Roswell Daily Record
Neglect
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home and into York’s care on Feb. 23, 2009, at which time Ford weighed around 89 pounds. Hospital records indicated Ford weighed 62 pounds when she was admitted into the hospital. During sentencing, defense attor ney James Lowry pointed out that Lawrence had not been staying with either York or Ford for a week prior to Ford’s admission into the hospital. “He was the less culpable of the two siblings,” Lowry said. The offense carries a sentence from probation to 18 months. Deputy District Attorney Michael Murphy noted that Lawrence had previous charges for unlaw-
Quake
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stride. Kate Lowry, the school’s sole teacher, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that she, her aide and the 19 children followed their earthquake drill procedure and filed out of the building. “We were still moving as we were walking across,” Lowry said. “Once we got down in the field, it had stopped.” At nearby Pearson’s Grocery Store, Karen Pearson watched cans fall off the shelves as a man yelled for people to get out. “It was very scary because you have no control of these things,” Pearson said. “Hopefully it’s over.” Debbie Bailey, who owns an of fice supply shop in Hoopa, about five miles from the epicenter, said only a few items fell of f shelves there. She described the jolt, which lasted four or five seconds, “like a pick-
Budget
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coming years — while NASA would scrap two missions to Mars. But there are spending increases, too: The Obama plan seeks $476 billion for transportation projects including roads, bridges and a much-criticized highspeed rail initiative. Grants for better performing schools would get a big increase under Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative, and there would be an $8 billion fund to train community college students for high-growth industries. Republicans accused the president of yet again failing to do anything meaningful to reduce deficits that could threaten the country with a European-style debt crisis unless they are wrestled under control. As a political document, the Obama plan blends a handful of jobs-boosting initiatives with poll-tested tax hikes on the rich, including higher taxes on dividends and income earned by hedge fund managers. That would allow Obama to draw a contrast with GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, whose personal fortune and relatively low tax rate would be an issue in the general election campaign. Another contrast with Republicans will come on Medicare, the enormously popular health care programs for the elderly. Obama leaves the program mostly alone, while Republicans are on record in favor of gradually replacing the current system in which the government pays doctor and hospital bills with a voucher-like plan that would have government subsidize purchases of health insurance. Nor does Obama tackle Social Security’s fiscal imbalance. Payroll taxes paid into the program fall well short of what’s needed to cover benefits; the short-
ful taking of a motor vehicle, which added an enhancement, of one year to the sentence. He recommended the full sentence of 2 and a half years with most of the sentence to be suspended except for a year. Lowry noted that Lawrence had already served 11 and a half months in Chaves Country Detention Center. Judge Charles Currier concurred, giving Lawrence credit for time served. Once he has been released Lawrence will face 18 months of probation. The first year he will be required to do Community Service. Lawrence will complete his sentence at CCDC and will be released in about two weeks’ time. j.palmer@rdrnews.com up-and-move, like a soft wave.” Seismologists say the far -norther n coast of Califor nia is the most seismically active area in the state, but the potential for damage and injuries there is smaller because it’s less populated. The most damaging earthquake in recent years occurred near Eureka on Jan. 9, 2010, when a magnitude-6.5 temblor caused more than $40 million in damage and one serious injury — an elderly woman who fell and broke her hip. It was followed a month later with a magnitude-5.9 quake in the same region that caused much less damage. Lainey McDonald, who was standing in the office of her roofing supply company in Eureka, said Monday’s rumblings did not feel as bad as those past events. “I was asking myself, ‘Is it really still going or is it my knees?”’ McDonald said. “It was still going. It definitely got my attention.” fall is made up by tapping into a $2.7 trillion trust fund that’s built up since the last overhaul of the program in the early 1980s. Said Romney: “We can save Social Security and Medicare with a few commonsense reforms, and — unlike President Obama — I’m not afraid to put them on the table.” The president’s tax proposals and most of his new jobs initiatives are likely to arrive as dead letters on Capitol Hill, where the immediate focus is on Obama’s proposal to renew a 2 percentage point cut in Social Security payroll taxes and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. House GOP leaders did an abrupt about-face on Monday and declared that they are willing to add to the deficit the $100 billion cost of renewing the payroll tax cut. While Obama and Congress appear headed for deadlock over big-picture questions such as Medicare cuts and tax hikes, there’s still the work of filling in the details of last summer’s budget and debt pact, which set tight caps on annual appropriations bills funding the day-to-day operations of government. Those caps are putting most agencies, except the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a pinch. The Pentagon, which had grown used to budget increases well in excess of inflation until recently, would absorb its first outright budget cut since the post-Cold War “peace dividend” of the early 1990s, including cuts to major weapons systems, fewer combat ships and the reduction in troops. Obama, as he has in the past, also proposed capping tax deductions taken by the wealthy and would also put in place a rule named for billionaire Warren Buffett that would seek to make sure that households mak-
GENERAL
