KEDU NEWS ARCHIVE

Archive Date: 9-12-05 to 8/12/05

Monday, September 12, 2005

SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY
Albuquerque remembers three tragedies at Sept. 11 memorial

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Albuquerque residents had much to mourn
beyond the four-year anniversary of the September Eleventh attacks.
A memorial yesterday at Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque also
touched on Hurricane Katrina and the fatal shootings of Albuquerque
Police Officers Michael King and Richard Smith.
The ceremony was cut short by a downpour, but about 200 people
gave a standing ovation to the officers' wives who were on stage.
Valerie Scott recalled those first minutes four years ago when
terrorist-controlled airplanes hit the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.
Scott lost her son-in-law -- Kleber Molina -- who worked in the
south tower.
Scott says four years later, she still gets numb with anger when
she thinks of the terrorists. And, she can't look at images of the
towers.

TRIPLE FATAL
Three women killed in Interstate 25 crash near Santa Fe

SANTA FE (AP) - Three women have been killed in a two-vehicle
crash on Interstate 25 north of Santa Fe.
State police say 19-year-old Janette Castillo of Santa Fe was
driving south yesterday.
Witnesses told police Castillo was speeding when the car crossed
over the median into oncoming lanes of traffic.
Police say the car collided with a northbound pickup truck.
Castillo and two passengers, 18-year-old Amanda Herrera of Pecos
and 20-year-old Lakin Garcia of Santa Fe, were pronounced dead at
the scene.
Two Belen residents in the pickup, 60-year-old Diane Hampton --
the driver -- and 37-year-old Jimmy Aguayo, were seriously injured.
Police say they were taken to Saint Vincent Hospital in Santa
Fe. No word last night on their conditions.

PRAIRIE DOGS
Farmington group wants compromise on prairie dogs

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - Members of a nature center say they want
to reach a compromise with the Farmington City Council on how to
deal with prairie dogs at a Farmington park.
They want a solution that doesn't end in the animals' deaths.
Becky Kerr is chairwoman of the Friends of the Nature Center
Prairie Dog exhibit.
She says she hates to think that anyone would want to eliminate
such an important and smart animal.
City officials have announced a plan to cordon off an area at
Animas Park for the animals and poison any outside the boundary.
Thatcher says the plan needs negotiation.
Options include paving an overflow dirt parking lot so people
don't disturb the prairie dogs when they park over the holes.
She says if people are willing to think about it, they might
find other solutions.

VALLE VIDAL DRILLING
N.M. representative opposes drilling in Valle Vidal

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Congresswoman Heather Wilson has become the
first Republican congressional delegate from New Mexico to openly
oppose drilling in the Valle Vidal.
She says the Valle Vidal shouldn't be explored because of its
outstanding recreational, science and wildlife attributes.
She toured the Valle Vidal and the eastern 40-thousand acres
under consideration for coal-bed methane drilling by airplane and
foot.
She says current drilling technologies are too invasive to be
compatible with other uses of the land.
Forest officials are taking comments on how the land that is
home to New Mexico's largest elk herd should be managed.
A final decision won't be made until the fall of 2008.

ALBUQUERQUE KILLINGS
Chief says suspect identified minutes after Albuquerque officers
killed

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Albuqeurque Police Chief Ray Schultz says it
was just minutes after two officers were slain that the man accused
of killing them was identified as a strong suspect in two other
killings earlier the same day.
Police say Officers Michael King and Richard Smith arrived at
accused killer John Hyde's Albuquerque home at 9:45 p-m on August
18th.
Smith called dispatch at 10:15 that night to say King had been
shot.
Just three minutes later, Schultz says detectives started to
make the connection between Hyde and the killings of two motorcycle
shop employees earlier that day.
Schultz says that connection was solidified within an hour.
A number of what-ifs have emerged, and Schultz says his
department has second guessed itself.
But ultimately, he says everyone did what they could.

Albuquerque triplets work together in barber shop

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Customers at the 3-D Kutz barbershop in
Albuquerque aren't just seeing double.
They're seeing triple.
Identical triplets Damian, Dominic and Derrick Montoya run the
shop.
Customers say a lot of the shop's entertainment comes from the
chemistry of the brothers.
Frequently while cutting hair, Damian and Dominic will secretly
swap customers.
Damian and Dominic are licensed barbers.
Derrick helps clean and observes the process as he works to get
his license through the Albuquerque Barber College.
Their mother, Diane, says she cut the boy's hair when they were
young to save money.
She says they were soon cutting each other's hair.

Portales fire chief retiring

PORTALES, N.M. (AP) - Portales Fire Chief Jesse Mowrer is
retiring October First.
He says he wants to spend more time with his family.
Mowrer has worked for the Portales Fire Department for nearly 21
years, beginning as a firefighter.
He was appointed interim fire chief in March 2004 after Steve
Beaty retired.
Mowrer was appointed chief of the 24-member fire department six
months later.

Dona Ana County Commission to debate prayers at public meetings

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A Dona Ana County commissioner has
proposed moments of silence instead of prayers at the start of
commission meetings.
Bill McCamley says the commission needs to find a way that will
allow for as much diversity as possible.
The commission has allowed anyone to sign up to pray before
meetings.
But almost all prayers have been led by Protestants.
McCamley has asked every person who has prayed at the meetings
not to mention specific deities.


Friday, September 9, 2005

Air Force makes offer to repair Las Cruces runway

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The U-S Air Force has offered more than
603-thousand dollars to repair a Las Cruces airport runway damaged
by an airplane carrying equipment for a visit by President Bush.
A C-17 cargo airplane loaded with vehicles and equipment caused
half-mile-long, two-inch-deep ruts on the runway on August 26th,
2004.
The city filed a two-point-one (m) million-dollar claim last
November with the U-S Air Force.
City public works director Robert Garza says the settlement
offer won't be presented to the Las Cruces City Council until
October.
The proposed settlement includes resurfacing 41-thousand-111
square yards of the damaged runway.
The Las Cruces International Airport has three main runways.
The damaged runway hasn't been used since it was damaged.

KATRINA REFUGEES-N.M.
Shelter and city work to find employment

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Hurricane refugee Lion Nions was having a
hard time finding a job without a driver's license.
But Red Cross volunteer Pam Chavez says she was impressed with
his dedication.
So much that she offered Lions a job on the spot at a job fair
yesterday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
By mid-afternoon, the 30-year-old from New Orleans was headed to
a job with a landscaping company where Chavez works as the vice
president.
Nions -- who plans to live in Albuquerque -- says finding
employment was a silver lining in a situation that has been full of
heartache.
More than 30 local and national companies went to the convention
center to offer immediate work to the refugees.

EVIDENCE ROOM AUDITS
Hobbs police seeking help from private sector

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) - Hobbs Police Chief Johnny Gallegos has been
asked to research private companies that could conduct an audit of
his department's evidence room.
That's because the state auditor's office discontinued audits it
was conducting in Hobbs and Lovington.
Officials say they lack expertise in evidence room procedures.
The city of Hobbs is examining the private sector of the police
department's evidence room.
Hobbs City Manager Dan Dible says another possibility is using
the state attorney general's office for the audit.
But he says not decision has been made.

WORKERS COMPENSATION
Court expands compensation for workers suffering mental
disabilities

SANTA FE (AP) - A recent state Supreme Court decision will allow
workers with psychological or emotional job-related injuries to
qualify for more workers' compensation benefits.
The Supreme Court has ruled that compensation for mentally
disabled workers must be equal to that for workers with physical
injuries.
The state previously had capped the compensation period for
primary mental disabilities at 100 weeks.
But compensation for life is provided for some permanent
physical disabilities and up to 700 weeks of compensation for
permanent partial physical disabilities.
The four-to-one decision (last month) determined the different
treatment of mentally disabled and physically disabled workers
violated equal protection guarantees of the state Constitution.

POLICE SHOOTING
Las Cruces police shoot person at burglary scene

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A Las Cruces police officer is on paid
leave after he shot a person who was running from a residential
area in the city where an apparent automobile burglary was
reported.
Thirty-six-year-old Officer Mark Nevarez is a five-year veteran
of the Las Cruces Police Department's patrol section.
Lieutenant Todd Gregory says a 16-year-old boy was shot early
yesterday morning.
The teen was taken to Thomason Hospital in El Paso.
Gregory says the male's condition is guarded.
Police are still trying to piece together the details of the
shooting.

311 INFORMATION LINE
Hurricane Katrina tests Albuquerque's information hot line

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The volume of calls to Albuquerque's
information hot line has doubled and tripled with citizens wanting
to help refugees displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
That word from general manager Michael Padilla of the city's
3-1-1 service.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez says the calls have been the
center's first chance to put the hot line to the test.
But Chavez says the team that handles the calls has performed
better than expected.
Padilla says 98-point-eight percent of all calls received at the
center have been answered in less than seven seconds.
Chavez says citizens have called the hot line more than
100-thousand times since July First.
He says the hot line also has reduced the burden of
non-emergency calls to 9-1-1 by more than 17-thousand.

Albuquerque orchestra has new labor contract

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - New Mexico Symphony Orchestra musicians have
a new three-year contract.
The orchestra's board of trustees ratified the contract
yesterday.
It contains a 12-and-a-half percent pay raise in the 2005-2006
and 2006-2007 seasons.
The contract also includes a retroactive payment equal to eight
percent of each musician's base salary last season.
The musicians had approved the contract Wednesday night.
They'd been working without a contract for more than a year.

Zozobra burned at stake in Santa Fe

SANTA FE (AP) - About 30-thousand people witnessed the death of
Zozobra at Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe.
All 50 feet of the toothless, empty-headed facade with no legs
went up in flames last night.
The marionette was created by Will Shuster 81 years ago and is
routinely stuffed with notes from people hoping their sorrows will
be burned along with the marionette.
One note bid goodbye to all sadness and fear.
The Kiwanis Club sponsors the event.
Zozobra is burned each September.

Prairie dogs to be gassed at Farmington park

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - Farmington's parks and recreation
director says prairie dogs are taking over a city park.
And Jeff Bowman says neighboring landowners are complaining
about the animals.
City officials plan to cordon off an area of Animas Park where
prairie dogs will be allowed to live.
Any prairie dog outside the area will be killed by gas or
poisoning.
City manager Bob Hudson says the plan will create a balance
between the animals and the public.
City attorney Jay Burnham says the city has paid
one-thousand-838 dollars in medical claims to two people who
stepped into prairie dog holes while walking on park trails.

Prosecutor to seek death penalty in killing near Espanola

SANTA FE (AP) - Prosecutors say they intend to seek the death
penalty in a case involving three men accused of killing a man
north of Espanola.
But an attorney for one of the men contends prosecutors waited
to long to file the death penalty request.
Defendants in the case are 23-year-old John Knight, 32-year-old
Dion Martinez and 29-year-old Donald Hamilton.
State police found the body of 26-year-old Jonathan Dick the
night of March 12th, 2004, off Rio Arriba County Road 456.
He'd been beaten and stabbed.

