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chron.com: Where Houston lives PARTLY CLOUDY, HIGH 67, LOW 46 / PAGE B10 BAYLOR’S
DREW DRAWS TALENT / PAGE C1

WED NESDAY, MA RCH 17, 2010


Bus accident kills 2 in South Texas

PERRY ORDERS BEEF-UP ALONG BORDER
Homeland Security officials say they don’t see need for increase in U.S. response
By PEGGY FIKAC and STEWART M. POWELL
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

BO B O W E N : S A N A N T O N I O E X P R E S S - N E W S


medical helicopter takes off with injured victims from a Mexico-bound bus that overturned
along a South Texas highway Tuesday. Two people were killed and dozens of people
were sent to hospitals in the accident that occurred on Interstate 37, about 55 miles
south of San Antonio, near the town of Campbellton. Texas Department of Public Safety
investigators suspect equipment failure may have contributed to the crash. STORY
ON PAGE B1

White tied to company facing pollution probe
He has earned $2.6 million from firm since 2003
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
AU S T I N B U R E AU

— Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White earned more than $2.6 million serving
on the board of a gas well servicing company that now is part of a congressional
investigation into possible groundwater contamination. White, who made cleaning Houston’s
polluted air a hallmark of his tenure as Houston’s mayor, has been on the board
of BJ Services Co. since 2003, the year he was elected, earning more than
RICK CASEY Columnist urges White, Dewhurst to release tax returns. PAGE B1

AUST I N

$627,000. White also received almost $830,000 in stock and another $245,000 in stock
options. He will receive an additional $180,000 in stock and a retirement payout
of $783,000 if the firm’s merger with Baker Hughes is approved by shareholders
Friday. The issue of White’s involvement with BJ Services came to light after he
refused a Houston Chronicle request
Please see WHITE, Page A11

Democrats on defensive over health care tactics
Maneuver to avoid explicit vote has Poe, other Republicans angry
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR
N E W YO R K T I M E S

WA S H I N G T O N — As lawmakers clashed fiercely over major health care legislation
on the House floor, Democrats struggled Tuesday to defend procedural shortcuts

they might use to win approval for their proposals in the next few days. House Democrats
are so skittish about the piece of legislation that is now the vehicle for overhauling
the health care system — the bill passed by the Senate in December — that they
are considering

a maneuver that would allow them to pass it without explicitly voting for it. Under
that approach, House Democrats would approve a package of changes to the Senate bill
in a budget reconciliation bill. Under the plan, the Senate bill would be “deemed
passed” if and when the House adopts rules for debate on the reconciliation bill
— or perhaps when the
Please see HEALTH, Page A11

A U S T I N — Gov. Rick Perry moved Tuesday to step up Texas’ law enforcement
presence along the Mexico border to handle the threat of spillover violence from
escalating drug cartel warfare in cities like Juarez and Matamoros. The governor
also continued his call for additional federal assistance, saying he was activating
the state violence contingency plan in the meantime because “with the safety of
Texans on the line, we can’t afford to wait.” His remarks come in the wake of
the Ciudad Juarez killings of a U.S. consulate worker, her husband and the husband
of another consulate worker as they left a children’s party on Saturday. More than
4,000 people have been killed there in the past two years. U.S. Department of Homeland
Security spokesman Matt Chandler said officials would review Perry’s request for
Predator-style surveillance over the Texas border, but he cautioned that the Obama
administration is not seeing evidence of spillover violence warranting a stepped-up
U.S. response. Drug cartels are “engaged

Please see BORDER, Page A12

GUN SMUGGLING A salvage yard may have been a gunrunning base. PAGE B1

THE RETURN OF TIGER WOODS

Many won’t be tuning in for golf
HE highest television rating for a round of golf since at least 1977 was the final
round at Augusta National in 1997, when a skinny 21-year-old introduced himself to
the world in dominant, record-setting fashion.
Back then, Tiger Woods was a prodigy playing under the weight of almost impossible-to-meet
expectations. In April, we could have a new leader in the television ratings clubhouse
when Tiger makes his much-anticipated “comeback” at the Masters. This time, however,
a lot of people won’t be watching to see if Woods breaks records, but to see if
he breaks down. They won’t tune in to cheer the birth of a future golf legend,
but to jeer a fallen star. Much has changed in the past 13 years, and we may all

IN SPORTS Tiger Woods says he’ll return to golf at the Masters, to be played April
8-11.
STORY ON PAGE C1


COMEBACK:

INSIDE
Business . . Comics . . . Crossword . Directory . . Lottery . . . D1 .E6 .E5 A2 A2
Markets . . . Movies. . . . Obituaries . Outlook . . . TV . . . . . . . D4 .E2 B5
B9 .E4

Jerome Solomon
be the poorer for it. Instead of riding a wave of talent to great heights on the
storied course, Tiger will be challenged to rise above a

The entire world — not just the usual sports world — will be tuning in to the
Masters this year.

Please see SOLOMON, Page A11

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