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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Guatemala says it’s weighing drug legalization GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — U.S. inability to cut illegal drug consumption leaves Guatemala with no option but to consider legalizing the use and transport of drugs, President Otto Per ez said Monday, a remarkable tur nar ound for an exgeneral elected on a platform of crushing organized crime with an iron fist. Molina said he will try to win regional support for drug legalization at an upcoming summit of Central American leaders next month. He got his first public support on Monday at a security meeting with El Salvador Pr esident Mauricio Funes, who said he too is willing to consider legalization. “We’r e bringing the issue up for debate. T oday’s meeting is intended to strengthen our methods of fighting organized crime,” Perez said with Funes. “But if drug consumption isn’t reduced, the problem will continue.” In just a month in office, Perez has transformed himself from one of Latin America’s toughest advocates of military action against drug cartels to one of the region’s strongest voices for drug legalization. His stance provoked strong criticism from the United States over the weekend, and intense discussion inside the country, wher e Guatemalans argued for and against his proposal in the str eets and on radio talk shows. One analyst said Perez’s about-face could be designed to pressure the U.S. into providing military aid, currently banned by the U.S. Congr ess because of past human rights abuses.
ing more than $1 million annually pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The “Buffett Rule” would replace the alternative minimum tax, which was originally designed to ensure that wealthy families pay at least some tax.
Obama would also impose a new $61 billion tax over 10 years on big banks aimed at recovering the costs of the financial bailout and providing money to help homeowners facing foreclosure. The proposal also would raise $41 billion over 10 years by eliminating tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies.
The plan contains a host of other proposals whose budget impact would be modest but would be felt by almost everyone, among them an end to Saturday mail delivery. There’s also a plan to raise $593 million by eliminating deductions for golf course conservation easement and a plan that would raise the one-way security fee on airline tickets to $7.50, up from fees that are now as low as $2.50 for a nonstop flight.
To spur job creation in the short term, Obama is proposing a $50 billion “upfront” investment for transportation, $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000 schools and $30 billion to help states hire teachers and police, rescue and fire department workers. Republicans in Congress, opposed to further stimulus spending, have blocked these proposals in the past. The Obama budget seeks $360 billion in savings in Medicare and Medicaid mainly through reduced payments to health care providers, avoiding tougher measures, advocated by House Republicans and the deficit commissions, which supporters said were critical to the cause of restraining health care costs.
“This is kind of like a shot across the bow, saying if you don’t help us, this is what we can do,” said Anita Isaacs, a Guatemala expert and professor of political science at Haver ford College. But Per ez’s backers said the change grew out of the realization that if demand continues in the U.S., the small country, which has become a major drug transit point, will never have the r esour ces to fight the flow of illegal drugs from pr oducers in South America to the world’s largest consumer market in the U.S. “Ar e we going to be responsible to put up a war against the cartels if we don’t pr oduce the drugs or consume the drugs? We’re just a corridor of illegality,” said Eduardo Stein, a former Guatemalan vice president who headed Perez’s transition team. “The issue of drug trafficking and consumption is not on the North American political agenda. The issue of drugs in the U.S. is very marginalized, while for Guatemala and the rest of Central America it’s very central,” he added. U.S. President Barack Obama would cut funds to fight drug trafficking in Latin America in 2013, according to his budget proposal released Monday. While the Obama administration has promised to shift anti-drug r esour ces fr om law enforcement and military intervention to treatment and prevention, funding would be r estor ed to slightly higher than 2011 levels in the pr oposal after suffering a cut in 2012. A growing number of
Best Picture
The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir - A Better Life George Clooney - The Descendants Jean Dujardin - The Artist Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Brad Pitt - Moneyball
for mer Latin American leaders have come out in favor of legalization, saying the U.S. ef forts to fight drug trafficking in Latin America have only caused mor e violence and sucked up resources. Colombia Pr esident Juan Manuel Santos has said he would be open to legalization if the entire world agreed. “It’s a theme that must be addressed,” Colombia’s For eign Minister Maria Holguin told reporters in Cartegena Monday. “The war on drugs definitely hasn’t been the success it should be and it’s something the countries should discuss.” Honduras, another major transit country that with Guatemala and El Salvador suffers one of the highest murder rates in the world, has never for mally consider ed legalization. Mexico President Felipe Calderon has said it wouldn’t make sense to legalize drugs in the region as long as they remain illegal in the U.S. Perez, 61, was elected in November and took of fice last month on a platfor m of cracking down on the country’s rampant crime, a product of gang and cartel violence, along with the legacy of a bloody 19601996 civil war. Army, police and paramilitary are blamed for killing the vast majority of 200,000 victims, most of whom were Mayan. Mor e than half of Guatemalans live in poverty in a nation of 14 million overrun by organized crime and Mexican drug cartels. Per ez’s predecessor, former President Alvaro Colom, sent tr oops to r etake some provinces from the Zetas
drug gang.