New Mexico Gas Prices

 AAA: Texas gas prices begin stabilizing after post-Katrina spike

HOUSTON (AP) - Triple-A Texas says it sees signs that retail
gasoline prices are stabilizing in Texas after skyrocketing in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The auto club's weekly Texas retail gas price survey today found
regular self-serve averaging two dollars 94 cents per gallon.
That's up 31 cents from the week before and a dollar 91 cents a
gallon higher than last year's average.
Triple-A Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau (roo-JOHN') says the
price spike resulted from several refinery and oil pipeline
shutdowns because of the hurricane.
However, she says the auto club has seen prices begin to level
out in many Texas markets during the last two days.
The national average for regular self-serve gasoline at the pump
is three dollars three cents per gallon. That's up 35 cents.
---
On the Net:
AAA Texas: http://www.aaa-texas.com/corpinfo/media.asp

HOUSTON (AP) - AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average
price of gasoline at popular destinations for automobile trips. The
survey released Friday shows the following average prices at the
pump for regular, self-serve unleaded gasoline:

Weekly

Area 9/9/05 Change 9/2/05
National $3.030 35.0 cents $2.680
State $2.939 31.1 cents $2.628
Austin-San Marcos $2.902 32.5 cents $2.577
Beaumont $2.889 29.8 cents $2.591
Corpus Christi $2.827 31.6 cents $2.511
Dallas $2.994 30.2 cents $2.692
Fort Worth $2.977 30.4 cents $2.673
Galveston-Texas City $2.967 33.2 cents $2.635
Houston $2.955 32.4 cents $2.631
San Antonio $2.880 31.7 cents $2.563

Weekly 2004
Area 8/19/05 Change 8/12/05 New Record High Average
National $2.586 +18.9 cents $2.397 $3.057 (9/5/05) $2.038
State $2.536 +22.0 cents $2.316 $2.964 (9/4/05) $1.918
Austin-
San Marcos $2.483 +20.7 cents $2.276 $2.918 (9/6/05) $1.909
Beaumont $2.520 +23.9 cents $2.281 $2.930 (9/4/05) $1.899
Corpus Christi $2.474 +19.3 cents $2.281 $2.929 (9/3/05) $1.880
Dallas $2.600 +23.9 cents $2.361 $3.019 (9/4/05) $1.922
Fort Worth $2.587 +24.2 cents $2.345 $3.012 (9/4/05) $1.922
Galveston-
Texas City $2.581 +24.6 cents $2.335 $2.997 (9/4/05) $1.913
Houston $2.562 +24.2 cents $2.320 $2.971 (9/6/05) $1.900
San Antonio $2.464 +19.9 cents $2.265 $2.909 (9/4/05) $1.928
---
On the Net:
AAA Texas: http://www.aaa-texas.com/corpinfo/media.asp


Thursday, September 8, 2005

MINIMUM WAGE:
Governor backing higher state minimum wage

SANTA FE (AP) - Governor Richardson says he wants the state's
minimum wage to increase but isn't sure by how much.
He says a consensus proposal needs to be developed with the
business community.
He wants the minimum wage increase considered by the Legislature
next year.
Currently, the state's minimum wage is five dollars and 15 cents
an hour - the same as the federal minimum wage.
House Speaker Ben Lujan says he would support an increase in the
state wage floor to seven dollars and 50 cents.
Albuquerque voters are to decide a measure next month that would
increase the minimum wage in the city to seven dollars and 50 cents
an hour.
Last week, a social welfare advocacy group and a statewide labor
leader called for at least a two-dollar an hour increase in the
minimum wage to help reduce poverty in the state.

RICHARDSON-GASOLINE:
Governor forming task force to investigate gasoline pricing

SANTA FE (AP) - Governor Richardson is forming a task force that
will develop legislation to give the state more power to target
gasoline price gouging.
Richardson says he has no evidence currently of price gouging,
but soaring gas prices have prompted consumer complaints.
The governor said yesterday the task force will determine if
there has been price gouging in the state.
The task force will include representatives of the petroleum
industry.
Richardson says gasoline marketers and wholesalers have agreed
to supply information to the task force to help understand gasoline
supplies and costs.
Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid have said they
will work on developing a law to give the state authority to punish
companies found guilty of price gouging at the pump in the
aftermath of a disaster.

RICHARDSON-SPACEPORT:
Company plans rocket launch on March 27

SANTA FE (AP) - A project to break ground later this year will
prepare southern New Mexico for its first private commercial launch
next spring.
A spaceport is planned there.
Governor Richardson and Economic Development Secretary Rick
Homans announced yesterday in Santa Fe that a Connecticut-based
company will use the New Mexico spaceport for a series of
commercial sub-orbital space flights.
The first launch is scheduled for March 27th.
Officials of U-P Aerospace Incorporated, of Unionville,
Connecticut, attended a news conference with the governor.
Next year, a 21-foot rocket will carry experimental and
commercial payloads. One experiment, for example, will test a
system that might be used to control the re-entry of old
satellites.

High court orders judge's reprimand published

SANTA FE (AP) - The state Supreme Court has decided that the
formal reprimand of an Albuquerque judge will be included in the
official publication of the State Bar.
Metro Court Judge Charles Barnhart already had agreed to retire
after the state's Judicial Standards Commission filed allegations
of misconduct against him.
But he was trying to prevent the formal reprimand by the Supreme
Court from being published in the Bar Bulletin, which is sent
weekly to nearly seven-thousand lawyers, judges, courts and
libraries in the state.
Barnhart's lawyer says the disciplinary case against the judge
already has received enough publicity. And he says that after more
than 24 years on the bench, Barnhart deserved to retire with some
dignity.

Bush issues emergency declaration for New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - President Bush has issued an emergency
declaration for New Mexico.
That frees up federal money to help refugees who were displaced
by Hurricane Katrina.
The president made the declaration last night, following up on a
request from the state.
The order will make federal funding available to New Mexico's
state government and all 33 counties in the state.
A spokesman for Governor Richardson says it means the federal
government will pay for efforts aimed at hurricane relief.
That includes the costs of sending aid to the Gulf Coast, as
well as for housing and feeding victims who were displaced.

TRIBAL SUMMIT:
Tribal leaders meet with UNM officials:

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The state's tribal leaders say a meeting with
University of New Mexico officials was long overdue.
In fact, they hadn't met all together with U-N-M officials in
more than ten years.
Regent Sandra Begay-Campbell says she finally ran out of
patience.
She began organizing a tribal summit in April.
It was held yesterday on the U-N-M campus.
They met to consider revising a memorandum of agreement that
established an American Indian regent and a tuition waiver for one
American Indian student.
No resolutions were passed this time.
But tribal leaders and U-N-M officials have decided to meet
again in the spring.

Church raises funds to help send refugees home

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Bishop Michael Shelby says what the refugees
here needed was some good old-fashioned cooking.
That's what they got yesterday at God's House Church, where
Shelby preaches.
About 30 refugees rode in city buses to the church to have
dinner and attend a service.
Church leaders asked the congregation for donations to send a
family of 12 and a reverend home to Louisiana.
Nearly three-thousand-500 dollars was raised to help do that.
The Reverend Frederick Fields is headed home today and extended
a big thank you to Albuquerque for its generosity.

 AP-NM--4th News  Minute
Here is the latest New Mexico news from The Associated Press

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Two Dona Ana County commissioners are
donating the rest of their 2005 salaries to help victims of
Hurricane Katrina. Bill McCamley and Oscar Vasquez-Butler say
they'll donate their pay through December to a relief effort
organized by Governor Richardson.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Rodeos, farm animals, midway rides, concerts,
food -- it's all part of the 2005 New Mexico State Fair, which
begins tomorrow. The fair continues through September 25th in
Albuquerque.

SANTA FE (AP) - Santa Fe National Forest deputy supervisor Cliff
Dils has been appointed interim director of the Valles Caldera
Trust. The trust was created by Congress to manage the
88-thousand-900-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez
Mountains.

UNDATED (AP) - The National Weather Service says a high pressure
system over northeastern New Mexico will draw moisture northward
into the state through tomorrow. Most of the showers and
thunderstorms should be over western New Mexico, and some of the
storms could produce heavy rain.

Albuquerque teen charged with murder

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A teenager accused of intentionally running
down a 62-year-old man in Albuquerque has been charged with an open
count of murder.
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Judge Victor Valdez yesterday
reduced 17-year-old Ryan Stewart's bond from 500-thousand dollars
to 150-thousand dollars.
The Albuquerque teen was being held in the Bernalillo County
Juvenile Detention Center.
Authorities say Glenn Lewis was hit by a pickup truck outside
his home on Sunday. He died Tuesday.
Neighbors say Lewis had confronted youths from around the city
for decades when they cruised past his home.
Lewis was known to fight back against his tormentors by
confronting the teens, stopping cars, setting up video cameras and
calling police.

Probate judge appointed as Dona Ana County magistrate

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A vacant Dona Ana County magistrate's
job has been filled.
Governor Richardson appointed Dona Ana County Probate Judge
Olivia Nevarez-Garcia to the post yesterday.
She'll be paid 64-thousand-38 dollars a year.
She says she doesn't know whether she'll seek re-election in
November 2006, when her term expires.
Nevarez-Garcia replaces Reuben Galvan, who resigned in May.
Galvan is accused of raping and soliciting a bribe from a Las
Cruces woman last year.
His first trial ended April 29th when a jury deadlocked.
His second trial is to begin September 19th.
Galvan has pleaded not guilty.

NORTHCOM, DISH Network help evacuees access news, information

DENVER (AP) - Satellite television service and A-M/F-M radios
provided out of Colorado will help survivors of Hurricane Katrina
learn what kind of help is on the way, and when.
Thousands of people forced to flee the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast
states had to leave with nothing, let alone a radio or T-V.
Now, the Colorado Springs-area U-S Northern Command -- or
NORTHCOM -- is coordinating the delivery of ten-thousand radios to
survivors cut off from the news. U-S Air Force Colonel Lewis
Thrasher says people in the hurricane region are desperate for
information.
Meanwhile, Englewood-based EchoStar Communications is raising
funds and establishing DISH Network satellite service at shelters
in several states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Oklahoma and Texas.
---
EchoStar has also launched a fund-raising drive among its
20-thousand employees.
NORTHCOM is paying the 60-thousand-dollar cost of the radios,
but the federal government is expected to reimburse those funds.
Northern Command is headquartered at Peterson Air Force base.
---
On the Net:
EchoStar Communications: http://www.echostar.com
DISH Network: http://www.dishnetwork.com
U.S. Northern Command: http://www.northcom.mil
Peterson Air Force Base: http://www.peterson.af.mil
---
(Thanks: Tim Lewis & April
Zesbaugh, KOA-AM/Denver assist)


Wednesday, September 7, 2005

 SPACEPORT LAUNCH
Company plans to use yet-to-be-built spaceport in New Mexico

SANTA FE (AP) - Governor Richardson has scheduled a news
conference today to announce a Connecticut company's intentions to
use New Mexico's planned spaceport.
U-P Aerospace Incorporated plans to use the spaceport for a
series of private commercial sub-orbital space flights.
The company says its initial flight will carry seven
experimental and commercial payloads for scholastic and business
clients.
The rocket and its cargo will land downrange of the southern New
Mexico spaceport.
The state Legislature approved one (m) million dollars earlier
this year for development of the spaceport.
The proposed site is in Sierra County, about 30 miles north of
Las Cruces.

MINIMUM WAGE-LAWSUIT
Coalition files suit against Albuquerque minimum wage proposal

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Incomplete, misleading, unconstitutional and
illegal.
That's the way a coalition of business leaders is describing the
proposed minimum wage increase in Albuquerque.
The Coalition to Expose Ballot Deception filed a lawsuit in
state district court yesterday opposing the measure.
The proposal would allow public access to nonwork areas of
businesses to inform employees of their rights under this ordinance
and other laws.
The co-chair of the coalition, Sherman McCorkle, says it's time
Albuquerque citizens know exactly what they're voting for.
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now fought
to put the initiative on the ballot
Matthew Henderson of ACORN says the group will join the fight to
defeat the lawsuit.

