Corpus Christi Caller-Times March 3, 2011 front page

pirates have pep in their step

Boys high school basketball playoffs

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Quick Read

■■Pneumonia,

cancer among linked ailments

Associated Press

The First United Methodist Church Children’s Bargain Basement Sale and the Junior League of Corpus Christi Rummage Sale offer big deals this weekend. local, 1b

Abortion rule vote delayed

NEW YORK — A 50-yearold with diabetes dies six years sooner than someone without the disease, and not just from a heart

Inside

“It’s quite a wide sweep of conditions,” said Dr. John Danesh of Cambridge University in Britain, who led the team of researchers. While most people think of heart problems, diabetes surprisingly “appears to be associated with a much broader range of health implications than previously suspected.”

Putting the six years lost

Dr. Ponder writes about diabetes myths. 8B

attack or a stroke, new research suggests.

The large international effort to measure diabetes’ toll found the disease also raises the risk of dying prematurely from a host of other ailments, even breast cancer and pneumonia.

in context, he said, longterm smoking shortens life by 10 years.

The analysis used pooled medical information for 820,900 people from nearly 100 studies done mostly in Europe and North America. The results are published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in

joins in fight for club

■■Says district

is in violation of federal law

A man armed with a handgun attacks a bus carrying Air Force troops in Germany, killing two U.S. airmen and wounding two others.

By Rhiannon Meyers meyersr@caller.com 361-886-3694

world, 8A

sprawling, 15,000-squarefoot restaurant to usher everyone out. If not for Vasquez, the last person out of the building, people would have been injured, Elizaldi said.

“It had to be electrical,” he said. “You could smell plastic and rubber burning, and the lights were flickering.”

Robstown Fire Chief Richard Gonzalez declined to comment. Firefighters were still spraying water on the building hours after the blaze started.

Stunned employees, customers, neighbors, city officials and members of the Cotten family watched as

Flour Bluff Independent School District has until Wednesday to approve a proposed club supporting gay and lesbian students or it may face a lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union announced.

Attorneys with the national ACLU and its state affiliate are representing senior Bianca “Nikki” Peet, 17, who has unsuccessfully petitioned Flour Bluff High School to form a Gay-Straight Alliance.

In a letter to Superintendent Julie Carbajal, ACLU attorneys said the district is violating federal law.

They urged Carbajal to issue a statement permitting Peet to form a club, promising to treat it the same as other non-curricular clubs meeting on campus and to refuse to tolerate any retaliation for students, teachers or staff members supporting Peet’s club.

Carbajal did not comment.

She previously has said the district has no plans to approve the proposed club because it violates district policy disallowing non-curriculum clubs from meeting on campus.

See FIRE, 7A

See ACLU, 6A

stock up on good stuff

Looking frail, Apple CEO Steve Jobs briefly emerges from his medical leave to unveil the second generation of the popular iPad. business, 7c

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Meet Bart Bart Crow Band plays at Brewster Street tonight.

Hear how he got his start at Caller Entertainment.

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Fire destroys Joe Cotten’s Barbecue ACLU

gunman kills u.s. airmen

newest ipad on the way

the U.S., affects about 26 million Americans, or 8 percent, including 7 million who haven’t been diagnosed. Most in the study were thought to have the most common kind — Type 2 — which occurs when the body makes too little insulin or cannot use what it does make to regulate blood sugar.

Read the American Civil Liberties Union’s letter to Superintendent Julie Carbajal demanding approval of a proposed Gay-Straight Alliance.

texas, 4b

health, 8b

deals.caller.com

Thursday, March 3, 2011 n city edition

Democrats in the Texas House on Wednesday used a parliamentary procedure to delay a vote on controversial abortion legislation.

The foundation of your diet is formed by how you choose to stock your shelves, but it doesn’t have to be a challenging task.

Vincent’s Flowers

Study: Diabetes raises other risks

By Stephanie Nano

find yourself a big bargain

Rockport-Fulton girls get spirited sendoff for Class 3A state tournament. Sports, 1C

TODAY’S BIG DEAL

Photos by TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Robstown and other area firefighters battle a blaze at Joe Cotten’s Barbecue restaurant on U.S. Highway 77 in Robstown on Wednesday.

■■No one injured in blaze

during start of dinner rush

By Mark Collette, Mary Ann Cavazos and Steven Alford Staff writers

ROBSTOWN — A restaurant that began as a beer joint in 1947 and grew into an icon of Texas roadhouse barbecue, one where Houston oilmen were known to drop in for lunch via helicopter in the highway median, was destroyed by fire Wednesday night.

No one was injured when flames tore through Joe Cotten’s Barbecue on U.S. Highway 77 about 5:50 p.m., just as the dinner rush began.

Waiter Robert Elizaldi said as many as 60 customers were inside when the fire started. Manager Joel Vasquez ran through the

Military funeral protests allowed, high court rules

By Mark Sherman Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a grieving father’s pain over mocking protests at his Marine son’s funeral must yield to First Amendment protections for free speech. All but one justice sided with a fundamentalist church that has stirred outrage with raucous demonstrations contending God is punishing the military for

the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The 8-1 decision in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., was the latest in a line of court rulings that, as Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion for the court, protects “even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.”