Perez, the first former general to be elected pr esident since peace accords were signed in 1996, also took of fice with the mission of ending a long-standing U.S. ban on military aid imposed during the civil war because of concerns over human rights abuses.
Close advisers say he supports meeting the conditions set by various U.S. congr essional appropriations acts for r estoring aid that was first eliminated in 1978, including r efor ming a weak justice system and prosecuting war criminals.
But both U.S. and Guatemala officials agree that a reverse on the ban won’t happen any time soon. Among other r eductions, Obama’s budget proposal cuts military aid to the region for fighting drugs by $5 million.
Per ez first made his proposal over the weekend. The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala issued a statement Sunday saying that legalizing drugs wouldn’t stop transnational gangs that traffic not only drugs, but also people and weapons. Guatemalan Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez said Perez is not contradicting his “ir on fist” approach to crime.
“The pr esident is br eaking a political taboo,” he said. “Our jails are filled with people held for the simple act of possessing drugs. It’s something that generates corruption and doesn’t solve the problem.”
Academy
Award
Contest
1st Prize 3 month season ticket
2nd Prize 1 month season ticket
Actor in a Supporting Role Kenneth Branagh My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball Nick Nolte - Warrior Christopher Plummer - Beginners Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist Alexander Payne The Descendants Martin Scorsese - Hugo Terrence Malick The Tree of Life
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) The Descendants Hugo The Ides of March Moneyball Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Best Animated Feature A Cat in Paris Chico & Rita Kung Fu Panda 2 Puss in Boots Rango
Best Film Editing
The Artist The Descendants The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Hugo Moneyball
Contest Instructions & Rules
1. Put an X in the box next to the nominee you think will win in each category. 2. Mark only one nominee in each category 3. Fill out tie breaker 4. Be sure to include your name, address and telephone number 5. All entries must be received by 5:00 pm, Friday, February 24, 2012 6. You must be at least 18 years old to enter 7. No purchase necessary 8. Winners will be determined from those entries closest to actual results of Academy Award balleting on February 26, 2012 9. Limit one entry per person
Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Actress in a Supporting Role Bérénice Bejo - The Artist Jessica Chastain - The Help Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs Octavia Spencer - The Help
Writing (Original Screenplay) Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig Bridesmaids J.C. Chandor - Margin Call Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris Asghar Farhadi - A Separation
Original Score
John Williams - The Adventurs of Tin Tin Ludovic Bource - The Artist Howard Shore - Hugo Alberto Iglesias Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John Williams - War Horse
Original Song
“Man or Muppet” - The Muppets “Real in Rio” - Rio
Art Direction
The Artist Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Hugo Midnight in Paris War Horse
Visual Effects
Phone
Tie Breaker How many Oscars will the film you chose as Best Picture win?
Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore La Luna A Morning Stroll Wild Life
Best Costume Design Anonymous The Artist Hugo Sponsored Jane Eyre by: W.E.
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs Viola Davis - The Help Rooney Mara The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady Michelle Williams My Week with Marilyn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Hugo Real Steel Rise of the Planet of the Apes Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Foreign Language Film Bullhead - Belgium Footnote - Israel In Darkness - Poland Monsieur Lazhar - Canada A Separation - Iran
Bring entry form to: Roswell Daily Record, 2301 N. Main by 5:00 pm Friday, February 24, 2012
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