RUNNING LIGHTS
City agrees to amend red-light ordinance; ACLU dismisses lawsuit

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Attorneys for the city of Albuquerque and the
American Civil Liberties Union have agreed on language to amend an
ordinance aimed at penalizing motorists who are photographed
running red lights.
The A-C-L-U of New Mexico said yesterday it will dismiss a
lawsuit challenging the ordinance.
That's provided the City Council amend the law so vehicle owners
are allowed to show they weren't driving at the time of the
infraction and shouldn't be penalized.
The executive director of the state A-C-L-U, Peter Simonson,
says his organization doesn't condone the behavior of running red
lights.
Mayor Martin Chavez says the ordinance was enacted because
running red lights is dangerous.

GAY ATTACK-PLEAS
Men plead guilty in attack of gay men

SANTA FE (AP) - Four men have pleaded guilty so far to charges
stemming from an attack on two gay men in Santa Fe.
Isaia Medina, Gabriel Maturin and Joseph Cano pleaded guilty
yesterday.
Medina and Maturin, both 20 years old, face nearly seven years
in prison.
Cano faces two-and-a-half years in prison for driving the others
to a motel where police say James Maestas and Joshua Stockham were
beaten.
Medina and Maturin's charges include hate-crime enhancements.
David Trinidad was the first of the six defendants to go to
court.
He pleaded guilty in August to aggravated battery, battery,
conspiracy and criminal damage to property.
Charges against Paul Montoya and Jonathan Valdez are pending.

Eclipse says pilot error caused belly landing of test airplane

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Eclipse Aviation says pilot error caused one
of its test jet airplanes to make a belly landing at Albuquerque's
international airport.
The Albuquerque-based company says there were no mechanical or
electrical problems that caused the airplane to touch down
(Saturday) with its landing gear retracted.
Company president Vern Raburn says the airplane will fly again.
Eclipse has five test jet airplanes.
The company is developing the Eclipse 500 -- a twin-engine,
six-seat airplane.
Raburn has said the company wants to achieve Federal Aviation
Administration certification next year.
Eclipse plans to sell the airplanes for about one-point-three
(m) million dollars each.

Sandoval County sheriff's deputies patrol New Orleans

UNDATED (AP) - Sandoval County Undersheriff Tim Lucero says he
and three fellow deputies are hoping to make a difference while
they patrol hurricane-battered New Orleans.
Lucero, along with Sergeant Edd Morrison and Deputies Paul
Caputo and Joe Harris, left New Mexico Sunday.
They patrolled New Orleans yesterday.
Lucero says it's devastating.
Sheriff John Paul Trujillo says he expects the deputies will be
in New Orleans until the middle of September.

Gunshot-riddled Espanola water tank loses 500,000 gallons

ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) - Authorities say an Espanola water tank
lost more than 500-thousand gallons after it was peppered with 28
gunshots.
Espanola police officer Miguel Maez says someone apparently used
an S-K-S assault rifle to shoot the tank Monday.
Espanola Police Chief Richard Guillen says police have no leads.
He says damage is estimated at about 80-thousand dollars.
Espanola Mayor Richard Lucero says the water in the tank is
mainly used for fire protection.
He says workers have been welding the holes in the tank.


Tuesday, September 6, 2005

 ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - New Mexico Homeland Security director Tim
Manning says no additional refugees from the Hurricane
Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast have come to New Mexico. Albuquerque
welcomed 93 refugees on Sunday, and Manning says New Mexico is on
standby if it's needed to take in more refugees.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Albuquerque's public school district will
receive federal money for children who arrived in Albuquerque from
the storm-battered Gulf Coast. A district spokeswoman, Liz Shipley,
says the money will be used to provide clothing, school supplies
and tutoring to children.

SANTA FE (AP) - Santa Fe Police Chief Beverly Lennen says her
department hasn't dispatched any officers to the storm-damaged Gulf
Coast. She says a decision on whether to send any officers to New
Orleans will be made after the Santa Fe Fiesta.

UNDATED (AP) - The National Weather Service says moisture
flowing northward from Mexico into New Mexico will feed showers and
thunderstorms statewide through tomorrow. The state should have
drier weather Thursday.

 Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White says
the smell of death is everywhere in New Orleans.
He's among more than 40 Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies and
firefighters in New Orleans.
The Albuquerque Journal reports today that the deputies are
trying to restore order and rescue people who are trapped in
flooded homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The deputies left Albuquerque (Friday) in 20 trucks and police
cruisers.
White says he and his deputies are encouraged because they've
saved many lives -- pulling people out of the water and bringing
them to safety.

 KATRINA EVACUEES
Volunteers outnumber refugees in N.M.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Refugees from the hurricane-ravaged Gulf
Coast are receiving one-on-one attention in Albuquerque, where
volunteers outnumbered them.
New Mexico welcomed 93 refugees (Sunday).
About 30 of them have decided to go to hotels instead of remain
in the Albuquerque Convention Center.
A few have gone to hospitals for treatment.
The state is preparing to receive additional refugees, but none
were expected yesterday.
New Mexico Homeland Security director Tim Manning says the
stream of evacuees is slowing, but still more could arrive today.
He says people have been working statewide to help out with any
refugees.
In Farmington, volunteers have set up 500 cots with blankets and
pillows at the San Juan County Convention Center.

EVACUEES IN ALBUQUERQUE
Hurricane victims get haircuts, attend Lobos game

ALBUQUERQUE - They were serenaded with blues music, taken to the
U-N-L-V-New Mexico football game and treated to haircuts.
That's how about 90 victims of Hurricane Katrina spent their
first full day in Albuquerque yesterday.
About a third of the victims left the Albuquerque Convention
Center for hotels.
Yvonne Shelton says she might just stay in Albuquerque because
the people are so nice.
After their first night, Red Cross volunteers said morale was
up.
One volunteer yesterday offered to play them blues music on her
guitar.
Some refugees headed out on a bus to barber shops and beauty
salons for shaves and haircuts.
Brothers Kevin and Vincent Williams of New Orleans say they're
going to make the best of their visit to Albuquerque, so they
attended the football game.

NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT
National Guard's 1116th leaves for Iraq

GALLUP, N.M. (AP) - The National Guard's 1116th Transportation
Company will leave Gallup tomorrow for Fort Bliss, Texas, and then
Iraq.
National Guard spokesman Tom Koch says the 120 members of the
company will travel in a caravan of 28 military vehicles.
He says Gallup schoolchildren and residents are being encouraged
to line the streets with flags for a final send-off.
Koch says the company will be in Fort Bliss for several weeks to
a few months for training.
In Iraq, they will work as convoy drivers, hauling supplies and
equipment to different units.

Hundreds find refuge in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - As the floodwaters rose around her Ninth
Ward home in New Orleans, Doris Causey tried her best to reassure
her family.
But the 59-year-old woman and her 40-year-old daughter, Karen
Cheneau (sheh-NOH'), are among more than 400 Louisiana victims of
Hurricane Katrina now sheltered in El Paso.
Their final destination was a surprise, but the tired crowd was
said to be in good spirits yesterday and thankful to be alive.
Some families were reunited at the shelter. Others, including
Causey, were able to reach relatives by phone.
Most of Causey's relatives are scattered in shelters in numerous
states, though all have been accounted for. It wasn't until they
arrived in El Paso, that Causey could confirm that her youngest
daughter and two-year-old grandchild survived.

MINING CONTRACT
State division awards construction contract

SANTA FE (AP) - The state Mining and Minerals Division has
awarded a contract to reclaim mine waste piles and safeguard
abandoned mine openings.
The 145-thousand-855 dollar contract has been awarded to Saint
Cloud Mining Company of Truth or Consequences.
The project is located near Lumberton in Rio Arriba County.
The seven mines produced coal from 1897 to 1962.
The state's Abandoned Mine Land Program has closed more than
four-thousand hazardous mine openings over the last 21 years.

ALL AMERICAN FUTURITY
Teller Cartel wins All American Futurity

RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. (AP) - Teller Cartel is the winner of this
year's All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs.
The Oklahoma-bred brown won in a steady rainfall on a muddy
track in 21-and-a-half seconds.
Second place is New Mexico-bred Arealstraitheart.
Brindis Pore Cayenne placed third in the 440-yard dash.
The victory means a one (m) million-dollar payday for a
Houston-based syndicate that owns Teller Cartel.
Trainer Paul Jones, who had three horses entered in the
Futurity, will receive 100-thousand dollars, as well as winning
jockey Cody Jensen.
This year's running of the Futurity was considered wide-open and
the steady rainfall two hours before post time only contributed to
the uncertainty.
Teller Cartel left the gate as a 17-to-One longshot, paying 37
dollars and 60 cents for the winning ticket.

Bernalillo County jail guard accused of giving drugs to prisoners

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention
Center guard is accused of bringing drugs to prisoners in the jail.
Authorities say 28-year-old Angelique Macias has been charged
with possession with intent to distribute, bringing contraband into
the jail and furnishing a prisoner with drugs.
She's free on 12-thousand-500 dollars' bond.
Macias was placed on leave after her arrest (Sunday).
A complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
alleges a prisoner told jail officials that Macias was bringing
drugs into jail and giving them to two other prisoners.
Authorities say they found one-and-a-half ounces of marijuana
inside one the prisoner's undergarments.

Police find three bodies in two northern Mexican cities

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AP) - Police in this violent city on the
U.S.-Mexico border found the burned body of an unidentified man
Monday, the third such discovery in as many days.
The man had been shot in the head and his body dumped in a
residential area and set ablaze, said Eduardo Anaya, an
investigator with Tamaulipas state, which includes Nuevo Laredo.
The man is the 12th person slain and burned since the beginning
of the year in Nuevo Laredo, a city of 300,000 across from Laredo,
Texas, where more than 100 people have been killed since January.


Monday, September 5, 2005

Eclipse test jet lands without gear

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - An Eclipse Aviation Corporation test jet was
damaged when it touched down without its landing gear.
Eclipse spokesman Andrew Broom says the company was still
investigating the cause of the accident and the extent of the
damage to the N505EA Saturday.
Airport operations manager Bob Mulliken says no one was injured
in the landing of the twin-engine, six-seat Eclipse 500 jet at
Albuquerque's airport.
The jet is the fourth such jet to begin amassing hours of flight
time. The company is approaching expected Federal Aviation
Administration certification early next year.
Eclipse would start delivering planes to customers shortly after
getting certification.
The Albuquerque-based company has about two-thousand-200 orders
on the books for the one-point-three (m) million-dollar aircraft.

KATRINA-EVACUEES-NEW MEXICO
Hurricane Katrina evacuees find shelter in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - State officials are waiting by the telephone
this morning.
They're wondering whether federal officials will send more
Hurricane Katrina victims New Mexico's way.
The first group of about six-thousand evacuees expected to come
to New Mexico arrived yesterday.
More than 90 evacuees are staying at the Albuquerque Convention
Center today. The city is trying to find them more permanent
housing, jobs and supplies.
Dozens of American Red Cross volunteers cheered and clapped as
the exhausted-looking evacuees came yesterday.
Governor Richardson has declared a state of emergency and
released about one (M) million dollars to help hurricane victims.
Volunteers in Roswell, Clovis and Farmington also are preparing
to receive evacuees.

KATRINA VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers show out in force to help hurricane evacuees

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - They are political leaders, sorority sisters
and jail inmates.
New Mexican volunteers turned out in force today to help the 93
victims of Hurricane Katrina who sought refuge in the state.
In Albuquerque, within hours after the announcement that Katrina
victims would come, about 150 people had called a city information
line to offer space in their homes.
In Roswell, Clovis and Farmington, volunteers have spent the
last two days readying senior and community centers for the
expected evacuees.
Head of the state Homeland Security Office Tim Manning says the
outpouring of help has been great.
At the Albuquerque Convention Center, Mayor Martin Chavez
greeted evacuees, jail inmates helped set up cots and Delta Sigma
Theta sorority members helped make the newcomers comfortable.

