Good morning! PARTLY CLOUDY, HIGH 67, LOW 43 / PAGE B10 EX-OILERS MAY AID TEXANS DEFENSE / PAGE C1 WWW.CHRON.COM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2006 ¬¬¬ VOL. 105 • NO. 104 • 50 CENTS THE ENRON TRIAL Alito win seems all BIZARRE SCENE FUELS but certain UNEASE ON BORDER The judicial panel’s approval ■ Smugglers in DEADLY CROSSINGS mote western Texas on Monday and an expected Activists hoping to reduce fatalities afternoon, hastily fled back Mexican uniforms will arm migrants with maps of the into Mexico, leaving behind vote along party Arizona desert. PAGE A15 nearly a half ton of marijuana retreat when seen and setting one of their vehicles lines make by Texas officers ablaze. armed intruders who were Although no shots were confirmation of wearing Mexican military uni- fired and no one was hurt, the Bush’s pick for the By JAMES PINKERTON forms while evidently escorting episode — along with an inci- HOUSTON CHRONICLE a caravan of sport utility ve- dent in November — height- STEVE CAMPBELL : CHRONICLE Supreme Court U.S. and Mexican officials hicles that was smuggling mari- ened fears that Mexican traf- GETTING PREPARED: Ken Lay, the former chairman of Enron, faces likely. on Tuesday were investigating a juana into the United States. fickers and U.S. border agents seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. His trial starts Monday. bizarre encounter between The smugglers, spotted on are headed for a potentially STORY ON PAGE A4 Texas lawmen and heavily the U.S. side of the border in re- Please see BORDER, Page A7 Ken Lay eager EXXON MOBIL EMISSION to reclaim his reputation ■ That may be too COMING UP great a task even The Chronicle’s coverage of for a man with the the Enron trial: ■ INSIDE TODAY: What you former chairman’s want to know about Enron’s determination main event ■ THURSDAY: The media circus By JOHN C. ROPER ■ FRIDAY: Unindicted co- HOUSTON CHRONICLE conspirators When Ken Lay is not in the ■ SATURDAY: Spotlight on courtroom or a downtown of- Houston fice toiling on his defense, he mostly keeps to a quiet lif- estyle, spending much of his pany he built and no doubt him free time with his five children as well. and 12 grandchildren. Today, though, he is largely Lay’s trial on federal crimi- absent from his once familiar nal charges stemming from En- place on the charity and social ron’s collapse starts Monday circuit, where adulation has and his defense, in large part, been replaced by hushed whis- is that he wasn’t aware of any pers. wrongdoing at Enron and that Despite that, he continues KEVIN FUJII PHOTOS : CHRONICLE the bankruptcy was caused by to venture out in public. He re- a “run on the bank.” mains a member of River Oaks CLEANING UP: Jesus Rodrigues of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. cleans a home near the Exxon Mobil He has maintained that En- Country Club, where he can refinery Tuesday. An accidental release of process gas oil covered the neighborhood with an oily residue. m ron was an innovative, honest occasionally be found eating company that changed indus- lunch or dinner with his wife. tries and energy markets for People who see him there de- Magenta the better. That sentiment cap- scribe such moments as “awk- tures how Lay hopes people ward” or even “sad.” Concerns roll in after oil-laden fog will one day regard the com- Please see LAY, Page A12 ■ husband roused her from bed, Residents in 30 men, some carrying buckets Baytown wake up and brooms, others wearing Perry visits backpacks full of cleaning liq- to cleanup crews uid, were spraying down the after residue coats playground equipment, scrub- troops in Iraq bing aluminum siding and homes and cars washing the caramel-colored oil During a splatter that coated residents’ cars. y surprise visit to U.S. By DINA CAPPIELLO “You come out of your troops Tuesday, HOUSTON CHRONICLE house, and they are cleaning, Yellow Gov. Rick Perry The trucks, emblazoned and you say ‘Something ain’t with the names of environmen- right,’ ” said Mixon, 38, who urged Americans tal cleanup companies, arrived has lived in this 58-unit housing to be patient about first, clogging the entrance of project across the street from ASSOCIATED PRESS the Archia Courts public hous- Exxon Mobil’s Baytown refin- ON IRAQ: “I think this is going the war. TRACES REMAIN: Prudencia Silva holds a paper towel soiled with oil ing complex Tuesday morning. ery for 14 years. “We are con- along very well,” Perry said. STORY ON PAGE B3 after wiping down her car windshield near the refinery Tuesday. By the time Judy Mixon’s Please see REFINERY, Page A6 7 8 9 10 11 12 WHAT CHANNEL? What’s in a number? A