Christi, who authorities said assisted a drug cartel, gets nine years for his involvement in a drug smuggling operation.LOCAL, 1B

BUSINESS 7C-8CCOMICS 6B-7BCROSSWORD 7BOBITUARIES 4B-5BLOTTERY 2COPINION 10A-11A

86 /̊75˚Clouds; windy

11A

NBA AWARDSMark Travis hands out his 2012-13 NBA

regular season awards.

By Jessica Savagesavagej@caller.com361-886-4316

Corpus Christi water officials plan to trigger stage 3 of the city’s drought contingency plan May 16, about a month before the projected date when lake levels the city relies upon dip below 30 percent ca-pacity.

Residents and business owners will be limited to landscape watering once every two weeks. The day of the week to water will match

each property’s recycling schedule, Water Director Gustavo Gonzalez said.

“We want to try to get ahead of the summer,” he said.

The forecast for rain doesn’t look promising with the hottest summer months ahead, Gonzalez

Stage 3 restriction to curb water use By Jessica Savage

savagej@caller.com361-886-4316

Surveyors hit the pave-ment Monday to photo-graph and document busi-nesses in Corpus Christi before a fi nal vote to set the rates for a street main-tenance fee.

They are working at a pace of about 60 business-es per day each to collect data on about 8,000 busi-nesses that will determine how the city charges a monthly fee based on aver-age tra� c counts to pay for street maintenance. Work by the HDR Engineering fi rm should be done within 30 days.

City Council members discussed their role in the process Tuesday with most of the attention on a

Survey under way for street maintenance fee

See WATER, 8A

By Rick Spruillspruillr@caller.com361-886-3667

AUSTIN — State Rep. Todd Hunter on Tuesday touted his plan for addressing the

ailing Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. It would strengthen and leave intact the state-run insurer-of-last resort for wind and hailstorm poli-cies on the coast .

The House Insurance Committee heard testi-mony — most of it against House Bill 2352 — but took no action on the measure that Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, drafted with input from several coastal com-munities , most notably the city of Corpus Christi.

The bill would try what past legislation has failed to accomplish, namely

creating a funding struc-ture hearty enough to pay claims from catastrophic storms while keeping pol-icyholder rates low.

The association at the end of 2012 carried about 266,000 policies with about $74 billion in direct liabilities, spread through 14 counties in

Panel weighs insurance fund fix ■ Insurers

dislike idea of assessments

By David Sikessikesd@caller.com361-886-3616

The wasps are from Mexico. The researchers are from the United King-dom. And the focus of both was a South Texas nest the size of a bassinet .

Biologists with the London Zoo arrived last week to study a distant cousin of the honeybee. It’s called a Mexican honey wasp, one of the only other insects that

produce honey on a scale similar to bees.The hope is that this research could

unravel the mystery behind a downward spiral in honeybee populations . The an-swer may be hidden in pollinator genetics.

A trio of British biologists got what they came for Saturday near Bryan and Cheryl Bracht’s Lago Vista Ranch in Live Oak County. It was the largest honey wasp nest the researchers had

Buzzing about scientific discovery

■ Honey wasps collected as part of DNA study

PHOTOS BY DAVID SIKES/CALLER-TIMES

Lead researcher Elli Leadbeater with the London Zoo uses a machete to create a small opening in the biggest wasp nest they had found during their visit.

See WASPS, 9A

IF YOU GOWhat: Public meeting about proposed changes to the city’s drought contingency and water conservation plans. When: 7 p.m. Wednesday Where: City Council Chambers, 1201 Leopard St.Information: www.cctexas.com/government/water/conservation/conservation-plan/index

INSIDEWater legislation forwarded to Senate. 7A

Bag fee soon will be resolved. 8A

COASTAL FLAVORSSeafood salad with Texas chevre,

fried capers can be lunch or dinner. FOOD, 8B

Fixing streetsFixing streets

our

CALLER.COMRead through a list of frequently asked questions and answers about city streets and the maintenance fee.

See HUNTER, 9A

Local news now.

Download our app with the QR code.