KATRINA-VICTIMS
Victims evacuated to New Mexico tell of hurricane horrors

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Lee Nions was rescued by helicopter from the
front porch of his New Orleans home yesterday morning.
By that night, he had a dry cot and linens, but was still
desperately trying to reach his family.
The 30-year-old roofer and house painter is one of about 90
victims evacuated from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
They were brought to Albuquerque for a dry place to sleep and
hot meals.
The victims watched media reports about the hurricane. They
munched on pizza and were given cots at the Albuquerque Convention
Center.
Some evacuees suffered from hypertension, inflamed feet that had
been in water too long and respiratory conditions.
Three evacuees were transported to local hospitals and some
people were taken to urgent care.
No word on their conditions last night.

DWI-OFFENDERS
Governor wants to toughen DWI penalties

SANTA FE (AP) - Governor Richardson says New Mexico must
strengthen its efforts to fight drunken driving.
He wants to require mandatory jail time and treatment for
first-time offenders.
Richardson says he plans to push for tougher penalties during
the legislative session starting in 2006.
He says under his plan all first-time driving while intoxicated
offenders would be required to complete an alcohol or drug abuse
screening program and participate in D-W-I school.
Currently, only people convicted of aggravated drunken driving
face mandatory jail time of at least 48 hours.
Richardson says that despite the state's best efforts, New
Mexico hasn't been able to break the cycle of repeat D-W-I
offenders.

REHNQUIST-N.M. REACTION
N.M. congressional delegation bids farewell to Chief Justice
Rehnquist

UNDATED (AP) - New Mexico's congressional delegation remembers
Chief Justice William Rehnquist as a courageous judicial leader.
Rehnquist died (Saturday) after a long battle with cancer. He
was 80.
Senator Pete Domenici -- a New Mexican Republican -- calls
Rehnquist a friend.
Domenici says his wisdom, intelligence, and courage will be
missed.
Democratic Representative Tom Udall says Rehnquist was a strong
advocate for protecting the Constitutional role of the courts.
Republican Representative Steve Pearce recalls a weak Rehnquist
who administered President Bush's oath of office in January despite
his battle with thyroid cancer.
Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman says Bush should nominate
someone to fill the Supreme Court vacancy who is within the
mainstream of judicial thought.

INTERSTATE-DEATH
Man killed in I-25 crash

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A man was killed on Interstate 25 north
of Las Cruces when a trash truck hit the service vehicle he was in.
That's according to state police. They haven't released the
man's identity.
Police say the man pulled his vehicle onto the interstate
(Saturday) and was gaining speed when the truck hit his vehicle.
Captain Richard Williams says the crash is under investigation.
He doesn't know which driver was at fault.

State coordinates emergency assistant compact

SANTA FE (AP) - The state office of emergency management is
coordinating an effort that allows equipment and people to be
delivered from one state to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The state-to-state agreement is called the Emergency Management
Assistance Compact.
State Department of Public Safety spokesman Peter Olson says for
example, if Louisiana needs bulldozers, the request is sent to the
New Mexico office.
He says that request is then sent to other states, and the
office ensures the equipment gets to the right spot.
Olson says the office will oversee the compact for the next
year.

 Richardson says N.M Guardsmen headed to New Orleans

SANTA FE (AP) - More than 300 New Mexico National Guard members
have left for New Orleans.
A guard spokesman, Tom Koch, says the Guardsmen left Friday from
Fort Bliss, Texas.
He says they're conducting checkpoint operations and on patrols,
looking for people who need rescue or medical attention.
A Guard spokeswoman, Major Kim Lalley, says an additional 700
New Mexico National Guard airmen and soldiers are stationed in
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Farmington preparing for Katrina evacuees

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - The San Juan County Convention Center is
being prepared for evacuees from areas ravaged by Hurricane
Katrina.
Workers set up cots yesterday as county officials prepared to
house up to 500 people at the center.
Gordon Bennett of Red Cross disaster services says evacuees will
have food, clothing and open arms waiting for them.

Plan approved to develop old Albuquerque Indian School acreage

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The Albuquerque City Council has approved a
development plan for the old Albuquerque Indian School property.
The campus has been vacant since the early 1980s, when the All
Indian Pueblo Council closed it.
The 47 acres is Indian trust land that retains sovereign status.
It's controlled by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development
Corporation, which is owned by 19 pueblos.
The development is a joint project of the city and the
corporation.
The plans include retail-office buildings, a hotel and meeting
center.

Rio Rancho wireless is almost finished

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) - A company has almost completed
installing a city-wide high-speed wireless communication system for
Rio Rancho.
Azulstar Networks hopes to have about 90 percent of Rio Rancho's
developed areas covered by the middle of this month.
The network is designed to provide high-speed Internet access to
computers with wireless capabilities.
The Rio Rancho City Council last year approved a 25-year license
agreement with Azulstar.
The city allows Azulstar to use city buildings and rights of way
to place antennas for the network in exchange for part of the
company's profits -- if the venture is financially successful.


Friday, September 2, 2005

 AP-NM--Right Now

KATRINA-DEPLOYMENT
National Guard to help with security and protection

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Dozens of New Mexico National Guard members
will be helping with security and force protection as looting,
carjacking and other violence spread in the Gulf Coast region.
About 80 troops from the 720th Transportation Company will leave
Las Cruces for New Orleans today.
Another 291 infantry troops will leave on C-130s from an
airfield at Fort Bliss, Texas.
The troops will take with them a water tanker, generators, three
fuel tankers, two ambulances and other equipment.
Governor Richardson is asking New Mexicans to pray for the
victims and for the troops who are trying to help them.
He says hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are without food, water and
electricity -- and most have lost their homes and their jobs.
He says it could be months before basic services are restored.

KATRINA-ALBUQUERQUE
Albuquerque mayor says city ready to help victims of Katrina

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez says the
state's largest city stands ready to help victims of Hurricane
Katrina.
And judging from outreach efforts around New Mexico, so does
every other community.
Chavez says the city will send a two-person firefighting team to
join 20 other Albuquerque firefighters already conducting search
and rescue operations in stricken areas.
The firefighters are expected to be in the New Orleans area for
at least 30 days.
Elsewhere, New Mexicans are doing their part by driving into
grocery store parking lots to drop off donations of cash and food
targeted for hurricane victims.
And University of New Mexico Hospital is prepared if asked to
take patients from Gulf Coast states, though no immediate requests
had come in.

GASOLINE PRICES
AG, governor to craft price-gouging law

SANTA FE (AP) - New Mexico doesn't have a law protecting
consumers from price gouging.
So Governor Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid say
they'll work to create one.
Currenty, the state lacks flexibility to investigate allegations
of price gouging or hold gas companies accountable because no law
is in place.
Richardson and Madrid are expected to meet with legislative
leaders next week.
Price gouging on petroleum products or other goods in the
aftermath of a disaster is prohibited in 19 states.
Richardson says while most people are willing to accept
temporary price hikes as a result of a natural tragedy, the
sometimes 40-cent overnight increases are getting more difficult to
justify.

ECONOMY-WAGES
Group says New Mexico should raise minimum wage to reduce
poverty

SANTA FE (AP) - New Mexico should increase its state minimum
wage to seven dollars and 15 cents an hour to help reduce poverty
and benefit working families struggling in low-wage jobs.
That suggestion from a statewide labor leader and social welfare
advocacy group.
The state and federal minimum wages stand at five dollars and 15
cents an hour.
A two-dollar-an-hour increase in the state's wage floor would
benefit 100-thousand New Mexicans -- or a tenth of the work force.
An economist with New Mexico Voices for Children says increasing
the minimum wage is a proven way to decrease poverty.
The president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor and the
American Federation of Teachers of New Mexico says labor unions
will push for an increase in the minimum wage and will try to get
the issue on the agenda of next year's 30-day legislative session.

ALBUQUERQUE WAGE
Groups struggle over minimum wage proposal

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Supporters of a minimum wage increase in
Albuquerque say they want to make peace with those who are fighting
the proposal.
But business leaders who are part of the Coalition to Expose
Ballot Deception are questioning the supporters' sincerity.
The proposal will be on the October Fourth ballot.
It would set the minimum wage in New Mexico's largest city at
seven dollars and 50 cents an hour for regular employees and
four-50 an hour for those who get tips.
The rate would go up yearly to keep pace with inflation.
The proposal also would grant public access to businesses to
inform workers of their employment rights.
The coalition claims the proposal as written doesn't explain to
voters what it would do and violates private property rights.

BUDGET SURPLUS
GOP legislators propose refund to taxpayers

SANTA FE (AP) - Republican legislators are calling for a refund
to taxpayers because state government is piling up a budget surplus
from oil and natural gas revenues.
House G-O-P Leader Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque says any excess of
tax revenues should be returned to the taxpayers and not used for
another government program.
House Minority Whip Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo says the
citizens should have the option on how to use the surplus.
In the just completed 2005 budget year, the state collected 216
(m) million dollars more in revenues than had been expected. The
windfall was mostly because of revenues and royalties from oil and
gas production.
State government is projected to finish the current budget year
in June 2006 with cash balances of more than 800 (m) million
dollars.

State police increase border patrols

COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) - State police have stepped up patrols along
the border community of Columbus.
Major Robert Cron says it's an effort to stop property and
violent crime in the area.
He says response time to reports of crimes will be five to 15
minutes.
Governor Richardson and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano
declared a state of emergency earlier this month in portions of
their states bordering Mexico.
They freed state money for local governments and law enforcement
to cope with what they say is increasing border crime and problems
related to illegal immigration.
Columbus Police Chief Clare May says his workload has increased
from 17 to 25 calls a month five years ago to 75 to 80 calls a
month now.
His police force consists of two officers.

Trial scheduled for ex-Las Cruces judge accused of rape, bribery

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A second trial is scheduled to begin
September 19th for a former Las Cruces magistrate accused of rape
and bribery.
The trial for 43-year-old Reuben Galvan will be in Las Cruces.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal sexual
penetration in the commission of a felony or criminal sexual
penetration.
He's also pleaded not guilty to charges including demanding or
receiving a bribe by a public officer, false imprisonment and
battery.
Galvan's first trial ended April 29th when a mistrial was
declared after a jury deadlocked.
He was reindicted on June 30th.
Galvan resigned from the bench at the end of May.
He's accused of raping and soliciting a bribe from a 21-year-old
Las Cruces woman he met at a bar on August 25th, 2004.

UNM scientists oppose Rio Rancho school policy on intelligent
design

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) - Rio Rancho's public school district
should abolish a policy that opens the doors for religion in
science classes.
So say the chairs of the University of New Mexico biology,
chemistry, anthropology, earth and planetary sciences, and math and
statistics departments.
The school board has adopted a policy allowing alternative
theories of evolution to be discussed in Rio Rancho's science
classes.
Board members who supported the measure have strong Christian
ties.
Opponents accuse them of trying to introduce "intelligent
design" into the curriculum.
Critics say that's nothing more than religion masquerading as
science.

Appeals court sides with Nambe Pueblo in civil rights case

GALLUP, N.M. (AP) - A federal appeals court says four former
Nambe Pueblo officials can move ahead with their lawsuit against
state Taxation and Revenue Department officials.
The case stems from a gasoline distribution program.
David Perez, Tony Vigil, Harold Porter and James Porter allege
their civil rights were violated.
They contended the state wrongly filed four-point-seven (m)
million dollars in tax assessments against them and placed liens on
their property in 2002.
The state later dropped the liens.
The Tenth U-S Court of Appeals ruled (last week) that the case
should proceed to trial on whether the state officials violated the
tribal members' constitutional rights to free association.