team name Stations to carry The CW: Merger of The WB, UPN Currently WB Currently UPN ■ worse, it really is the name cho- Think the Alamo, Sam promises the best of both Paying homage sen for the city’s Major League Houston and the birth of a city to the city’s birth, Soccer team. — and a name sprinkled with a ■ Catering to ANOTHER that The WB pro soccer club In case you’re scratching touch of European flavor. DEAL and UPN are your head, wondering where on The name’s main reference young viewers, Disney is consolidating will be called . Earth such a name came from, is the year Houston was buying hints at a fall you’re not alone. founded by John and Augustus Note: The the new network lineup that remainder of longtime Houston 1836 Eighteen-year-old Luis Allen on the banks of Buffalo The CW network hopes to close in partner Pixar could include Gonzalez, a student at the Uni- Bayou. It also marks the year coverage will be a combination Animation for Smallville, versity of Houston-Downtown Texas declared its indepen- of selected UPN and WB stations. on the ‘Big Four’ Gilmore Girls, By BERNARDO FALLAS Primetime household ratings $7.4 billion. campus and a fan of Mexican dence from Mexico, the Battle PAGE D3 Veronica Mars, HOUSTON CHRONICLE First Division team Chivas de of the Alamo and the defeat of TV seasons from Sept. to May: Everybody By MIKE McDANIEL The latest addition to Hous- Guadalajara, was skeptical General Antonio Lopez de 12 NBC CBS Hates Chris and America’s Next ton’s professional sports land- when first confronted with the Santa Anna’s Mexican army at 10 HOUSTON CHRONICLE Top Model — all on one channel scape finally has a name, and name Tuesday evening while at the hands of General Sam 8 Two small networks that called The CW. the team will make it official to- Kicks, an indoor soccer facility Houston in the Battle of San Ja- 6 have struggled for more than 10 The new network will have FOX WB ABC day. near downtown Houston. cinto during the Texas Revolu- 4 years to court younger TV audi- the 50-50 backing of CBS Corp. How does Houston 1836 After a long pause, Gonzalez tion. ences are merging in hopes of and Warner Bros. (“C” for CBS, 2 UPN c grab you? was a bit puzzled. After a briefing, Gonzalez 0 finally competing with ABC, “W” for Warner), two major No, it’s not a spinoff of Bev- “Where does it come from?” seemed sold on it. ’96 ’98 ’00 ’02 ’04 CBS, Fox and NBC. players with deep pockets and Cyan 1836, Sources: CBS Corp.; Tribune Co.; MERGER, erly Hills 90210. For better or he asked. Please see Page A6 Nielsen Media Research AP Tuesday’s announcement Please see Page A6 BUSINESS SPORTS INSIDE Editorials . .B8 Business . D1 Flavor . .F1 ‘The focus of downtown’ Kissimmee bound? Casey . .B1 Hale . .E1 A $200 million entertainment, office and residential Despite Astros’ contention he’s too hurt to play, Jeff Crossword . .E12 Lottery . .B2 project is planned near the convention center. PAGE D1 Bagwell plans on going to spring training. PAGE C1 Dear Abby . .E4 Obituaries . .B6 WE RECYCLE A6 HOUSTON CHRONICLE ¬¬¬ THE JUMP PAGE Wednesday, January 25, 2006 1836: Soccer team’s REFINERY: Workers tested water, air CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 name inadvertently cerned about our health.” Living next door to an oil re- finery comes with its share of leaked on Web site noises, odors, and the glow of flares burning off gases. Numer- ous times, residents of Archia CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 be excited about it.” Courts have called to complain. “It sounds good,” he said. Candidates included the But Tuesday, no one could recall “Once you know what it means, Apollos, Generals, Lonestars anything like this. there’s a meaning to it. It’s got and Toros. “This is the worst one I have the number thing going. I’d go Neither franchise nor league seen,” resident Patricia Johnson for that.” officials would comment on the said. The name first surfaced as name or a version of the team The Texas Commission on one of 13 choices in a “Name the logo — a black star outlined in Environmental Quality, the Team Sweepstakes” held orange with the word Houston agency in charge of protecting through Jan. 6 after franchise and the year 1836 emblazoned the public from pollution, said owner Anschutz Entertainment on it — both of which were Exxon Mobil did not tell it that Group relocated the team for- leaked after a breach of the the incident had affected the merly known as the Earth- league’s Web site and circulated community or of the cleanup, quakes from San Jose, Calif., in on Web blog site bigsoccer.com, until Tuesday evening, well af- early December.