DAILY LOBO new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Blowing your mind see Page 6
thursday January 17, 2013
Larceny at UNM rampant
SWEET SCOOP
Daily Lobo compiles data on campus crime by Alexandra Swanberg aswanny@unm.edu
Sergio Jimenez / Daily Lobo Bill Warren, surrounded by music memorabilia amassed over the course of seven years in a band, hands a customer a scoop of ice cream. A former restaurant supply contractor, Warren said he enjoys the social interaction that his ice cream shop provides. See the full story on Page 5.
Conflict over Vagabond Inn continues by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com
Plans to renovate the rundown Vagabond Inn near Lobo Village may be delayed yet again. On Dec. 21, UNM filed another appeal with the City Council against an Albuquerque Zoning Enforcement Office ruling. The ruling would allow the Allen Sigmon Real Estate Group to push through renovations of the building. The University also filed an appeal against the proposed renovations with the Council last August after the city’s Environmental Planning Commission approved the project. UNM director of real estate Kim Murphy said one of the reasons the University opposes the renovation of Vagabond Inn is that it would hinder UNM’s plans to put a shopping center in the area. He said the University owns the 45 acres of land that surround the inn. If the inn were renovated, a shopping center would be hard to fit into the lots, he said. “The University, the neighbors and now our developer of land surrounding the Vagabond Motel have long-standing objections to the use of this property in violation of the existing zoning,” Murphy said. Murphy said UNM expects 900 students to move to Lobo Village this year, and approximately 1.3
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 117
issue 82
William Aranda / Daily Lobo On Dec. 21, UNM filed an appeal with the City Council against a ruling made by Albuquerque’s Zoning Enforcement Office that allowed developers to renovate the Vagabond Inn near Lobo Village. Although the office ruled that developers can renovate the rundown inn into a motel because of its existing zoning code, the University said that would interfere with its plans to put a shopping center in the area. million people visit sports com- Properties, and Murphy said the the plan, and they subsequently plexes in the area every year. A Board of Regents approved the appealed the project to the City shopping center would make ser- plan Dec. 3. Council. On Aug. 20, the Council vices more accessible to these Sigmon first introduced plans ruled against the developers and people, he said. The University to convert the Vagabond Inn into UNM won the appeal. has already written a master plan a residential area last summer. But in an Oct. 18 interview, for the project in cooperation with UNM and nearby neighborhood see Vagabond PAGE 3 Ohio-based developer Fairmount associations quickly objected to
Fall CrimeStats
see Page 8
Locking up your bicycle does not mean it won’t be stolen. At least 32 people figured this out the hard way when their bicycles were stolen from campus during the fall semester. At the beginning of the semester, UNMPD Lieutenant Robert Haarhues said it’s difficult to tell how big of a problem theft actually is, because not everybody reports these incidents. UNM student Taylr Woodin reported that his $600 bicycle was stolen Oct. 27 after he had locked it to a rack at Hokona Courtyard. “I feel wronged,” he said. “I still do not trust locking anything up outside on the bike racks. The bike has been mine since I was in the 8th grade and I used to ride it six miles a day to and from school.” Even before it was stolen, Woodin did not feel safe locking his bike at UNM. Since the incident, he said he takes no chances with any of his belongings on campus. “If my stuff can be taken from there, right next to where I live, I feel that my stuff could easily be broken into,” he said. “I have bought several locks since then to lock up personal items.” Larcenies made up the majority of incidents reported to UNMPD during the semester, accounting for 45 percent of the reports. Most of the stolen property was unattended items, accounting for 51 of the 104 larceny reports. Haarhues said larceny has always been the most commonly reported incident and most are crimes of opportunity. He said UNMPD hasn’t yet compiled statistics for 2012, but estimated that the difference between the number of larcenies during fall 2012 and previous semesters is unlikely to be statistically significant. The number of incidents is more or less the same every year, he said. In accordance with the Clery Act, every year campus police departments publish a safety report. The UNMPD report for the 201011 school year does not have a category for larceny in general. It does show that in 2011, UNMPD reported four robberies, 19 burglaries and 57 auto thefts. This past semester, there were 26 burglaries and 16 auto thefts.
see Crime PAGE 2
TODAY
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