Boeing to shut down commercial jet assembly during strike

SEATTLE (AP) - There's no word on how a strike by Boeing
machinists will affect approximately 300 workers at a facility in
Aurora (Colorado).
But a company spokesman says the strike vote "deals a big
blow."
Boeing will stop assembling commercial airplanes immediately,
after members of the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers overwhelmingly rejected a three-year contract
offer last night.
Union members call the proposal "insulting."
The strike will directly affect more than 18-thousand machinists
near Seattle; in Gresham, Oregon; and Wichita, Kansas.
The walkout is expected to have an impact companywide, though.
Business at Boeing's commercial airplane division was just
starting to pick up.
---
On the Net:
Boeing Co.: http://www.boeing.com

Austin hiker says he made some mistakes in backcountry

(AUSTIN NOTE)

ESTES PARK, Colo. (AP) - An Austin radiologist found alive and
well after three nights in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park
backcountry says he made several mistakes during a hike there.
Forty-five-year-old Hillel (hihl-LEHL') Ben-Avi (behn-AH'-vee)
says he got separated from his brother and failed to pack enough
gear to handle an emergency while hiking in the rugged Mummy Range.
He says he probably wouldn't have made it through another night or
two.
The radiologist from Austin spoke to reporters in Estes Park,
Colorado, yesterday -- less than 24 hours after a search team found
him. He had come across a fishing pole during his trek, tied a
white shirt to the pole and waved it around. That's what helped
searchers spot him.
----
On the Net:
Rocky Mountain National Park: http://www.nps.gov/romo
---
Information from: Katie Trexler & Bertha Lynn/KMGH,
http://www.thedenverchannel.com

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Thursday, September 1, 2005
Ruidoso Audit Could Spur Charges
By Rene Romo
Journal Southern Bureau

  LAS CRUCES— A special state audit of Ruidoso financial dealings has been forwarded to the office of Attorney General Patricia Madrid to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

  Details of the audit remain under wraps. State Auditor Domingo Martinez said Wednesday that the special audit is not considered public record because it is "still a work in progress."

  "With a special audit, we've got to let the prosecution take a look at it before it becomes a public record," Martinez said. "If the information gets out into the public, that could hamper a case, if that's what the prosecution decides to do."

  The audit initially was sent to District Attorney Scot Key of the Twelfth Judicial District last week for a review. But Key notified Madrid's office this week that he was forwarding the audit to the attorney general's head of special investigation, said Sam Thompson, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

  The special audit was launched last year after three Ruidoso councilors— Michele Rebstock, Deborah Marcum-Byars and Don Williams— traveled to Santa Fe to raise questions with the state auditor's office about some of the village's financial dealings.
Specifically, Rebstock said the three councilors raised questions about the contract with village attorney John Underwood, payments to water consultants made through Underwood and whether certain services were obtained without competitive bidding, as required by the state procurement code.

  Last December, the state auditor's office sent Ruidoso village manager Lorri McKnight lists of requests for public documents, including details of payments to the village attorney and several consultants.
Martinez declined Wednesday to discuss the focus of the audit.

  "I'll be real truthful, the state auditor has never really told us what they are looking for," said Ruidoso Mayor Leon Eggleston. "We gave them all the information they requested, but as far as knowing what they are looking for, we don't know."
  Eggleston added that he was confident city officials have not engaged in any improper practices.
"I'm very confident of it," Eggleston said. "I do not think we did anything illegal."

  Eggleston said he believes the three councilors, who only recently acknowledged visiting the state auditor, simply "do not like the village attorney. ... It's not about issues, it's about personalities."

  Marcum-Byars said she has long had concerns about whether city officials have complied with good-government practices and said she was looking out for taxpayers.

  But Marcum-Byars said she was frustrated because she does not even know whether the special audit addressed her concerns or focused on other issues.

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Ruidoso audit sent to state AG

RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) - A special state audit of the village of
Ruidoso has been referred to the state attorney general's office
for investigation.
State Auditor Domingo Martinez says the audit is not public
information.
The audit began nearly a year ago.
Ruidoso Village Councilors Michele Rebstock and Deborah
Marcum-Byars say (Tuesday) they met with the state auditor in May
2004 to address concerns they had about the town's financial
management.
Rebstock says she was concerned about how bids were being
awarded and use of the new village water plan by developers.
She says she also had concerns about possible overpayments to
lawyers and the village's lease of land to a golf course.
Ruidoso Mayor Leon Eggleston says he's confident city officials
haven't done anything improper.

HURRICANE-NM HELP
Guardsmen gear up for work in Gulf Coast

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The first of about 200 New Mexico National
Guard members leave today for Louisiana to help with the hurricane
relief effort.
Two Black Hawk helicopters, their crews and medics will be
going.
Governor Richardson says that rescuing survivors, assisting
those trapped on rooftops and evacuating New Orleans are immediate
priorities.
He says the New Mexico pilots are among the best trained and
that their services are sorely needed.
A Richardson spokesman says the rest of the troops and their
equipment is being readied for rapid deployment to Louisiana.
Dozens of volunteers and search-and-rescue teams from around the
state already have left for the area hit by Hurricane Katrina.

HURRICANE-HEALTH CARE
State Health Department looks for volunteers

SANTA FE (AP) - The New Mexico Health Department is looking for
doctors, nurses and other health workers willing to help the
victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The department is asking those who want to volunteer to register
and await for an assignment.
The assistant state epidemiologist -- Maggie Gallaher -- says
it's possible some victims needing medical care could be brought to
Albuquerque.
She says those physicians, nurses and others who volunteer could
end up helping out locally.
Or they could be sent to hospitals around the region that are
already caring for victims -- like hospitals in Dallas or Houston.
Another possibility is sending volunteers to the area hit by
Hurricane Katrina.

HURRICANE-CYFC EFFORT
N.M. CYFD accepting donations for youngest victims

SANTA FE (AP) - The Children Youth and Families Department has
set out to help the youngest victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Cabinet Secretary Mary-Dale Bolson says donations of diapers,
nonperishable baby formula and baby food are being accepted.
She says these items are critical for the youngest victims who
desperately need them now and will need them for weeks to come.
She says this is a chance for New Mexicans to reach out beyond
the state's borders to people in need.
C-Y-F-D offices around the state will serve as drop-off
locations.
The donations will be routed to the RoadRunner Food Bank.

HURRICANE FUNDS
New Mexicans urged to donate to hurricane relief funds

SANTA FE (AP) - Separate relief funds for victims of Hurricane
Katrina have been set up by Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish and
the Public Service Company of New Mexico.
Denish is asking state employees for contributions to the New
Mexico Fund for Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief.
She says the money will be given to Roadrunner Food Bank to hand
out to food banks and emergency shelters in Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico and Texas-New Mexico
Power Company also have set up a fund to help victims.
PNM Resources -- the utilities' parent company -- says it hopes
to raise 150-thousand dollars for American Red Cross efforts.
The company says it will match up to 75-thousand dollars in
customer and employee contributions.

GASOLINE PRICES
New records set for gasoline prices

UNDATED (AP) - Drivers around New Mexico are sharing their
frustrations about skyrocketing gasoline prices that have set new
records around the state.
Leo Salazar waited in line yesterday to fill up his R-V in Santa
Fe -- at two dollars and 87 cents a gallon of regular unleaded.
He calls the prices ridiculous -- saying stations always raise
the prices before Labor Day Weekend.
But the days leading up to this holiday weekend are different
than previous years.
Domestic oil production and refining along the Gulf Coast took a
big hit when Hurricane Katrina moved into the area earlier this
week.
Drivers reported that some Albuquerque stations jumped by a dime
or more yesterday. One station posted two dollars and 99 cents a
gallon of regular.

SKI-LAWSUIT
Tesuque Pueblo sues U.S. Forest Service

SANTA FE (AP) - The U-S Forest Service is being sued by Tesuque
Pueblo for issuing a permit to expand Ski Santa Fe.
Tesuque Governor Mark Mitchell says the expansion would put the
tribe's sacred sites at risk.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday, but a regional forest spokesman
was unaware of the legal action and couldn't comment.
In 2001, the Forest Service amended a special use permit for the
Santa Fe Ski Company -- which is installing a mile-long lift this
summer to Deception Peak.
The amendment granted the developer permission to construct the
lift and a ski run outside the boundaries established by the Forest
Service in 1997.
The 75-acre expansion would include access to northeastern
boundaries of the ski area and also would include the extension of
three existing runs.

COURTNEY CASE
Judge in Courtney case recuses himself, postponing trial

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A man charged with kidnap and murder in
Oregon will have to wait for a separate trial in a New Mexico rape
case.
That's because the judge removed himself from the case.
District Judge Michael Kavanaugh recused himself last week from
the New Mexico case involving Joel Courtney.
Court records show the case has been assigned to another judge
-- but no new trial date has been set.
The reason for Kavanaugh's recusal wasn't specified in the court
records.
Courtney was arrested in November in Albuquerque and charged
with raping a University of New Mexico foreign exchange student.
On August Third, prosecutors in Oregon announced that Courtney
had been indicted on 19 counts in the disappearance and presumed
death of a Brigham Young University student who vanished in Oregon
last year.

Oil field worker killed in northwestern N.M.

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - An oil well service worker has been
killed in an accident in San Juan County.
The San Juan County Sheriff's Department identifies him as
29-year-old Ramon Hidalgo of Farmington.
Officers say he was trying to bleed off pressure from a well
head when part of a valve hit him in the skull (Tuesday).

Northwestern N.M. school district violates Open Meetings Act

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - The state attorney general's office says
the Central Consolidated School Board violated the state Open
Meetings Act three times.
Assistant Attorney General Steffani Cochran says the violations
occurred last October 19th.
That's when the board went into a closed executive session to
discuss paying the school superintendent's personal legal fee.
Cochran says the case was not properly identified on the meeting
agenda.
And she says it wasn't properly announced when the board went
into executive session.
Cochran also says the board did not have the right to privately
discuss paying legal fees in a private case when the board wasn't a
party in the case.
Board president Randy Manning says the attorney general's
opinion seems to be nit-picky.

High gasoline prices means more bus riders

SANTA FE (AP) - Soaring gasoline prices apparently are causing
more people to commute on buses in northern New Mexico.
State Department of Transportation spokesman S.U. Mahesh says
the New Mexico Park-and-Ride route between Albuquerque and Santa Fe
handled five-thousand-186 passengers between August First and 15th.
That compares with four-thousand-563 between July 16th and 29th.
Mahesh says calls for information about the program range from
30 to 50 daily.
He says ridership between Santa Fe and Los Alamos increased from
three-thousand-431 to three-thousand-997 during the same time
period.
The number of passengers taking the buses between Los Alamos and
Espanola rose from one-thosuand-484 to one-thousand-645.

Judge stepping down in Carlsbad

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - State District Judge James Shuler of
Carlsbad says he's retiring December 31st.
He says he has yet to plan his next professional move.
But Shuler says he and his family have bought a house in Helena,
Montana.
Shuler has been on the bench for 19 years.

 Old Man Gloom to be set ablaze in Santa Fe

SANTA FE (AP) - Zozobra is to be torched next Thursday night in
Santa Fe.
Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, is a 49-foot-high puppet that's
burned each year at the beginning of the Santa Fe Fiesta.
The fiery ritual, which dates back to 1924, is intended to burn
away a year's worth of troubles.