To subscribe:883-3800

$1.50 n CITY EDITION

Quick Read

SUNDAY, JULY 8, 2012

AFTER NEARLY A YEAR AWAY FROM THE SPORT, SERENA WILLIAMS RETURNS TRIUMPHANTLY WITH HER FIFTH WIMBLEDON SINGLES TITLE. SPORTS, 1C

SERENA’S BACK

WEATHER EYEKeep an eye on the

weather without looking at the sky with our radar and updated forecast atCALLER.COM/

WEATHER.

By Michelle Villarrealvillarrealm@caller.com 361-886-3716

Corpus Christi has a drug problem.

Drug crimes were the No. 1 reason people appeared in felony court in Nueces County during the past 10 years, according to a Caller-Times analysis of felony court cases.

Among more than 32,000 felony cases, 10,300, or 32 percent, were drug related.

“It’s not surprising that South

Texas has a significant drug traf-fic issue with its proximity to the border,” said Corpus Christi Po-lice Capt. David Cook, who is with the department’s Narcotics Vice Investigations. “We get a lot com-ing through here.”

Topping that list was cocaine.

Two-thirds of drug crimes, 6,790, were related to cocaine, includ-ing possession and delivery. There were five times as many cocaine cases as the second most common drug, meth, and 10 times as many as heroin and felony marijuana cases.

Nueces County District At-torney Mark Skurka attributes the high cocaine use to a few fac-tors — decrease in cost, availabil-ity and the introduction of crack cocaine.

City looks at cocaine use■n Stimulant is No. 1 felony; drug cases fill court docket

Drug crime

10,296

Property crime

8,763

Violent crime

4,123

Non-violent crime 3,708

Sex-related crime 1,786

Avoiding/hindering arrest 1,600

Alcohol-related crime 1,551

Weapons crime

308

Child abandonment/endangerment 213

Grand Total

32,348

Hashish 1

Heroin 621

Marijuana 674

MDA/Ecstacy 32

Meth 1,353

Prescription drug 320

Unknown 505

Possession ...

■ of cocaine in a

drug free zone 18

■ of cocaine w/intent to

deliver in a drug free zone 1

■ of cocaine with intent

to deliver 205

■ with intent to

deliver cocaine 190

COCAINE

CONVICTIONS

1000

20022004

20062008

2010

800

600

400

997(2003)

366(2011)

Cocaine

6,790

Total6,790

Aggravated ...

■ delivery of cocaine 1

■ possession of cocaine 8

■ possession with intent

to deliver cocaine 1

Delivery ...

■ of cocaine 473

■ of cocaine in a

drug free zone 36

Possession of cocaine

5,855

Total10,296

Source: Corpus Christi

Police Dept.

INSIDESee a breakdown of charges, arrests and sentences. 10A

It’s not surprising that South Texas has a significant drug traffic issue

with its proximity to the border. We get a lot coming through here.”

Capt. David Cook, with the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Narcotics Vice Investigations

See COCAINE, 10A

By Rick Spruill spruillr@caller.com 361-886-3667

The road was paved with good intentions.

Established in 1971 and originally named the Texas Catastrophe Property Insur-ance Association, the Texas Windstorm Insurance As-sociation was meant to help Texans whose lives and livelihoods are rooted in the 14 coastal counties along the Gulf of Mexico.

Private property insurance carriers, smarting in the after-

math of damage claims aris-ing out of Hurricane Carla in 1961, gradually started drop-ping wind and hail damage policies in certain areas of the Texas coast, said former state lawmaker A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, of Galveston.

Schwartz, who from 1957 through 1981 served two terms in the state House and seven terms in the Senate, tried for three terms after Carla to cre-ate a consumer-friendly ca-tastrophe fund to address the growing need for coverage.

“Nobody wanted it back then,” said Schwartz, who

now lobbies on behalf of coastal communities. “I just couldn’t get the votes.”

Even lawmakers from Cor-pus Christi would not get be-hind his idea, he said.

“Their argument was that there hadn’t been a hurri-cane in Corpus Christi for decades,” he said.

Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas in 1970 and caused what now would be an estimated $1.7 bil-lion in damage and lawmak-ers decided a windstorm pool wasn’t a bad idea, he said.

TODAY: How the windstorm association began and where its problem began.MONDAY: Adjusters are the weak link in the windstorm model.TUESDAY: Texas takes pride in solving its problems. Can it solve this one?