The decision ended a lawsuit by Albert Snyder, who sued church members for the emotional pain they

caused by showing up at his son Matthew’s funeral. As they have at hundreds of other funerals, the Westboro members held signs with provocative messages, including “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “You’re Going to Hell,” “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” and one that combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.

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Friday

Shucks, it’s a good time Annual Fulton Oysterfest offers contests, food and fun for the whole family. WEEKEND

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C A L L E R -T I M E S

ÂŤ Thursday, March 3, 2011 ÂŤ 7A

From the cover FIRE from 1A the roof collapsed and a spout of fire erupted from a smokestack connected to a barbecue pit. Manager Kenneth Cotten said the entire wooden structure inside the building burned.

Kenneth’s brother, owner Cecil Cotten, said his first concern was for his 50 employees.

Elizaldi tried to keep up a smile as he watched the restaurant burn. He joined the staff of waiters in their dapper uniforms — maroon jackets and bow ties — in 1975. He told his co-workers not to worry about tomorrow. “I told them to call their families and tell them they’re OK,� he said.

Kenneth Cotten said the family hopes to rebuild, but they will have to evaluate their options after consulting with their insurer.

His father, Joe Cotten, opened his beer joint on Avenue A in downtown.

Back then, it was the place for men looking to drink after work. There was a small barbecue pit in the back and slot machines and poker tables inside.

Joe started serving barbecue sandwiches to keep the men at the bar from going home for dinner. “Their wives wouldn’t let them come back,� Kenneth said.

A couple of years later, gambling became illegal, which helped prompt Joe to start cooking barbecue full time, Cecil told the CallerTimes in a 1996 article.

Through trial and error, Joe refined his cooking method and his recipes. He moved the expanding restaurant to its current location in 1968, and he knew he was onto something big when the helicopters started landing in the highway median, Kenneth said.

Joe Cotten’s is widely known as the place for an authentic taste of South Texas fare. A 1997 Texas Monthly review said a “TexMex influence is apparent in the green olives atop the potato salad and in the mild, salsalike sauce (made with fresh ground tomatoes and laced with meat drippings and strips of tomato and onion).� — all served on butcher paper.

It has been frequented by everyone from local politicians to nationally known celebrities. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo ate there in 2008.

The same year, thenSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s event staff enjoyed the barbecue eats along with Robstown leaders before Clinton’s campaign stop at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds.

The restaurant also counts President Lyndon B. Johnson, former Gov. Bill Clements, country singer Willie Nelson, rock ‘n’ roll singer Bill Haley and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach among its many famous customers.

After Joe Cotten’s death in 1992, Cecil took over the family business.

Just as it has been a family institution, it’s also a Robstown institution.

County Commissioner

Photos by TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES

Robstown and other area firefighters battle a blaze at Joe Cotten’s Barbecue on U.S. Highway 77 in Robstown after it caught fire Wednesday night.

Oscar Ortiz was at home Wednesday when he heard the news. “I can’t believe it,� Ortiz said. “I just had lunch there today.�

Ortiz has been eating at Joe Cotten’s since it was at its original location, he said.

He recalls getting French bread from a local bakery during high school lunch and riding over to Cotten’s to have the loaf filled with barbecue to share with friends. “It’s one of the highlights of South Texas,� Ortiz said. “It’s always been a place where people get together to eat and talk.�

The restaurant is the regular spot where Robstown Independent School District officials host district meetings and award ceremonies.

Cotten’s was scheduled to cater a meeting for the district tonight, said Alfonso Obregon, Robstown ISD superintendent. “Everybody felt comfortable there,� he said. “I’ve taken guests many times.

It’s a great place to have lunch, the service is always excellent, and the food is superb.� “It’s a great loss, not only for the community, but for the general Corpus Christi area,� Obregon said. “It’s given many years of providing people with great food.�

Robstown Mayor Rodrigo Ramon watched from the parking lot as the famed restaurant burned. He regularly enjoyed the brisket, beans and secret barbecue sauce, but his favorite dish was the ribs. “It’s a sad thing, it’s a landmark as far as Robstown is concerned,� Ramon said. “I feel very bad for the Cotten family. Cecil is a personal friend of mine.

It’s a real tragedy.�

He said it was a loss for the whole city because it was a place where everyone could gather, rich or poor. “If you know Joe Cotten’s,� he said, “You know Robstown.�

Joe Cotten’s Barbecue has been frequented by everyone from local politicians to nationally known celebrities. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo ate there in 2008.

Onlookers watch as the restaurant, a South Texas legend that began as a beer joint in 1947, burns.

Thursday

First Look Spring 2011

Peony & Python Peony pink, lilac and purple meet cool greys for an effortless look this spring. Featuring a special edition print by Tibi, the Peony & Python Collection is pretty and of-the-moment.

La Palmera

Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, March 13 Visit the Bobbi Brown Counter for a makeup lesson and personalized face chart.

Call 361-991-7300 to reserve your appointment.

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