Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 85 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
April 8, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
TUESDAY
City hires new planning director; still no attorney JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The city has hired a familiar face to take the helm of its planning department beginning next month. But, four key positions will be left open and may be difficult to fill. Marlin Johnson, former Chaves County director of planning and zoning, will boomerang back to Roswell to become the city’s planning and support services director beginning May 1.
“I think his background and experience are well suited for the program,” said City Manager Larry Fry. “I think Marlin has a lot of experience that will be useful for the city, when you look at what he’s done.” The city received 21 applications for the planning position after former director Michael Vickers left Jan. 17 to take a position for a private contracting firm in Lubbock. Johnson left Chaves
County last year. In August of last year, he started work as the city planner for Scottsbluff, Neb., where he was earning $58,000. While in Scottsbluff, his time was split between that city and the city of Alliance. He also worked on the region’s effort to promote an expressway as part of a Ports to Plains Highway effort. Johnson started work in Pennington County, S.D., as an environmental technician, then served as the
Wheatland and Platte County planning director before moving to Chaves County, according to an article in the Star Herald. Since leaving Chaves County, Johnson has spent time in Nebraska and California, Fry said. The city advertised a salary range for the position from $48,601 to $62,029. The director’s duties will include a variety of community development matters, including municipal
AP Photo
This March 26, 2014, file photo shows House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Capping a three-month struggle, the Senate closed in Monday on passage of election-year legislation to restore jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed that expired late last year.
Senate OKs bill to restore jobless benefits WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted 59-38 Monday to resurrect federal jobless benefits for the long-ter m unemployed, and a small band of
Republican supporters swiftly appealed to a reluctant Speaker John Boehner to permit election-year action in the House as well.
Steps are needed “to restore unemployment benefits to struggling Americans,” seven House Republicans wrote Boehner and Majority Leader
Eric Cantor of Virginia. They released their letter as the Senate was bestowing its widely expected See SENATE, Page A3
property and grant administration, code enforcement, demographic considerations, economics, traffic, public safety and other community needs. The turnaround time to fill the planning director’s chair was speedy in comparison to other positions. The city has been less successful in finding a city attorney, for instance. Councilors decided in October to stop contracting with outside attorney Barbara Patterson and hire in-
house counsel. Since then, the city formally advertised twice and will launch a third attempt in the next few days. The city received three applications. Patterson was one of the applicants. In the interim, the city contracted to pay Patterson $12,784 a month, plus incidentals. Her contract initially ended Dec. 31 but was extended periodically. That extension ended
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — As hundreds of people packed Albuquerque City Hall to voice their concerns Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice says it’s ready to release its findings from a civil investigation into the city’s embattled police department. The agency has been investigating Albuquerque police for more than a year, looking into complaints of civil rights violations and allegations of excessive use of force. The findings will be released Thursday. On Monday night, the City Council cleared the agenda to hear from the public. Some drew cheers when they said the protests over police force would grow louder until changes are made. Others said Albuquerque has become an embarrassment. Demonstrators have flooded the streets in recent weeks in protest of the police department’s use of force, including the shooting of homeless camper James Boyd in the Albuquerque foothills following
a long standoff with officers. City Council President Ken Sanchez said more police of ficers will be assigned to Monday’s meeting to prepare for the crowds. If any safety issues arise, Sanchez said he will adjourn the meeting early. Sanchez and other council members are weighing future legislation to address police oversight and whether the council should have authority over hiring the police chief or creating a commission that would oversee daily operations within the department. “We need to make some dramatic changes,” Sanchez told the Albuquerque Journal. “We’re confronting a crisis situation at this time.” Councilman Brad Winter said he wants to hear from the public. “I think a lot of the councilors are frustrated, and I think every one of them is really looking at what they can do to fix the problem,” he said.
DOJ to release findings of APD review Thursday
See CITY, Page A3
Berrendo students to Supreme Court rejects appeal in gay bias case throw out the first pitches for Isotopes
A couple of Roswell children will receive a special honor from the Albuquerque Isotopes on Friday.
Kendal Sanders, 13, and Nathaniel Tavarez, 12, will throw out the ceremonial first pitches at the beginning of the season opener as the Isotopes host the Tacoma Rainiers to launch its 2014 season. Both Sanders and Tavarez were wounded ear-
lier this year when another student opened fire at Berrendo Middle School. They are both now home and recovering from their injuries with hope of coming back to school in the fall. The children will be greeted on the field by Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda and Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, who
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from a studio that refused to photograph a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony, letting stand a New Mexico high court ruling that helped spur a national debate over gay rights and religious freedom.
The justices left in place a unanimous state Supreme Court ruling last year that said Elane Photography violated New Mexico’s Human Rights Act by refusing to photograph the same-sex ceremony “in the same way as if it had refused to photograph a wedding between people of different races.” Elane Photography co-owner Elaine Huguenin said taking the photos for Vanessa Willock and her partner would violate her religious
beliefs. She said she also has a right of artistic expression under the First Amendment that allows her to choose what pictures to take, or refrain from taking. She was ordered to pay more than $7,000 in attorneys’ fees, which Willock waived. The case has been cited as lawmakers in other states have proposed legislation exempting people from such lawsuits if doing business with same-sex couples violates their religious beliefs. Arizona passed such a law this year, but Republican Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed it under pressure and blistering criticism from major corporations and political leaders from both parties. Similar religious-protection legislation has also been introduced
around the country. And eight states, Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia, had asked the high court to hear the case so lawmakers would have guidance in considering such measures.
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said “at issue is the fundamental question of whether the state can pretend to be a god over the conscience.”
The American Civil Liberties Union countered that regardless of personal beliefs, “every business has to play by the same rules to protect customers from discrimination in the marketplace.”
Major survey confirms gains in health insurance sign-ups
WASHINGTON (AP) — A growing share of Americans got health insurance as sign-up season for President Barack Obama’s health care law came to a close last month, a major survey released Monday has found. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index provides independent validation for White House claims that the law is expanding access, particularly for working people with no coverage on the job. But the improvement, while
See ISOTOPES, Page A3
substantial, doesn’t appear as large as some of the numbers claimed by the law’s supporters.
Gallup found that the share of adults without health insurance shrank from 17.1 percent at the end of last year to 15.6 percent for the first three months of 2014.
The decline of 1.5 percentage points would translate roughly to more than 3.5 million people gaining coverage. The trend accelerated as the March 31 enrollment deadline
HIGH 77 LOW 46
TODAY’S FORECAST
loomed.
“The Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ‘Obamacare,’ appears to be accomplishing its goal of increasing the percentage of Americans with health insurance,” said Gallup’s analysis of the findings.
The survey is important because it combines the quick turnaround of media polls with extensive outreach usually seen in government research. Gallup interviewed more than 43,500 adults, or more than 40 times the number • MARIE COLEY ATKINSON MIDDLETON • DeNio, Steve E.
in a typical national media poll.
Coming a week after the close of the health care law’s first enrollment season, Gallup’s numbers suggest a more modest impact on coverage than statistics cited by the Obama administration. The administration says more than 7 million have signed up for subsidized private plans through new insurance markets. Additionally, 3 million previously uninsured people gained coverage through the law’s
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
Medicaid expansion.
Millions more remain potentially eligible for marketplace coverage under various extensions issued by the administration. White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said this weekend on CBS that 200,000 people who had started applications but weren’t able to finish by the deadline got signed up later in the week. However, the administration’s numbers are not comparable with Gallup’s.
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8