Birthday No. 95 is one wild ride Jury: Zimmerman not guilty for Florence Dickerson Neighbors, C-5 in Trayvon Martin’s death Page A-3
Sunday, July 14, 2013
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Cuts may hike costs, jeopardize justice Experts say federal public defender layoffs in state will lead to greater caseloads, pricey private attorneys
By Anne Constable The New Mexican
The Office of the Federal Public Defender might have to lay off up to 15 lawyers and other staff in New Mexico because of additional budget cuts in the coming year. The agency, which defends poor people charged with federal crimes,
Group links nuke workers with aid
government more money because more cases will be turned over to higher-paid private attorneys. “The Federal Public Defender Office has been tightening its belt for many years. It is a lean organization,” said Barbara Mandel, president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. “It’s not overspending. It’s not wasteful. [Cutting its budget fur-
already has unfilled vacancies due to the automatic federal budget cuts known as sequestration. Training money has been eliminated. And staff have had to take eight days of unpaid leave. The last Friday furlough in the current fiscal year is scheduled for July 19. Federal public defenders and other defense lawyers say the cuts are shortsighted and might end up costing the
ther] is penny wise and pound foolish.” Attorney Margaret Strickland, a former prosecutor and now a private attorney in Las Cruces who represents some of these clients, said, “The deep sequestration cuts to the New Mexico Federal Public Defender Office will hurt our justice system’s ability to protect constitutional
Please see JUsTICE, Page A-5
Put your money where your heart is — but ensure your dollars deliver results
Guide to savvy giving Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Cold War Patriots helps ailing lab retirees navigate claims process
Robert Kret, director: $299,298 Revenue: $8.79 million Expenses: $8.33 million
By Dennis Carroll
For The New Mexican
Abel Herrera, 77, of Medanales worked for more than 20 years, first as a custodian and later as an animal caretaker, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is now hooked up to an oxygen tank to help him breathe. It took several years, but Herrera, who suffers from several lung diseases, eventually qualified for compensation and medical coverage under federal legislation enacted in 2000 to assist ailing former workers and contractors at the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities. “We had to prove exposure to hazardous [materials],” said his wife, Priscella. “It was very difficult.”
*FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 2011
Santa Fe Opera Charles MacKay, general director:
WildEarth Guardians John Horning, executive director Director’s salary: $62,806 Nonprofit’s revenue: $1.78 million Expenses: $1.75 million
Please see nUKE, Page A-4
JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
nOnPrOFIT FInAnCEs
Audit firm’s findings in N. Carolina ‘overstated’
Does it deliver?
T
“I think what counts for an institution is, does it deliver the services it promises to deliver?” said Robert Glick, president and CEO of the St. Vincent Hospital Foundation. “That applies to an opera company, as [well as] to a health care foundation, as [well as] to a homeless shelter. For me, personally, the question always is, is this mission important and do they deliver on it?” You can find that out many ways. u Review public information and marketing materials — annual reports and program books, season brochures and project updates. Is the language clear and concise? Is the service obvious? Do numbers served seem reasonable? Do the donor lists indicate a broad range of support? u Speak with friends and family who know the organization. What kind of history does it have in providing services? Do staff interact well with the public? What’s the word about the board of directors, on the q.t.? And ask your confidants why they support the group. Speak to clients or people who use the services, too. u Don’t only attend public events, such as concerts,
hey never stop coming, whether by mail, email or phone: Solicitations for hundreds of supposedly worthy causes. Respond to one, and you’re trapped on lists like a butterfly pinned to board — and just try to get off. Tossing appeals from groups whose programs don’t interest you is one thing. But how about a local notfor-profit whose work you see or hear about regularly, and whose mission tugs your heartstrings? You want to help, but you want to be an intelligent giver, too. Where do you start? The obvious place is the group’s mission. You give to what you’re most interested in, and where you believe your gift will make a difference. If you’re devoted to animals, you’ll support groups that help them. If arts and culture interest you, you’ll focus on whichever genre pleases you the most. The same holds true for education, humanities, environmental causes and religion: Giving goes where the heart is. And that’s usually to IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. Being a generous giver doesn’t mean you should be a walkover. Do some research to go with your check or credit-card gift, and use common sense.
The New Mexican
The Boston-based company that found $36 million in Medicaid overpayments to 15 New Mexico behavioral health providers — and claimed evidence of fraud by the companies — did a similar study with similar results in North Carolina. However, the North Carolina state auditor last year found some of the findings against those providers were overstated, and the figures reported by Public Consulting Group were “not proven to be reliable.”
Please see AUDIT, Page A-5
North toppled by South A Silver High alum lifts the South to victory in Saturday’s heated Class AA/AAA All-Star contest. sPOrTs, D-1
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds E-9
NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTOS
By Craig Smith
For The New Mexican
By Steve Terrell
*FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 2011
u A look at finances and executive pay of several Santa Fe-area nonprofit organizations. PAgE A-4
*FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 2011
$298,328 Revenue: $20 million Expenses: $18.7 million
Lotteries A-2
Please see gIVIng, Page A-4
Obituaries
Folk Art Market welcomes new faces New artisans, a larger crowd and a newborn add to the excitement at Museum Hill. LOCAL nEws, C-1
Neighbors C-5
Opinion B-1
Police notes C-3
Pauline Duran Lopez, 86, Santa Fe, July 5
Ellen B. Cain, 90, Dallas, July 1 Marie Oglevie, 94, July 7 Paul David Craighead, 59, Richard Royea, Santa Fe, July 8 50, June 6 Dolores M. Stella Andrea Hopkins, 61, Salazar, 80, Santa Fe, July 10 July 9 Valentin B. Stanley Berne Martinez, 81, July 4 PAgE C-2
Real Estate E-1
Interim Editor: Bruce Krasnow, 986-3034, bkrasnow@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Cynthia Miller, cmiller@sfnewmexican.com
Sports D-1
whAT Is A nOnPrOFIT? FROM THE IRS WEBSITE: The exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals. The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erecting or maintaining public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Today Partly cloudy. High 90, low 60. PAgE D-6
Time Out/puzzles C-6
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Chamber Music Festival The season opens with Tchaikovsky & Russian Romance, 6 p.m., St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., santafechambermusic.com.
Six sections, 76 pages 164th year, No. 195 Publication No. 596-440