Wednesday, August 31, 2005

DA Sends Audit to Attorney General
DA refuses to comment on investigation.
Read the Ruidoso News Story

Bush releases oil from petroleum stockpile

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration today agreed to
release oil from emergency stockpiles as part of the recovery from
Hurricane Katrina.
The administration also moved to temporarily ease some pollution
standards on gasoline and diesel fuel to avert shortages.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve consists of some 700 (M) million
barrels of crude stored in underground salt caverns in Texas and
Louisiana.
The reserve was last tapped in September-October of 2004 during
disruptions caused by Hurricane Ivan.
Texas Congressman Joe Barton today announced a hearing on
Katrina's impact on energy markets. Barton chairs the House Energy
Committee.
Barton hopes this is the "silver lining" that lets officials
really look at building new refineries and new pipelines and
diversify the location.
---
On the Net:
Department of Energy: http://www.doe.gov
Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov


AG warns New Mexicans of possible fraudulent appeals for help

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Attorney General Patricia Madrid is
encouraging New Mexicans to give generously to victims of Hurricane
Katrina.
But she says they should look for red flags, too.
She says past disasters have shown predators look to take
advantage of people's generosity.
She wants to remind everyone to give cautiously to charities --
especially unsolicited ones.
She says every charity should be investigated by verifying the
organization.
A list of registered charities is available through the attorney
general's office.

KATRINA-NM HELP
Guardsmen, electrical workers and volunteers to offer relief aid

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The victims of Hurricane Katrina will be
getting some help from New Mexico National Guardsmen, dozens of
volunteers from several local organizations and electrical workers.
Governor Richardson has ordered 200 members of the guard to aid
in the hurricane relief effort.
The troops will be used for their areas of expertise -- which
include transportation, military policing and medical support.
Public Service Company of New Mexico is sending a caravan of 28
linemen and other support employees to help restore power in
Louisiana and Mississippi.
And so far, volunteers from the American Red Cross, the Disaster
Medical Assistance Team, New Mexico Task Force One and members of
the U-S Army Corps Of Engineers will offer their services.

Former Taos County probate judge charged with DWI

TAOS, N.M. (AP) - A former Taos County probate judge has been
charged with drunken driving.
Authorities allege Jesus Gonzales drove through a stop sign
(August 13th) near his home.
A statement of probable cause says a breath test showed his
blood-alcohol level at point-13 percent.
The legal limit in New Mexico is point-08 percent.
Gonzales pleaded not guilty to the charge during his arraignment
(August 17th) before Taos County Magistrate Betty Martinez.
Gonzales is free on 15-hundred dollars' bail.
He resigned from the bench last summer.
Gonzales and a passenger were injured April 19th, 2003, in a
motorcycle crash in Espanola.
He was charged with great bodily injury by vehicle while under
the influence of alcohol, but he was found incompetent to stand
trial.


ALBUQUERQUE KILLINGS
Accused killer to under go mental evaluation

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Attorneys have agreed to send an Albuquerque
man accused of shooting and killing five people to the state
Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas for a mental evaluation.
A competency hearing before state District Judge James Blackmer
had been scheduled yesterday.
But the district attorney and public defenders for John Hyde
agreed that Hyde needs to be evaluated.
Hyde faces five counts of murder stemming from an August 18th
shooting spree that resulted in the deaths of a state worker, two
employees at an Albuquerque motorcycle shop and two police
officers.
Court documents indicate that Hyde is a paranoid schizophrenic
who has been off his medication for months.
Hyde will be held at the Las Vegas hospital for at least 90
days.

SENATE RACE
Santa Fe city councilor to challenge Bingaman

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman will have
some competition when he seeks re-election in November 2006.
Santa Fe City Councilor David Pfeffer announced yesterday that
he will run against Bingaman.
The Republican outlined his position in front of a handful of
reporters at an Albuquerque restaurant.
Pfeffer says the United States is on the right track against
terrorism but border security needs to be beefed up.
Most political observers agree that Bingaman -- who is from
Silver City -- will be hard to beat.
After defeating incumbent Republican Senator Harrison "Jack"
Schmitt in 1982, Bingaman has been re-elected by healthy, usually
landslide margins.

CONTINGENCY FUND
Governor's contingency fund spent $97,000 last year

SANTA FE (AP) - Some of the receptions, dinners and other events
at the governor's mansion last year were paid for with money from
Governor Richardson's discretionary expense account.
Richardson spent more than 97 thousand dollars from the fund
last year. It had a cash balance of 15-thousand-276 and 76 cents at
the end of 2004.
That's according to a report obtained by The Associated Press in
response to a public records request.
Nearly 75-hundred guests attended about 100 functions at the
mansion.
These ranged from a reception for legislators to dinners and
breakfasts for several diplomats, including ambassadors from India,
China, Venezuela, South Korea, Qatar, Argentina and Japan.
No specific mention of the contingency fund is found in the
state budget bill.
Instead, money for the fund is part of a lump sum appropriated
by the Legislature for "other" expenses in the governor's office.

BASE CLOSING-CANNON
Cannon supporters say BRAC decision is positive

CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) - A group working to keep Cannon Air Force
Base open says last week's decision by the federal Base Realignment
and Closure Commission as a positive.
A member of the Committee of Fifty -- Randy Harris -- says the
community now has a definite opportunity to save the base.
The BRAC Commission voted Friday to move Cannon's three F-16
fighter squadrons elsewhere, reducing the base to an enclave.
If a new mission can't be found by the end of 2009, Cannon will
be closed.
But Harris told dozens of residents gathered in Clovis yesterday
that the community is poised to reel in a lucrative military
operation for Cannon in a matter of months -- not years.
Defense officials haven't made any decisions regarding specific
times for planes to begin leaving Cannon, but Harris says he
believes the base will remain unchanged for at least a year.

PHELPS DODGE-BIRDS
Copper giant pleads guilty to violating bird act

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Phelps Dodge has pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor charge of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
That's after dozens of dead birds were found at one of the
copper giant's operations in southwest New Mexico.
The U-S attorney's office in Albuquerque says the Phoenix-based
company agreed yesterday to pay a 15-thousand dollar fine and take
corrective action to help stop the bird deaths at the Tyrone mine
site.
According to court papers, more than 70 birds were found dead at
the site between September 2000 and December 2004. Since that time,
more than 40 additional dead birds have been found.
The U-S attorney's office says some of the impounded waters at
the site contained acidic water from the mining process.
Studies have shown that ingestion of sulfuric acid and copper
solutions can be lethal to migratory birds.

FRAUD INDICTMENT
Commission's former financial officer indicted

SANTA FE (AP) - The former chief financial officer of the
Governor's Commission on Disabilities has been indicted by a Santa
Fe grand jury on counts of forgery, fraud and larceny.
Danette A. Garcia resigned in April after other employees raised
questions about checks issued from a program intended to renovate
senior citizen housing.
Commission director Mary Beresford testified at a personnel
hearing last week that Garcia called her in April and offered to
repay some six thousand-125 dollars that she had allegedly taken
from the program to avoid going to jail.
Beresford says Garcia stated that she had a gambling addiction
and she embezzled the money to pay off her debts.
Garcia nor her attorney could not be reached for comment.

Family: Ranger shot man in the back at Elephant Butte

ELEPHANT BUTTE STATE PARK, N.M. (AP) - The family of a man who
was fatally shot by a State Parks officer at Elephant Butte State
Park allege the shots were fired into the man's back.
That according to a copyright story in today's Albuquerque
Journal.
Fifty-eight-year-old Bruce Teschner was killed August 23rd
during a confrontation with State Parks Officer Clyde Woods.
Authorities say Woods shot Teschner after he refused to pay a
14-dollar-a-night camping fee and refused to leave the park.
Authorities say Woods apparently was unarmed.
An affidavit says Woods told the belligerent Teschner that he
would be arrested and got Teschner prone on the ground.
But Teschner did not comply, got up and moved away with his
hands apparently in his pockets.

 Mayor won't seek re-election

DEMING, N.M. (AP) - Deming Mayor Sam Baca is calling it quits
after 20 years in office.
He says he won't seek re-eleciton next March.
Baca says he'd like to have more time to enjoy life.
Baca was first elected mayor in March 1986.

Vado man sentenced to nine years in prison

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A nine-year prison sentence has been
given to a Vado man who was drunk when the pickup truck he was
driving hit a car, killing a woman in the car.
Thirty-nine-year-old William Scurry was sentenced yesterday by
state District Judge Stephen Bridgforth in Las Cruces.
Records show Scurry was convicted of charges including vehicular
homicide and aggravated drunken driving.
Authorities say 89-year-old Dorothy Dean was killed in the June
18th, 2004, crash in Las Cruces.
Scurry's blood-alcohol level measured point-31 percent and
point-32 percent after the crash.
The legal limit in New Mexico is point-08 percent.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Governor Richardson and Utah Governor Jon
Huntsman have been pushing for a 2008 Western regional presidential
primary election. Huntsman says he hoped at least six states would
join, but now it's looking more like three or four.

GRANTS, N.M. (AP) - A car crash has killed a man on New Mexico
117 just east of Grants. State police haven't released the name of
the Albuquerque man, who was a passenger in the car that crashed
yesterday.


Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Fort Stanton Developement Opposed
FORT STANTON, N.M. (AP) - A plan to build up to 600 homes near historic
Fort Stanton has drawn opposition. The Fort Stanton Development Commission
received a petition Saturday against the proposal. The petition had 950 signatures.
Commissioner Lynda Sanchez says she opposes the proposed project. She says
historic preservation, not profit, should be a top priority.

Commission chairman Michael Runnels says the commission had unanimously agreed to save the fort through a public-private partnership.Runnels says a plan needs to be developed soon that would generate the $32 million needed to save the fort.

Fort Stanton was built by the Army in 1855. It’s a complex of 76 historic buildings
about 12 miles north of Ruidoso.


Ruidoso calls another special meeting on hiring interim village attorney-

Notice is hereby given that the Governing Body of the Village of Ruidoso has called
a Special Meeting for Friday, September 2, 2005, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Special
Meeting will be held at the Village of Ruidoso Council Chambers, 313 Cree Meadows Drive,Ruidoso, New Mexico. The purpose of the Special Meeting is as follows:

1. Recommendation for Village of Ruidoso Attorney Under Small Purchases Act '13-1-125, NMSA 1978.
<>

 KATRINA-OIL-NM
Wilson asks for reserves to be tapped

UNDATED (AP) - Hurricane Katrina has taken a toll on crude oil
production in the Gulf of Mexico.
By the end of the day, more than 700 offshore platforms and rigs
had been evacuated because of the storm.
New Mexico Republican Representative Heather Wilson has sent a
letter to the U-S Department of Energy, asking that it begin
releasing oil from the nation's strategic reserves to alleviate
strain on the economy.
She says the storm has shut down more than 600-thousand barrels
of daily crude oil production in the Gulf.
The Bush administration has said it would consider lending oil
from the nation's emergency stockpile to refiners that request it.

BASE CLOSING-CANNON
New Mexico leaders invite Defense Department to visit Cannon

UNDATED (AP) - New Mexico leaders are inviting Defense
Department officials to visit Cannon Air Force Base.
They hope that will help convince the Pentagon that the eastern
New Mexico base should stay open.
The request comes days after the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Commission voted to move Cannon's three F-16 fighter
squadrons elsewhere -- reducing the base to an enclave.
If a new mission can't be found by December 31st, 2009, Cannon
will be closed and as many as 47-hundred jobs will be gone, too.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the state's
congressional delegation and Governor Richardson suggest Acting
Deputy Secretary Gordon England should come to Clovis to discuss
possible new missions for Cannon.
They also asked to meet with Rumsfeld soon.

