Chicago bullies Miami on its turf to swipe key Game 1 victory Sports, B-1
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Tuesday, May 7, 2013
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Senate OKs collection of Internet sales tax Bill dear to brick-and-mortars might tumble in House
By Stephen Ohlemacher
free frontier — to state sales taxes. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 69 to 27, getting support from Republicans and Democrats alike. But opposition from some conservatives who view it as a tax increase will make it a tougher sell in the House. President Barack Obama has con-
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Senate sided with traditional retailers and financially strapped state and local governments Monday by passing a bill that would widely subject online shopping — for many a largely tax-
veyed his support for the measure. Under current law, states can only require retailers to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. That means big retailers with stores all over the country like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target collect sales taxes when they sell goods over the Internet. But online retailers like eBay and Amazon don’t have to collect sales
taxes, except in states where they have offices or distribution centers. As a result, many online sales are tax-free, giving Internet retailers an advantage over brick-and-mortar stores. “We ought to have a structure in place in the states that treats all retail the same,” said Matthew Shay, presi-
Please see TAX, Page A-5
Judicial transition
New courthouse, over budget and behind schedule, nears its opening
T
he First Judicial District Court on Grant Avenue will be closed on June 5, 6 and 7, then reopen in its new courthouse on Sandoval Street on June 10. You can file a lawsuit, attend a hearing or look up most criminal or civil cases on the in-house computer system in the old courthouse until Tuesday, June 4, and then do the same in the new one on June 10, a Monday. But you won’t be able to look at any of the physical documents in the court records from May 20 to June 10, because the court will be moving its tons of paper records during those three weeks. “As we move the case files over, we want people to have access, but to maintain that physical file here and there, you just can’t do it,” said Court Administrator Stephen Pacheco. “Once it’s moved over, it’ll be difficult to send somebody over there all the time.” The 103,000-square-foot, 52-foottall courthouse is over budget and past the deadline for completion. The original $38.1 million budget for construction has ballooned to $63 million, partly due to extra work necessary to alleviate a petroleum plume beneath the new building. It was originally scheduled to be ready by the first of this year. In addition, Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the first appropriation for furniture and equipment. Pacheco said Monday that a $775,000 appropriation from the 2013 Legislature will provide for the last pieces of furniture and equipment needed for the new courthouse, but because purchasing requests must be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts, some of the furniture from the old courthouse will
From left, Susana Atilno and Blanca Escobedo with Evercleen Inc. clean the new First Judicial District Court on Monday. The Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex is slated to open June 10. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Please see TRANSITION, Page A-4
Second man killed ‘pendulum swinging’ SALT LAKE CITY — The high-risk sport of swinging wildly on ropes through canyon and arch openings in southern Utah has left a second man dead in little more than a month. Adam Jason Weber fell about 100 feet to a canyon floor after taking a swing. Weber, 32, of the Salt Lake City area, apparently was refastening his harness onto a separate rappel line from the swing rope when “something happened,” Grand County Sheriff’s Lt. Kim Neal said. “All we can say is we have a lot of this — it goes with climbing and rappelling,” Neal said Monday. “Some
Index
Calendar A-2
$23B
Amount states lost last year because they couldn’t collect taxes on out-ofstate sales
Former Gov. Carruthers tapped to lead NMSU The Associated Press
The New Mexican
The Associated Press
Internet sales in the U.S. last year, up 16 percent from the previous year
Business dean since ’03 chosen as president
By Tom Sharpe
By Paul Foy
$226B
people are careful, but they need to be extremely cautious.” Utah has banned the activity by commercial outfitters on state trust lands, leaving so-called pendulum swingers on their own. Sunday’s death occurred in Day Canyon, about seven miles west of Moab. It wasn’t immediately clear where on Utah’s checkerboard of state and federal lands Weber was swinging. Neal said a group of experienced climbers spent days stretching an aircraft-grade cable 600 feet across Day Canyon, and that a handful of them had swung successfully from that metal cable before Weber and a
Classifieds B-7
Comics B-12
Lotteries A-2
woman took a plunge. The woman was left stranded by Weber’s fall, but other friends helped her rappel to the canyon floor. On March 19, Kyle Lee Stocking crashed into the sandstone base of Corona Arch near Moab only a few miles to the east of Day Canyon. Stocking, 22, of Moab left too much loose rope when he clipped into his waist harness, Neal said. Pendulum swinging is a relatively new form of recreation in Utah’s canyon lands. The sport has taken a boost from YouTube. One video titled “World’s Largest Rope Swing” has racked up more than 20 million views since it was posted in February.
Opinions A-10
Police notes A-8
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Elizabeth Lauer, ehlauer@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-1
LAS CRUCES — Former Republican Gov. Garrey Carruthers was selected Monday as the new president of New Mexico State University. The NMSU Board of Regents voted 3-2 for Carruthers to lead the state’s second-largest fouryear university. Carruthers has been dean of NMSU’s College of Business since 2003. Garrey Carruthers He was governor from 1987 to 1990. Carruthers holds a doctorate degree in economics from Iowa State University. He received master’s and bachelor’s degrees from NMSU, and served as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Interior Department from 1981 to 1984. Two regents supported Daniel Howard, who left NMSU in 2008 to become dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences at the University of Colorado at Denver. Howard was a biology professor at NMSU and joined the faculty in 1988. Other finalists were former Texas Tech University president Guy Bailey; former University of Nevada, Las Vegas, President David Ashley; and former Texas A&M University President Elsa Murano. Barbara Couture resigned as NMSU president last fall without explanation after fewer than three years in the job. Former University of Missouri system president Manuel Pacheco has been serving as interim president. NMSU’s main campus has an enrollment of more than 17,000 students and a yearly budget of more than $600 million. The university also has branch campuses in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Grants and at Doña Ana Community College.
Please see NMSU, Page A-4
Bombing suspect’s friend released from jail Friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is released on $100,000 bond. Meanwhile, burial plans for the other suspect remain unclear. PAgE A-3
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Jazz and Afro-Cuban Ensembles SFUAD Contemporary Music Department’s students, 7 p.m., outdoors at the Quad Bandshell, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive, no charge, 473-6196.
Time Out A-12
Local Business C-1
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Obituaries Sharon K. Gurule, 55, May 1 Thomas Romero PAgE A-8
Today Partly sunny and warmer. High 73, low 41. PAgE A-9
Three sections, 28 pages 164th year, No. 127 Publication No. 596-440