Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 89 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
ACCIDENT WORRIES NEW YORK (AP) — A frightening collision between one of the world’s largest airliners and a commuter jet on a dark, wet tarmac at Kennedy Airport is underscoring worries about ground accidents as U.S. airports begin handling a new generation of giant planes.
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
April 13, 2011
Martinez signs renewable energy law
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Legislation signed by Gov. Susana Martinez clears the way for government entities to invest in their own renewable energy systems, rather than pay utilities to purchase renewable energy for them. The law creates a new development incentive by exempting certain entities from renewable energy procurement charges on their utility bills if they have their own generation systems, whether it's solar panels or a biogas plant. In return, the entities will spend 2.5 percent of their annual electricity charges to develop or reinvest in their own systems. They must also give up any renewable energy cer-
WEDNESDAY
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tificates, or RECs, related to the systems. For the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, the burden of an annual $10 million electricity bill will be eased. The water authority will also be able to bolster its biogas power plant rather than pay the Public Service Company of New Mexico to purchase renewable energy on its behalf. “We were already investing in our own renewables, and then we’re supposed to be investing for PNM too? It seemed sort of duplicative,”said Nann Winter, general counsel for the water authority. “This allows us to still put renew-
able resources and renewable generation into the market, and it allows us to keep offsetting our PNM bill.” The water authority's biogas plant south of Albuquerque runs on methane collected from sewage. It can produce enough electricity for a quarter to all of the wastewater treatment plant’s load. Still, the water authority uses about 160 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year to run dozens of pumps, lift stations and state-ofthe-art treatment plants to provide drinking water and sewage services throughout Albuquerque. Of the $10 million paid annually for electricity, Winter said between
$200,000 and $300,000 went to PNM for the purchase of renewable energy. The legislation, as it was first introduced, would have capped renewable energy costs for utility expenditures by large government entities. After negotiation, the bill was modified to ease the burden of large gover nment electric customers while still encouraging investment in renewables. “For large customers, it makes sense. They have the capital and they have the sophistication to do their own projects and do them well,” said Steve Michel, chief counsel of Western Resource Advocates’ energy program.
- PAGE A3
TOP 5 WEB
MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
For The Last 24 Hours
• Healthy school group rallies for kids • Local flea market burglarized • UFO memo creates buzz • White Fire now 95 percent contained • KRB commemorates Arbor Day at zoo
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Cast members of the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Theatre Department rehearse for the upcoming spring musical production of “Grease” Saturday in the Performing Arts Center. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m., Sunday. The show is part of a revitalized theatre program at the university.
MARRERO SIGNS WITH FALCONS From Orlando, to Puerto Rico to Roswell, NMMI catcher Ullises Marrero has been taken many places thanks to baseball. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • • • • • • • •
Elizabeth Kemp Pauline Francoeur Alejandrina Wheeler A.J. Deans Octaviano Talamantes Gloria Morrow Julian Reyes Rosie Darnell - PAGE A6
HIGH ...90˚ LOW ....49˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Report filed naming Coon
Revitalized program presents ‘Grease’ EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Before directors Daniel Wolkow and Dallas Jeffers-Pollei came to Eastern New Mexico UniversityRoswell about five years ago, the campus theatre was just an empty room in an old brick building. Once used by the school’s drama club, which has been inactive for at
least 11 years, the duo found the space in disrepair— lighting instruments from 1985 were found welded together, the original sound system was a broken reel-to-reel tape deck and the only tool to build props was a hand saw. “It was kind of as if you went into a restaurant that had been closed for 10 years,” Wolkow said. Now, after massive renovations, the 412-seat Performing Arts Center
theatre is nothing to scoff at. Not only does it feature a state-of-theart digital sound system and rake seating, it has revitalized an interest in theatre among students and the community. Dr. Helen Cogan, dean of liberal arts, said more students are taking an interest in theatre courses, and the drama club was recently re-
See GREASE, Page A3
A day before a city police officer was placed on paid administrative leave, an incident report listing the officer as a suspect in a fraud case was filed with the Roswell Police Department, according to documents obtained by the Record. Justin Coon, who was placed on paid leave beginning March 25, was named as a suspect in a police report taken by officers at Walgreens on March 24. Coon was the only suspect listed on the report. The report also indicates that the matter was referred to the department’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Special Investigation Division, the latter of which investigates drug activity. The report was scant on additional infor mation regarding the complaint. The officer who took the report indicated that additional information would be filed in a supplemental report. City and RPD of ficials continue to keep mum on the circumstances surrounding their decision to place Coon on paid leave, and whether there is any kind of on-going investigation under way. City Manager Larry Fry confirmed Coon’s status See COON, Page A3
Good Samaritans Approval expected for spending cuts foil pair of robbers MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
Police say two would be robbers, one of whom was yielding a knife, didn’t take into account one important factor when they attempted to steal the purse of a women in her 50s Monday evening — two observant good Samaritans. Ray Vasquez, 25, and Matthew Villarrell, 21, were both charged with felonies following a melee outside of the Bank of America building around 7:45 p.m., police said. The thieves may have been on the lookout for police, but in their attempted getaway they failed to take into consideration two citizens flagged down by the distressed victim. “Thanks to them we’ve been able to lock up two bad guys,” said T ravis Holley, a Roswell Police Department spokesman, who declined to immediately identify the two citizens. Holley described how the alleged crime duo waited for a woman withdrawing money out of an ATM to get back into her vehicle, before Vasquez smashed her car window and demanded her cash while holding a knife. He stole the woman’s purse and the pair fled in a pickup truck, but were thwarted when the vehicle failed to clear a three to four feet embankment on the corner of the bank’s parking lot. “They tried to go over (a) retaining wall,” said HolSee GOOD, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite scattered opposition from both ends of the political spectrum, House Republicans and the White House both predicted approval Tuesday for the hard-bargained $38 billion package of spending cuts that narrowly avoided a government shutdown. House Democratic leaders remained non-committal on the legislation, sealed late last week in negotiations that excluded them. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, touted the plan somewhat cautiously, saying it was “far from perfect and we need to do much more if we’re serious about creating new jobs.” In a posting on his website, Boehner said the measure calls for the largest non-military spending cut in history and would set the stage for a companion vote later in the week on a Republican budget to reduce federal deficits by trillions of dollars over the next decade.
AP Photo
President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
The spending bill covering the rest in fiscal year through Sept. 30 is ticketed for a vote in the House on Thursday, with the Senate to follow either later in the day or on Friday.
The product of days of brinksmanship, the compromise gave the White House, House Republicans and Senate Democrats See CUTS, Page A3