Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug. 14, 2014

Page 1

Summer school fitness program wraps up with 5K run/walk Sports, B-1

Locally owned and independent

Thursday, August 14, 2014

www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢

City hikes fine for texting while driving The City Council voted 8-0 Wednesday in support of a proposal to double the existing $100 fine for using a mobile device while driving and to triple the penalty if the offense occurs in a school zone during school hours. The city’s new penalties, which go into effect Aug. 25, are stiffer than those under the state’s antitexting law, which calls for fining violators $25 for a first offense and $50 for every subsequent violation.

Council votes to double and triple existing fee By Daniel J. Chacón

Racial unrest shakes St. Louis Protests over slain teenager take violent turn in Missouri. PAGE A-2

Rehired cop receives new title, pay bump City officer who quit amid suspicions he had lied on his time card will act as interim captain of the Investigations Department. LOCAL NEWS, A-6

The New Mexican

Motorists may want to reconsider texting, tweeting, updating their Facebook statuses, posting pictures to Instagram and everything else they do on their mobile devices if they’re behind the wheel in Santa Fe. Otherwise, it could prove costly.

A woman uses her cellphone at the intersection of St. Francis Drive and Cordova Road on Wednesday. The City Council voted to double the fine for texting while driving in the city, and to triple the fine if a driver is caught texting in a school zone. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO THE NEW MEXICAN

Please see TEXTING, Page A-4

King outlines plan to reform education

GOVERNOR’S RACE

Deal would lower bills but cut nearly 100 jobs

Martinez to dodge debate with challenger

By Staci Matlock The New Mexican

A half-million natural gas customers will get money back on their monthly bills for a couple of years under an agreement for Floridabased Teco Energy to buy New Mexico Gas Co. State regulators approved the final deal Wednesday, even forgiving New Mexico Gas for jumping the gun and mailing out a flier to 70,000 customers a week ago saying the sale had been approved. New Mexico Gas said the mailing was a mistake. Teco also agreed not to seek a base rate increase for New Mexico Gas customers until 2017. In the meantime, customers will get a credit on their average monthly bills from 50 cents up to $4 over the next couple of years. New Mexico Gas serves 509,000 people, mostly residential, in 23 counties. On the downside of the sale, up to 99 New Mexico Gas employees will have to find new jobs in the next three years under the deal. None of

By Steve Terrell The New Mexican

One of the two election “debates” Gov. Susana Martinez has agreed so far to do with her Democratic challenger Gary King isn’t going to be much of a debate at all. In fact, it’s not even a joint appearance. A news release Wednesday from New Mexico State University said the schedule for the annual Domenici Public Policy Conference in Las Cruces has changed to “accommodate an unexpected scheduling conflict.” Martinez, the news release said, will speak at 8:15 a.m. Sept. 18. King is still scheduled to speak at the Domenici event that day at 12:45 p.m. Jeffrey Paul, president of Congregation Albert Brotherhood in Albuquerque, said Wednesday that while Democratic challenger Gary King “almost immediately” accepted

Please see DODGE, Page A-5

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Gary King greets Ellen Bernstein of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation on Wednesday at an Albuquerque elementary school. ROBERT NOTT/THE NEW MEXICAN

Democratic gubernatorial challenger seeks to shore up more state funds for schools, reduce testing — and boot Skandera By Robert Nott

Today

The New Mexican

A thunderstorm this afternoon. High 80, low 58.

ALBUQUERQUE laiming New Mexico schools are in “crisis,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gary King unveiled a broad education plan Wednesday that would increase spending for public schools, eliminate the state’s controversial teacher evaluation system and put a moratorium on high-stakes student testing. He also wants to fire Hanna Skandera, the head of the state Public Education Department. Speaking in front of Zia Elementary School in Albuquerque — after the last bell had called all the chil-

PAGE A-12

Obituaries Maria Nimfa Esquibel, 98, Aug. 8 Delfino J. Vigil Jr., 85, Henderson, Nev., Aug. 5 PAGE A-10

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

Antonio Granjero and EntreFlamenco Flamenco dance troupe, with Estefania Ramirez, 8 p.m., María Benítez Cabaret, The Lodge at Santa Fe, 750 N. St. Francis Drive, $25-$45, 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org. Nightly performances, except Tuesdays, continue through August.

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds B-6

Officials approve N.M. Gas Co. sale

C

dren inside for their first day of school — King was joined by representatives from teachers unions that have endorsed him over Gov. Susana Martinez in the November election. A few hours later, Martinez spoke with reporters in Albuquerque following a stint in which she read a big picture book to some firstgraders in teacher Rachel Baucom’s class at East San Jose Elementary School. The children told Martinez they like to read because it makes them smarter and that they enjoy books about dinosaurs, sharks, crocodiles and alligators. Attorney General King’s event attracted a few bystanders, some

Please see KING, Page A-5

MARTINEZ, KING AT ODDS ON EDUCATION u King said he would commit at least 50 percent of the state general fund to education. About 44 percent of Martinez’s budget goes to education. u King said he would pull 1.5 percent from the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund — about $110 million by his estimate — to fund early childhood education programs for every student in the state. Martinez has said she does not want to pull money from that fund. u King said the state should consider forgoing some federal funding if it means reducing the number of federally mandated tests.

The New Mexican

ALBUQUERQUE — Attorney General Gary King said Wednesday that a lot of the reforms put in place to improve New Mexico’s graduation rate can be credited to former Gov. Bill Richardson — and an analysis of the data indicates he is right.

Comics B-12

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 983-3035

Crosswords A-8, B-7

At an Albuquerque news conference outside an elementary school to unveil his education policies, King, the Democratic candidate for governor, said much of the credit for the improvement cited in an analysis by the Education Week Research Center should go to Richardson and lawmakers.

Lotteries A-2

Opinions A-11

Sports B-1

Thousands free as U.S., Kurds break siege in Iraq U.S. ‘less likely’ to take part in rescue mission By Helene Cooper and Michael D. Shear The New York Times

Some of the credit goes to “programs passed by the Legislature under Gov. Richardson,” he said. Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican seeking a second term, shot back a few hours later during her own news conference, also held in an Albuquerque elementary school:

WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials said late Wednesday that U.S. airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the Islamic militants’ siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of the Yazidis trapped there to escape. An initial report from about a dozen Marines and special operations forces who arrived Tuesday and spent 24 hours on the northern Iraqi mountain said that “the situation is much more manageable,” a senior Pentagon official said in an interview. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking to reporters Wednesday night at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, said it was “far less likely now” that the United States

Please see GAINS, Page A-5

Please see IRAQ, Page A-4

AG credits Richardson for graduation gains By Robert Nott

Please see SALE, Page A-4

Time Out A-8

Outdoors B-5

BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM

Two sections, 24 pages 165th year, No. 226 Publication No. 596-440


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.