BORDER EMERGENCY
N.M., Ariz governors score with border emergency declarations

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - First New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson
declared an emergency in four counties along the U-S-Mexico border.
Then it was Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.
The two seem to have injected a sense of urgency into a
long-simmering national debate over illegal immigration.
Immigration appears to be an emerging issue in the 2006
congressional elections and in the 2008 presidential race.
That according to Larry Sabato -- the director of the Center for
Politics at the University of Virginia.
He says it's not just a concern in border states. He says it's
becoming a hot-button social issue that's going to rival abortion,
gay rights, guns and the death penalty.

Taos Ski Valley told to stop dumping gravel in river

TAOS SKI VALLEY, N.M. (AP) - The village of Taos Ski Valley has
been ordered to remove gravel that had been dumped near and into
the Rio Hondo during work to remove snow from streets.
The chief of the Army Corps of Engineers regulatory branch,
Daniel Malanchuk, says the village must remove the gravel by the
end of September.
He also has ordered the village to stop dumping the gravel near
and into the river.
The dumping violated the federal Clean Water Act.
Village building inspector and construction manager Don Schieber
says the town will comply with the Corps order.

Albuquerque man accused of leading multimillion-dollar drug ring
 
 ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - An Albuquerque man is accused of heading a
marijuana distribution and money-laundering ring that amassed more
than 49 (m) million dollars.
Dana Jarvis has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
They include conspiracy to distribute more than one-thousand
pounds of marijuana, operating a continuing criminal enterprise,
money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.
U-S Magistrate Alan Torgerson yesterday ordered Jarvis to remain
in custody.
Another 20 people have been indicted in the case.
The indictment alleges the ring got bulk quantities of marijuana
from a Tucson supplier and shipped the drug to stash houses in New
Mexico and Arizona.
The indictment alleges the marijuana then would be shipped to
outlets including Denver and the Midwest.

Helicopter shooting case goes to federal court

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - State charges have been dropped against an
Albuquerque man accused of firing a shot that brought down a
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department helicopter.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said yesterday that the
charges have been dismissed to allow 29-year-old Jason Kerns to be
prosecuted in federal court.
Kerns has been indicted on federal charges of willfully damaging
an aircraft, willfully attempting to perform an act of violence and
discharging a rifle during a crime of violence.
The state had charged him with assault with intent to commit a
violent felony upon an officer, criminal damage to property and
tampering with evidence.
A gunshot hit the helicopter's left rudder pedal on August
Sixth, causing the craft to crash-land in Albuquerque.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - An Albuquerque man is accused of heading a
marijuana distribution and money-laundering ring that amassed more
than 49 (m) million dollars.
Dana Jarvis has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
They include conspiracy to distribute more than one-thousand
pounds of marijuana, operating a continuing criminal enterprise,
money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.
U-S Magistrate Alan Torgerson yesterday ordered Jarvis to remain
in custody.
Another 20 people have been indicted in the case.
The indictment alleges the ring got bulk quantities of marijuana
from a Tucson supplier and shipped the drug to stash houses in New
Mexico and Arizona.
The indictment alleges the marijuana then would be shipped to
outlets including Denver and the Midwest.

SUPCO-EARNEST
State Supreme Court won't rehear case of overturned murder
conviction

SANTA FE (AP) - A New Mexico case involving a convicted murderer
who won an appeal that could free him after more than two decades
in prison could be going before the U-S Supreme Court again.
Assistant Attorney General Steve Suttle says the nation's
highest court will be asked to review a decision by the state
Supreme Court in the case of Ralph Earnest.
Earnest has served 22 years of a sentence of life imprisonment
for murder, kidnapping and other convictions for the killing of oil
field worker David Eastman in 1982.
Earnest has maintained he's not guilty of the murder.
His lawyers won an important appeal in June when the state
Supreme Court decided that key evidence was wrongly admitted at his
trial. The court based its decision on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
in 2004.
Earnest remains in prison. The attorney general's office plans
to ask the state Supreme Court to prevent Earnest from being
released while the case is being appealed to the U-S Supreme Court.

KILLINGS-MEMORIAL
Memorial honors two slain police officers

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The Albuquerque street corner where two
police officers were gunned down earlier this month is now the home
of a plaque honoring Officers Richard Smith and Michael King.
About 150 people joined yesterday's unveiling of the plaque --
including widows of both officers.
The three-foot-by-two-foot plaque set in the sidewalk reads:
"Fallen heroes."
It gives the officers' badge numbers, a brief history of their
tenure at the department and states that citizens are grateful for
the officers' ultimate sacrifice.
Smith and King were two of five people shot and killed August
18th. The other victims include a state worker and two motorcycle
shop employees.
John Hyde of Albuquerque has been charged with the murders and
is being held without bond.

KATRINA-NM HELP
New Mexicans to help with rescue, recovery efforts

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Emergency response personnel from New Mexico
are make their way to states hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Seven firefighters from Farmington packed up their equipment
yesterday and said goodbye to their families after being called to
serve on New Mexico Task Force One.
The group will help with urban search and rescue and swift-water
rescues.
The New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance Team is also on the
way. The team travels with medical equipment and supplies, food,
water and shelter and other equipment needed to provide care at a
disaster area.
Some Las Cruces residents who are Red Cross volunteers are also
headed to the area to help with relief efforts.
Some of the volunteers will form a strike team that will drive
needed materials to Pineville, Louisiana, where they will help
operate a Red Cross shelter.

KATRINA FOOD BANKS
N.M. food bank prepares to help

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The Roadrunner Food Bank is in need of money
and food to help with the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
The New Mexico food bank says it's preparing to help sister food
banks directly impacted by the storm. Those include food banks in
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
Roadrunner executive director Melody Wattenbarger says food
banks in those states will face many long weeks of recovery.
In addition to money and food, Roadrunner is collecting paper
goods like plates, cups and tissue as well as cleaning supplies and
bottled water.

MOLESTATION-ARREST
Teacher accused of molesting teenage boy in Chaparral

CHAPARRAL, N.M. (AP) - An elementary school teacher from
Chaparral is accused of molesting a teenage boy.
And authorities also accuse the teacher's husband of trying to
bribe the youth's mother and the teen to drop the allegations
against his wife.
Donna McKnight and Ron McKnight were arrested yesterday at a Las
Cruces motel.
The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department says Donna McKnight is
charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, and
her husband is charged with one count of bribery of a witness.
Donna McKnight is a second-grade teacher at Vista Hills
Elementary School in El Paso, Texas. She's been placed on paid
administrative leave.
Authorities are also investigation allegations that the couple
sexaully assaulted their two children.

Helicopter shooting case goes to federal court

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - State charges have been dropped against a Rio
Rancho man accused of firing a shot that brought down a Bernalillo
County Sheriff's Department helicopter.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said yesterday that the
charges have been dismissed to allow 29-year-old Jason Kerns to be
prosecuted in federal court.
Kerns has been indicted on federal charges of willfully damaging
an aircraft, willfully attempting to perform an act of violence and
discharging a rifle during a crime of violence.
The state had charged him with assault with intent to commit a
violent felony upon an officer, criminal damage to property and
tampering with evidence.
A gunshot hit the helicopter's left rudder pedal on August
Sixth, causing the craft to crash-land in Albuquerque.

Attorney appoints stand-in for suspended Santa Fe judge

SANTA FE (AP) - The deputy chief of staff for Lieutenant
Governor Diane Denish has been appointed to a 90-day stint as a
Santa Fe municipal judge.
Sonya Carrasco-Trujillo will fill in for Frances Gallegos, who
has been suspended from the bench for 90 days.
The state Supreme Court suspended Gallegos on August 24th while
the Judicial Standards Commission investigates allegations of
misconduct against her.
The suspension stems from allegations that Gallegos mishandled
arraignments for defendants who were representing themselves.
The commission also is investigation alterations Gallegos made
to D-W-I sentencing reports her court sent to the Motor Vehicle
Division.
The commission alleges she changed records to appear tougher on
drunken driving defendants than she was.

Man pleads not guilty in death of Las Cruces woman

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A Honduran man accused of killing a Las
Cruces woman has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree
willful and deliberate murder.
Thirty-three-year-old Ermino Oliva also has pleaded not guilty
to a charge of evidence tampering.
He was arraigned yesterday in magistrate court in Las Cruces.
Oliva is being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center.
Authorities say the nude body of 53-year-old Gail Williams was
found August Fourth next her car near the solid waste transfer
station in Mesquite.
She'd been stabbed and bludgeoned with a metal stake and a
steering-wheel locking bar.

 Five finalists chosen for Grant County manager's job

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) - The Grant County Commission has chosen
five finalists to be interviewed for the county manager's job.
The five are Regan Backstrom of Alamogordo, Brian Brooks of
Albuquerque, Patricio Gonzales of Las Cruces and Victor Ruiz and
Lucy Whitmarsh, both of Silver City.
The commission had received applications from 44 people.
County Manager Harry Burgess is stepping down September 15th to
become Carlsbad's city administrator.
Burgess became county manager in December 2001.

Former Farmington teacher sentenced to prison for child porn

AZTEC, N.M. (AP) - A former San Juan College teacher who pleaded
guilty to child pornography charges has been sentenced to six years
in prison.
Forty-two-year-old Joseph Krim was sentenced yesterday by state
District Judge Thomas Hynes in Aztec.
Krim says he never meant to hurt his family by possessing and
manufacturing child porn.
Krim was arrested March 30th, 2004, after Farmington police
searched his Farmington home and found thousands of images and
videos of children involved in sexual acts.
He was removed from his teaching job at San Juan College
following his arrest.

 AP-TX--Concealed Handgun

New concealed handgun law won't stop prosecution

AUSTIN (AP) - A new law aimed at reducing the number of arrests
for unlawful handgun possession won't deter Harris County district
attorneys from prosecuting motorists arrested on concealed handgun
charges.
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal says it is still
going to be against the law for unlicensed persons to carry
handguns in autos.
The new law, effective Thursday, clarifies a law that allowed
Texans to carry handguns while traveling.
The new law says a person is "presumed to be traveling" if he
or she is in a private vehicle, is not engaged in criminal activity
(except for a minor traffic offense), is not prohibited by any
other law from possessing a firearm and is not a member of a
criminal street gang.
Motorists must conceal the gun in the car.
The law's sponsor, Representative Terry Keel of Austin, says the
intent of the law is to keep innocent people from going to jail.
---
Information from: Houston Chronicle,
http://www.houstonchronicle.com

IAPA asks Mexico to make killing of journalists federal crime

MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Inter American Press Association is
urging the Mexican government to make the killing of journalists a
federal crime.
A commission led by the president of the journalists' group met
with Mexican President Vicente Fox and federal lawmakers yesterday.
The commission asked the government to push through a bill that Fox
already has proposed to Congress to make killing a journalist a
federal crime.
Fox told the press group that Congress is debating the bill and
that it may be difficult to pass. But the press group says Fox
expressed determination to pass the measure.
Congressional leaders attending the meeting made no promises,
but said they were studying the issue.
The group says at least 16 Mexican journalists had been killed
or vanished since 2000. Twelve of those slayings came in northern
states plagued by drug trafficking.
---
On the Net:
IAPA: http://www.sipiapa.org


Monday, August 29, 2005

Petition Delivered to Fort Commission

FORT STANTON, N.M. (AP) - The Fort Stanton Development Commission has
received a petition containing 950 signatures opposing a plan to build up
to 600 homes near historic Fort Stanton. Fort Stanton was built by the Army in 1855.

