The Monitor from McAllen, Texas • A9

By AMES SBORNE Monitor Staff Writer AN JUAN Still dripping from a late-afternoon plunge in the local municipal swimming pool, 9- year-old Alexander Guajardo declared his preference for pools over beaches. hot, and nice to go in the Alexander said. none of the stuff under like His father Alex, who had thought their weekly trips to South Padre Island were appreciated, looked a little confused. Known mostly for its heady smell of chlorine and the shrill screams of young children, the city swimming pool has always ranked somewhat low on the list of summer destinations, more a last-ditch option for those not lucky enough to have their own pool. But when the thermometer climbs over 100 degrees, as it did at the San Juan Municipal Swimming Pool on Wednesday afternoon, nowhere fills up faster.

come every day, even when it said Miguel Guerrero, 12. just us, but when hot like today, lots of Guerrero and his friend Beto are regulars at the city pool, taking turns doing flips, cannonballs and the occasional belly flop off the diving board. They arrive at the front gate when the pool opens to the general public at 2 p.m. and will more or less remain in JULY 10, 2006MONDAY SECTION 1080i: 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels The stands for interlaced scan, which describes the alternating horizontal lines used to display the image. 1080 pixels is the maximum resolution for an HDTV.

Traditionally, televisions and analog signals use interlaced scanning. 720p: 1280 pixels by 720 pixels The stands for progressive scan, which describes the lines displaying the image in order from top to bottom. 720 pixels is the minimum resolution for an HDTV. Computer monitors traditionally use progressive scanning. Progressive scanning is considered better than interlaced scanning for fast-paced action images.

1080p: 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels This is considered to be the highest quality HDTV available. While consumers can purchase 1080p HDTV sets, no broadcasters currently transmit programming in the 1080p format. UNLEADED DIESEL GAS WATCH gas prices around the Rio Grande Valley: STATION Circle K1001 Expwy 83, McAllen Tejano Mart1521 N. 10th McAllen Valero 2406 E. Bus.

Hwy 83, Mission $2.65 $2.75 Murphy 2416 E. Exwy 83, Mission Valero1813 Hooks Donna Average Gas Price Average Gas price ADDRESS SAN JUAN MUNICIPAL POOL 300 W. 1st San Juan Hours open to the public: 2 5:30 p.m. 2 8 p.m. (Sat.) PHARR MUNICIPAL POOL 205 W.

Polk Pharr Hours open to the public: 1 5 p.m. 7 9 p.m. (Sun.) McALLEN MUNICIPAL POOL 1921 N. Bicentennial Blvd. Hours open to the public: 1 6 p.m.

1 7 p.m. (Sat. and Sun.) TAKE A DIP AT A PUBLIC POOL MYWORLD DEBORAH MARTINEZ COMMENTARY amazing what you can learn when you listen to your elders. After years of my great-uncle telling me about his cousin, Emilio Carranza, I finally put two and two together several months ago during a family trip to Dallas and realized that, at least by marriage, I am related to the Lindbergh of Carranza is a pioneer in Mexican aviation and a national military hero, killed when his plane went down in a New Jersey pine forest during a thunderstorm July 12, 1928. He was completing a historic goodwill flight between Mexico and the United States a round trip from Mexico City to New York City, to be exact.

A monument honoring Carranza stands in New Jersey today, at the site where his plane went down during the storm. And school children in that state learn about him in their history classes. There are plenty of reasons for Hispanics to be proud of Emilio Carranza, yet safe to say most even know his story. It can be found in scraps of history book entries, Web site postings and family lore. American Legion Post 11 in Mount Holly, N.J.

near the site where Carranza died also does its part to share his story. Capt. Emilio Carranza Rodriguez was born in Villa Ramos Arizpe, on Dec. 9, 1905. Six years later, as the Mexican revolution raged, he and his family were forced to abandon their country and move to San Antonio.

At one point, as the fallout from the revolution wore on and own great-uncle, Venustiano Carranza first constitutional president died, the Carranzas also lived in Eagle Pass. They moved back to Mexico after the revolution, and by the age of 12, Carranza was hanging out at a local airport, fascinated with the pilots, mechanics and jobs. By the age of 18, he was A Tale By ENNIFER C.S MITH Monitor Staff Writer MISSION Mission Regional Medical Center and Rio Grande Regional Hospital earned top marks for maternity care by a nationally recognized healthcare ratings company. They are among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for maternity care, according to HealthGrades Inc. The Colorado-based organization provides ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals.

Both facilities received a five- star rating to receive the 2006-07 Maternity Care Excellence Award. we look is at what hospitals have the best track record in terms of patient said HealthGrades spokesman Scott Shapiro. is a very difficult list to get on The ratings are based on several criteria, including in-hospital complication rates associated with Caesarean sections, in-hospital volume and neonatal mortality. HealthGrades analyzed maternity care for 2,100 hospitals across 17 states between 2002 and 2004. But their rankings should not be viewed as the sole healthcare rankings source, cautioned Texas Hospital Association spokeswoman Amanda Engler.

hospitalsparticipate in several and sometimes many! safety she wrote in an e-mail. consumers shouldlook at several sources and then discussany questions (and) concerns they may have with their The award marks the fourth consecutive year Rio Grande Regional has received the award and the second year Mission Regionalhas received the award. The facilities have received other HealthGrades recognition this year and in prior years in areas such as stroke and pulmonary care. The Monitor will look at health care news every quarter in the Rio Grande Valley.The next medical update will be in October. Jennifer C.Smith covers and science issues for The Monitor She can be reached at (956) this and more local www.themonitor.com Area hospitals earn top marks for maternity care By A NGELA ASTELLANOS Monitor Staff Writer McALLEN Umberto Cubria is ready to buy an HDTV, but you could say he was window shopping.

After marveling at the quality and clarity of the TV screens with his 3-year-old daughter, Ana Laura, at Best Buy in McAllen, Cubria decided the new tothe in his Mission home will be a Pioneer HDTV. The popularity of HDTV, or high-definition television, has spread across the nation. In fact, sales in the Rio Grande Valley show its prevalence is rapidly growing as more TV stations transmit the high-quality signal to HDTV-hungry customers. already come in asking for said Bonnie Chapa, sales representative at Best Buy in McAllen. very popular, and sales have definitely gone At Circuit City in McAllen, about 80 percent of the TVs sold are HDTVs, said Albert Garza, Most definitely high definition Customers hungry for HDTV See HDTV page 8B Photos by Mike Monitor Ashley Montalvo, 12, from San Juan, leaps from the diving board Saturday afternoon at the City of San Juan Municipal Pool.

Jorge Gonzalez, 15, from San Juan, flips from the diving board Saturday afternoon at the San Juan city pool. Beat theHeat No easier way to stay cool than to jump in a pool Known mostly for its heady smell of chlorine and the shrill screams of young children, the city swimming pool has always ranked somewhat low on the list of summer destinations, more a last-ditch option for those not lucky enough to have their own pool. But when the thermometer climbs over 100 degrees, as it did at the San Juan Municipal Swimming Pool on Wednesday afternoon, nowhere fills up faster. See POOL page 2B See HERO page 8B.