ABOUT THE SERIESThe Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has been the insurer of last resort for property owners for coastal counties. This is the first in a three-part series before the Department of Insurance board meets twice this week, including a Friday meeting in Corpus Christi to discuss a proposal to charge a fee for policyholders along the coast.

WINDSTORM

PROBLEM? CATEGORY 5

■n Coastal windstorm woes swirl as state meetings near

We’ve gotten ourselves in this fix. Now how do we get out? You want a 5 percent or 10 percent (in-

crease)? That’s the only choice we get? It’s dysfunctional.”Foster Edwards, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Chamber

See WINDSTORM, 8A

SINGLETON SINGLED OUTThe Hooks’ Jon Single-ton will represent the Houston Astros in MLB’s All-Star Futures game at 4 p.m. today on ESPN2.SPORTS, 1C

HALTING OIL LEAKS, DUMPINGEnforcement is bringing illegal oil field waste haulers to justice and helping reduce oily slicks that can cause wrecks and pose envi-ronmental hazards.LOCAL, 1B

COST OF WATER MAIN BREAKSLast year, Corpus Christi repaired 1,663 water main breaks — more than twice the typical yearly number. It cost about $1.5 million. See how the city is faring this year.LOCAL, 1B

ELIMINATION OF PAPER MAPSAs more people buy GPS or navigation sys-tems and smartphones with map features are becoming increasingly popular, is there still a place for paper maps?BUSINESS, 16A

INDEXBUSINESS 16A-17ACROSSWORD 5GLOTTERY 2CNATION/WORLD 4AOBITUARIES 6B-7BOPINION 18A-19AWEATHER 19A

94 /̊75˚Afternoon

t-storms 19A

By Eileen SullivanAssociated Press

BOSTON — The bombs that ripped through the Boston Marathon crowd appear to have been fashioned out of ordinary kitchen pressure cookers, packed with nails and other lethal shrapnel, and hidden in du� el bags left on the ground, investi-gators and others close to the case said Tuesday.

President Barack Obama branded the at-tack an act of terrorism, whether carried out by a solo bomber or group, and the FBI vowed to “go to the ends of the Earth” to fi nd out who did it.

Scores of victims re-mained in Boston hos-pitals, many with griev-ous injuries, a day after the twin explosions near the marathon’s finish line killed three people, wounded more than 170 and reawakened fears of terrorism. A 9-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy were among 17 victims listed in critical condition.

O� cials found that the bombs consisted of ex-plosives put in common 1.6-gallon pressure cook-ers, one containing shards of metal and ball bearings, the other packed with nails, according to a per-son close to the investiga-tion who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because the probe was still going on. Both bombs were stu� ed into du� el bags, the person said.

At a news conference, Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, confi rmed that investiga-tors had found pieces of black nylon from a bag or backpack and fragments of BBs and nails, possibly contained in a pressure cooker. He said the items were sent to the FBI for analysis at Quantico, Va.

Pressure-cooker explo-sives have been used in in-ternational terrorism and have been recommended for lone-wolf operatives

BOSTON MARATHON

‘To theendsof theEarth’

See BOSTON, 6A

■ FBI vows tofind out whobombed city

See STREETS, 8A

• Mexican honey wasps are the only wasps to make honey on a large scale. Hardly any insects except honeybees do that. The honey is very similar to bee honey but can be poisonous, so nobody should eat honey from wild nests.• The wasps are about a quarter of an inch long. They are black, with yellow stripes around the stinger.• Nests, which grow to be up to 4 feet in diameter and contain up to 20,000 wasps, can be high in trees or in bushes close to the ground.• They usually live in Mexico and other Central and South American countries, but since the 1970s they have been reported in South Texas.• The wasps are generally not very aggressive, but if disturbed have a sting similar to a honeybee. Like honeybees, they die if they sting you.• They build new nests by moving in a swarm to a new site. Swarms are fairly rare, and swarming wasps are not unusually aggressive.

MEXICAN HONEY WASP

SCRIPPS NEWSPAPERS

ABOVE LEFT: Mexican honey wasps are distant cousins of the honeybee. Researchers hope the similarities go into the DNA that controls social roles.

CALLER.COM Watch a video of British researchers vacuuming Mexican honey wasps from a giant nest in South Texas.

★