Concern over a proposed "Master Plan" calling for a 600 unit subdivision at Fort Stanton caused the group to fax a a "Call to Arms" several days before the commission was set to meet. The fax was addressed to "Concerned Citizens and Friends of Fort Stanton" and outlined concerns of that plan.

Some of the concerns dealt with  a proposed 600 unit (apartments and condos) build-out over a 15 year period on the "upper circle" near the Quadrangle and along the hills (old golf course) to the edge of the Merchant Marine Cemetery location. The group criticizes the Fort Stanton Commission for not having any public hearings on the proposed plan. The fax states that the proposal has already been sent to Gov. Bill Richardson for his review. The group is calling on citizens to write to the governor's office and explain why they are against the proposed development.

Attempts to reach Mike Runnels, Fort Stanton Commission Chairman, have been unsucessful thus far.Char

New Mexico's New Jet Ready

SANTA FE -- New Mexico's new five and a half million dollar jet plane is ready and waiting to be picked up at the manufacturer's plant in Kansas.
That's the word from General Services Department Secretary Edward Lopez.

He says there's no firm date for the state to take delivery of the Cessna Citation Bravo at the company's plant in Wichita and fly it back to New Mexico.

He says it's like closing on a house -- a transaction of that size takes time.

The state's contract with Cessna calls for delivery by the end of this month

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - Thomas Jackson has been hired as
superintendent of the Window Rock (Arizona) Unified School
District. He retired six years ago as superintendent of the Grants
public school district.

UNDATED (AP) - A 600-thousand-dollar grant will be used for
seasonal flights between Dallas-Fort and the Sierra Blanca Regional
Airport. U-S Senator Pete Domenici says the money is from the
Federal Aviation Administration.

UNDATED (AP) - The National Weather Service says New Mexico
should have mostly tranquil weather through tomorrow, thanks to
high pressure over Southern California. The high pressure will
swing through the Rocky Mountain region, pushing a surface cool
front through New Mexico on Wednesday.

ACLU offer straining to volunteers to watch border volunteer
Minutemen

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has
begun training volunteers in El Paso to keep watch on Minuteman
volunteers during their planned border patrols in October.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corporation had announced plans to
patrol Texas' border with Mexico in October in a repeat of action
it took along Arizona's border in April. The group seeks to reduce
illegal immigration.
According to the El Paso Times, the A-C-L-U plans to have
volunteers wearing clearly marked shirts watch to ensure there are
not civil or human rights violations along the border.

VALLES CALDERA TRUST
Trust board focuses on grazing programs

VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE, N.M. (AP) - The Valles Caldera
Trust board will focus its attention on grazing the national
preserve in the Jemez Mountains.
Trust officials are developing a grazing plan for the next three
to five years to try to break even or turn a small profit.
Congress requires the public land trust to become self
sufficient by 2015.
The plan would replace the current one that limits grazing to
fewer than two-thousand cattle on a small fraction of the preserve.
Preserve manager Dennis Trujillo says the trust recognized its
early grazing plan wouldn't turn a profit.
He says that's partly because of the commitment to protect
riparian areas and the decision to drive cattle out of the
sensitive stream-side areas.

MINIMUM WAGE
Battle begins in Albuquerque over minimum wage proposal

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A battle has begun over the proposed minimum
wage increase on the October Fourth ballot in Albuquerque.
The proposal would set the minimum wage at seven dollars and 50
cents per hour. The current federal minimum wage is five dollars
and 15 cents an hour.
The Coalition to Expose Ballot Deception is against the proposal
because members say it hasn't been fully explained to voters.
Business leaders don't like a provision that would give the
public access to businesses to inform employees of their rights.
The coalition has raised 90-thousand dollars to fight the wage
increase.
The Albuquerque Minimum Wage Committee -- a group that supports
raising the minimum wage led by ACORN -- raised 20-thousand-500
dollars.
The committee is working on getting out the vote.

HURRICANE RELIEF
New Mexico team sent to provide hurricane relief

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance
Team is waiting this morning for Hurricane Katrina to pass so it
can help victims.
The 35-member team sponsored by the University of New Mexico is
one of nine D-MAT teams activated across the nation.
The team drove (Saturday night) to Houston. The hurricane is
expected to hit New Orleans early this morning.
The team travels with medical equipment and supplies, food,
water and shelter and other 7quipment needed to provide care at a
disaster area.
The team was last deployed to Stuart, Florida, when Hurricane
Frances hit in September 2004.

SUPREME COURT-RECOUNT
Presidential recount dispute back before N.M.'s highest court

SANTA FE (AP) - The state Supreme Court will begin hearing
arguments this morning on a dispute over last year's presidential
election.
At issue before the high court is the procedure for a statewide
recount of ballots and a new law enacted because of the 2004
election flap.
Justices are scheduled today to hear arguments from lawyers for
the state and last year's Green and Libertarian presidential
candidates.
David Cobb and Michael Badnarik contend the state wrongly
handled their request for a recount and is making up law as it goes
along.
The two asked for a recount of presidential ballots statewide in
late November. They say there were problems with voting machines.
The law enacted this year says the canvassing board could
condition a recount on receipt of part or full estimated costs of
the recount.

MOCK REGISTRATION
State completes mock voter registration

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - New Mexico's mock voter registration is a
success.
That's according to Santa Fe County Bureau of Elections director
Denise Lamb and Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza.
County clerks from the state's 33 counties entered stacks of
fake voter registration cards, processed absentee registrants and
tried to break the system in any way they could.
But Lamb says they couldn't.
Lamb says a few glitches showed up, but voters shouldn't be
worried.
She says a few rural counties had spotty Internet connections
during the test.
The only thing clerks didn't simulate was punched ballots.

INDIAN COUNTRY BOOK
New Mexican profiles Indian Country

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A 56-year-old former American Indian studies
professor has profiled each of the 562 federally recognized Indian
tribes in a new book.
Veronica Tiller says she was frustrated by the lack of published
information about modern-day American Indians. So she did something
about it.
Tiller says she visited the headquarters of 240 tribes while
researching the book called "Tiller's Guide to Indian Country."
The book includes the 700-thousand acres of pine-fir forest on
the Navajo Nation, a Mercedes-Benz dealership on Indian Colony land
in Nevada and a hotel near Disney World owned by the Jicarilla
Apaches.
The one-thousand-136-page book details the tribes' histories,
governments and business dealings.

Hobbs racetrack Opens Today
HOBBS, N.M. (AP) - The state's newest horse racetrack in Hobbs
opens officially for training this morning. Four-year-old gelding
Rocky Gulch will be the first horse to step on the Zia Park
Racetrack.

Bulletproof Vests
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U-S Justice Department will give 28 New
Mexico law enforcement agencies more than 154-thousand dollars to
buy 853 bulletproof vests. The F-B-I says officers without body
armor are 14 times more likely to be killed by a firearm than
officers wearing such vests.

Hubbard Museum Transfer
RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. (AP) - The city of Ruidoso Downs has taken
over the Hubbard Museum of the American West, which contains a
large gun collection and other exhibits. The city has agreed to
maintain the museum's affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution
when it takes over August 31st.

NM Guardsmen Head to Iraq
UNDATED (AP) - The National Guard will hold ceremonies in Raton,
Gallup and Santa Fe this week to send off the one-thousand-116th
Transportation Company. The 120-member unit -- which specializes in
hauling equipment and supplies -- will be sent to Iraq for 18
months initially.

Water use decreases in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Water use has decreased in single-family
homes in Las Cruces.
A city report says the average home in the city used
126-thousand-509 gallons in 2004 -- a decrease of about
ten-point-two percent from the previous year.
The city's water conservation officer, Joshua Rosenblatt, says
the city boosted water rates by about 39 percent in mid-2003.
He says that probably played a role in decreased water use.
Rosenblatt also says new housing developments are using more
low-water vegetation.
And he says the public has become more aware that there's still
a drought in New Mexico.

Photographer, pilot, author dies in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Anne Noggle, who taught photography at the
University of New Mexico from 1970 to 1984, has died.
She was 83 when she died (earlier this month) in Albuquerque.
Noggle was an adjunct professor at U-N-M.
She was born in Evanston, Illinois, and served in the Woman's
Air Force Service in 1943 and 1944.
She also served in the U-S Air Force from 1953 to 1959.
Lung problems forced Noggle to give up flying, and she earned
bachelor's and master's degrees at U-N-M.
Noggle's first book, "Silver Livings," explored the theme of
women and aging through portraits.
Her second book is titled "For God, Country, and the Thrill of
It," and her third book is titled "A Dance with Death: Soviet
Airwomen in World War Two."

Austin readies for smoking ban

AUSTIN (AP) - Austin bars, bowling alleys and pool halls prepare
this week for a new smoking ban while protesters make plans to
light up at City Hall and challenge the law once the first person
is fined.
Austin voters narrowly approved the new law, which will take
effect Thursday for about 225 establishments.
Current law limits smoking to most bars and restaurants.
But bowling alleys, pool halls and 219 establishments with
smoking permits were exempt.
The new ban extends the restrictions.
Generally, the only smoking establishments allowed will be
fraternal organizations or bingo halls.
In response a group of protesters plan to light up on the steps
of City Hall.
And the group, Keep Austin Free, plans to seek injunctive relief
and establish a defense fund for the first person who gets fined.
---
Information from: Austin American-Statesman,
http://www.statesman.com


Friday, August 26, 2005

Fort Stanton: "A Call to Arms"- Local citizen's group says plans could destroy fort. Group will attend Fort Stanton Commission meeting, Saturday at 9:00am

Ruidoso - KEDU-- A proposed "Master Plan" calling for a 600 unit subdivision at historic Fort Stanton has outraged a local citizen's group in Lincoln County. A fax sent out to "Concerned Citizens and Friends of Fort Stanton" outlines concerns of that plan.

Some of the concerns deal with  a 600 unit (apartments and condos) build-out over a 15 year period on the "upper circle" near the Quadrangle and along the hills (old golf course) to the edge of the Merchant Marine Cemetery location. The group criticizes the Fort Stanton Commission for not having any public hearings on the proposed plan. The fax states that the proposal has already been sent to Gov. Bill Richardson for his review. The group is calling on citizens to write to the governor's office and explain why they are against the proposed development.

Councilwoman Byars Speaks Out on KEDU
Debra Marcum-Byars discusses Tuesday's council issues.
Hear this exclusive interview on KEDU: Click Here
Hear the morning report on KEDU with Reynaldo Valcarcel: Click Here

State Audit of Village of Ruidoso Completed:
Auditor Sends Findings DA Scott Key
NM State Auditor Domingo Martinez                              
Ruidoso, NM - KEDU-- It's taken over a year but the state ran audit of the Village of Ruidoso is finally over. The completion of the audit was confirmed Monday morning by New Mexico State Auditor Domingo Martinez.

Martinez appeared on KEDU's "The Morning Show "with Reynaldo Valcarcel and Harv Twite. Martinez confirmed that the findings of this audit have been sent to District Attorney Scott Key. "In some cases we have findings that need to be looked at by an attorney so that he may apply his knowledge and professional standards to the findings," Martinez said. "It's up to the district attorney now to see where he wants to go with it. If he decides that there isn't anything there to pursue, the report will be released as a public record," said Martinez.

Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Read the Ruidoso News Story: Special audit is released – sort of
Nearly a year after officials with the fraud division of the State Auditor’s Office began examining Village of Ruidoso financial records and contracts, a completed special audit was referred to the district attorney Monday.
Aug 23, 2005, 07:27 pm
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