Santa Fe New Mexican, Nov. 17, 2014

Page 1

More parents say no to standardized testing Educcationn, A-8

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Monday, November 17, 2014

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Outdated pot citations tossed in ciity court Smokers can still face criminal charges under state law, judge warns By Daniel J. Chacón The New Mexican

Pot smokers cited by Santa Fe police since Sept. 10 for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana or marijuana para-

Make no mistake, it’s time for new leadership

phernalia under an old city law are getting off the hook. Even though the Santa Fe City Council decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana as of Sept. 10, police continued to issue criminal citations under the old misdemeanor ordinance. Now the city judge says she is tossing out such cases because she no longer has jurisdiction. Part of the problem, according to

a police department spokeswoman, is that the city still hasn’t printed up new forms for charging violators with a civil infraction instead of a criminal violation. And some officers might not have been aware of the change. “Our officers have been made aware of the change,” police spokeswoman Lt. Andrea Dobyns said Friday. “And we have training scheduled with the City Attorney’s Office.”

a Cour urt Judge A An nn Yal alman a Mu icipal said Friday she has been dismissing the citations because the City Council adopted an ordinance Aug. 27, which took effect Sept. 10, that makes possession of small amounts of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia a civil infraction punishable by a $25 fine. The council’s decision to adopt the

Please see TOSSED, Page A-4

Rail Runner schedules test stops at Zia Road

N

ew Mexico House Speaker Kenny Martinez had at least nine lives, and he didn’t even use them all before surrendering the last vestige of his power. Martinez survived without a scratch after presiding over one of the most shameful episodes in the history of state government. First, he shut down debate Milan in the House of Simonich Representatives Ringside Seat on a last-second bill to cut various taxes on businesses. After that, he ignored those members who said the legislative session had already expired and that the bill had no financial analysis, normally standard for tax proposals. Then, Martinez and his cohorts rammed through the tax cuts for corporations, television production companies and certain manufacturers. That bill, approved in 2013, passed down costs for the tax breaks to cities and counties. The domino effect meant tax increases at the local level for many in New Mexico. Other fallout was just as ugly. Intel Corp. received the tax break, then cut 400 jobs in New Mexico. Martinez, 55, of Grants, lost credibility with some of his fellow Democrats after his power play, but his hold on the speaker’s chair was never in danger, at least not until this month’s election. Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 60 years. With that historic shift, Martinez realized the new speaker would be one of the rival Republicans, the same people he did

Please see RINGSIDE, Page A-4

Today

Hoops: Lobos beat Cal State Fullerton The Lobos improve to 2-0 heading into next week’ss tourna ent in Puerto Rico. SPORTS, B-1

Vote on license law illustrates divide Decision in Oregon highlights potential political perils of immigration reform. PAGE A-10

Obama confirms militants killed 3rd American Video contains notable differences from group’s previous executions By Rukmini Callimachi The New York Times

get live traffic counts, as opposed to computer-generated data. “I’m hearing it from a lot of constituents throughout the city that they want it open,” the south-side councilor said. “I myself want it open.” City officials have approved the concept of using the Zia Station as a “kiss-and-ride” train stop without parking for commuters, but the city and owners of land adjoining the unused station have been waiting for state officials to make a decision on putting it to use. “It’s already been built,” Trujillo noted. “What are we doing to do? Are we just going to leave it there to rot?”

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Islamic State militants released a chilling videotape Sunday showing they had beheaded a fifth Western hostage, an American aid worker the group had threatened to kill in retaliation for airstrikes carried out by the United States in Iraq and Syria. President Barack Obama on Sunday confirmed the death of the aid worker, Peter Kassig, a former Army Ranger who disappeared more than a year ago at a checkpoint in northeastern Syria while delivering medical supplies. Kassig “was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group,” Obama said in a statement from aboard Air Force One that was read to the news media in Washington. In recent days, U.S. intelligence agencies received strong indications that the Islamic State had killed Kassig. The president’s announcement was the first official confirmation of his death. “Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter,” Obama’s statement said. The president used the Muslim name that Kassig adopted after his capture, making the point that the Islamic State had killed a fellow Muslim. He acknowledged the “anguish at this painful time” felt by Kassig’s family. The footage in the video released Sunday was of poorer quality than some of the group’s previous, slickly produced execution videos.

Please see TEST, Page A-4

Please see KILLED, Page A-5

A faded ‘station closed’ sign can be seen through the chain-link fence surrounding the Zia Road Rail Runner stop at the southwest corner of Zia Road and St. Francis Drive. The station has sat idle for more than five years since it was built at a cost of $1 million. CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN

Live simulation to help officials improve timing, traffic signals By Daniel J. Chacón The New Mexican

xpect the Rail Runner Express to make stops next month at the Zia Road station, which has sat idle and fenced off for more than five years since it was built at a cost of $1 million. But the commuter train still won’t be picking up or dropping off passengers, just doing a live simulation to monitor traffic patterns. “The train will actually stop at the station at what would be its scheduled stop,” Keith Wilson, senior planner at the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, said Friday. Planners want to test potential improvements to the phasing of

E

traffic signals at the busy intersection of Zia and St. Francis Drive, Wilson said. “The overarching issue is when the train stops at the station, the gates have to remain down across Zia Road,” he said. “The cumulative time of that is about three, threeand-a-half minutes that the gates are down. So we’re trying to test some signal phasing ideas so that once the train departs the station and the gates come back up, we can alleviate the delays on Zia Road as much as possible.” The live simulation couldn’t come any sooner for City Councilor Ron Trujillo, who has been advocating a trial run to see how the station could operate. He said he wanted it tested during the school year to

Sunny, but cold. High 39, low 14. PAGE A-12

Obituaries Catlain E. Dearden, Nov. 6 PAGE A-10

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

Bill Hearne Local country artist, 7:30 p.m., no cover charge, La Fiesta Lounge at La Fonda, 100 E. San Francisco St. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds B-6

Report finds child homelessness on rise in U.S. Nearly 2.5 million youth affected at some point in 2013 By David Crary and Lisa Leff The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — The number of homeless children in the U.S. has surged in recent years to an all-time high, amounting to one child in every 30, according to a comprehensive state-bystate report that blames the nation’s high poverty rate, the lack of affordable housing and the impacts of pervasive domestic violence.

Comics B-12

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

Crosswords B-7, B-11

Titled “America’s Youngest Outcasts,” the report being issued Monday by the National Center on Family Homelessness calculates that nearly 2.5 million American children were homeless at some point in 2013. The number is based on the Department of Education’s latest count of 1.3 million homeless children in public schools, supplemented by estimates of homeless preschool children not counted by the DOE. The problem is particularly severe in California, which has one-eighth of the U.S. population but accounts

Education A-8

for more than one-fifth of the homeless children with a tally of nearly 527,000. Carmela DeCandia, director of the national center and a co-author of the report, noted that the federal government has made progress in reducing homelessness among veterans and chronically homeless adults. “The same level of attention and resources has not been targeted to help families and children,” she said. “As a society, we’re going to pay a high price, in human and economic terms.”

Please see RISE, Page A-4

Life & Science A-9 El Nuevo A-7

Opinions A-11

Melody, 4, makes a paper whale in June after listening to a story about whales during story time at Transition House, a homeless shelter in Santa Barbara, Calif. A new report says nearly 2.5 million American kids were homeless at some point in 2013. TRANSITION HOUSE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sports B-1 Time Out B-11

BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM

Two sections, 24 pages 165th year, No. 321 Publication No. 596-440


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