The Santa Fe New Mexican, July 13, 2013

Page 1

Downtown city workers fawn over baby deer Local News, A-5

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Locally owned and independent

www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢

Judge weighs arguments in ‘neglect’ case Lawyer for owners of St. Kate’s says city failed to prove code violations By Julie Ann Grimm The New Mexican

Municipal Judge Ann Yalman is weighing the city of Santa Fe’s first attempt to prosecute a property owner for “demolition by neglect.”

Both the City Attorney’s Office and a lawyer for the company that owns the vacant St. Catherine Indian School campus filed written closing arguments in the case last month, and the judge said July 9 that she isn’t sure how long it will take to issue a ruling. Nearly a year ago, the city asked the court to order that all historic buildings on the campus undergo improvements that meet the city’s “minimum maintenance standards”

and to levy fines of $500 per day for at least 365 days, amounting to $182,500. Deputy City Attorney Alfred Walker also wants Yalman to require that the landowner immediately erect fencing around the entire 18-acre property and to board and lock all its windows and doors. James Polk, who is both an investor in New Mexico Consolidated Construction Services and an attorney for the company, wrote in his closing

argument that in two days of testimony by witnesses, the city failed to prove any code violations. His main argument is that a city inspector and others only addressed campus conditions from a March visit and did not have knowledge of whether repairs were conducted. “Testimony as to the condition of St. Catherine’s Indian School six months before the limitations period began cannot be used to commence a

‘continuing’ violation,” he wrote. City witnesses produced photographs and testimony during the trial in an attempt to show that the landowner violated rules about the upkeep of culturally significant properties by allowing leaky roofs, unsecured doors and broken windows, cracking stucco and other apparent defects, Walker wrote, also urging the judge to ignore Polk’s claims that the repairs are

Please see WeIgHS, Page A-4

Hospital execs say state OK’d staffing levels

EL BORDER CLASSICO COLORADO RAPIDS VS. CLUB SANTOS LAGUNA

Department of Health says survey process is not complete at Christus By Phaedra Haywood

The New Mexican

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center administrators are spreading the news that state officials have tossed out a complaint by the hospital’s nurses about dangerously low staffing levels — even though the Health Department says it hasn’t finished reviewing the situation. The Heath Department began a site survey of staffing levels at Christus St. Vincent on Monday, based on a June complaint by the local branch of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. The nurses allege staffing has reached a “critical” level at the hospital. Hospital spokesman Arturo Delgado said Health Department surveyors left Thursday. On their way out, he said, they indicated everything was fine. The

Please see HOSPITAL, Page A-4

District to track kids who ride buses via new GPS cards

ABOVE: Justin Masudi, 14, of Albuquerque takes a shot during a street soccer game Friday before Mexico’s Club Santos Laguna played against Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids in an exhibition game at University Stadium in Albuquerque. ‘We’ve had our eye on Albuquerque and New Mexico for a while,’ said Ricci Greenwood, a Seattle-based sports marketing agent who put the international match together. ‘With the proximity to the Rapids’ fan base in Colorado and with Mexico just south of here, I think there’s potential for a lot of fans to come out and support both clubs.’

By Robert Nott The New Mexican

When school starts Aug. 14, students who ride the bus will be carrying radio frequency identification device cards — known as RFIDs. The cards will allow district officials, and parents, to find out if a student is on the right bus — or on the bus at all. The cards can be monitored through the district transportation department’s GPS system. “The main concern here is the safety and security of children, and that starts the moment they get on the bus,” said transportation director David Perez. “We want to account for these children in real time, so if parents call and say, ‘My kid is not home,’ we can log on our website and through their RFID card find out if they are on the bus, off the bus, or if the bus is just running late. We can pinpoint it down to an exact

RIGHT: Club Santos Laguna fans cheer Friday during the exhibition at University Stadium. PHOTOS BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO THE NEW MEXICAN

InSIde u Guerreros don’t disappoint fans in victory over Colorado. SPORTS B-1

Please see TRAcK, Page A-4

Depp’s interest in Wounded Knee stirs Natives

Window to the brain Mission to improve sight for visually impaired advances with bionic eye. LIFe & ScIence, A-9

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

ART Santa Fe 2013 International contemporary art expo; 11 a.m.-6 p.m., through Sunday. Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St., $10, 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org.

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds B-5

Today

‘Lone Ranger’ star said to be in talks to buy S.D. landmark

Some sun. High 90, low 63.

By Kristi Eaton

PAge A-12

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — For months, questions have swirled about whether developers, activists or tribes would be willing to plunk down millions to buy a portion of the Wounded Knee National Historic Landmark. Now there’s a new potential buyer in the mix: Johnny Depp. But is the star of The Lone

Obituaries Paul David Craighead , 58, Santa Fe, July 8 PAge A-10

Comics B-12

The Associated Press

Lotteries A-2

Opinions A-11

Ranger really preparing to be the one who buys the property where hundreds of Native Americans were Johnny Depp killed? Or is it just the latest rumor in the contentious debate over the landmark’s future? Depp touched off the story when he told London’s Daily Mail newspaper that he is working to buy a piece of the land-

Police notes A-10

Interim Editor: Bruce Krasnow, 986-3034, bkrasnow@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Carlos A. López, clopez@sfnewmexican.com

Please see STIRS, Page A-4

Sports B-1

Time Out B-11

A historical marker commemorates the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 on a road near the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wounded Knee, S.D. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Life & Science A-9

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010

Two sections, 24 pages TV Book, 32 pages 164th year, No. 194 Publication No. 596-440


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