The Santa Fe New Mexican, Nov. 21, 2013

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Hooked on salmon snagging: Anglers descend on Heron Lake Outdoors, B-5

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Thursday, November 21, 2013

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PRC eases renewable energy rules By Staci Matlock

Change in value of clean-power credits aids utilities; activist says it will ‘gut’ state’s new standards

The New Mexican

In a split vote Wednesday, New Mexico utility regulators approved changes to the state’s renewable energy rule, infuriating advocates who say the decision will hurt a blossoming solar industry. The state Public Regulation Commission altered a rule that commissioners had approved less than a year ago. It dictates how much solar, wind and other renew-

Study: Bigger cities likely to be more gay-friendly

able energy sources utilities can add to their portfolios without costing customers an exorbitant amount of money. Hidden in the rule’s technicalities are factors affecting how the costs and benefits of renewable energy stack up against nonrenewable, less clean sources of electricity, such as coal and natural gas. On Wednesday, the commission voted 3-2 to change the value of the Renewable Energy Certificates issued for electricity produced from

solar and other renewable energy resources. They also changed the way utilities can calculate the costs and benefits of renewable energy, adding in costs that some regulators claim have been hidden. Utilities use Renewable Energy Certificates to prove to regulators that they are providing the amount of solar, wind and other types of renewable energy required under the state’s Renewable Portfolio

Please see PRC, Page A-4

Hydrogen cars are on the way

New designs are expected to put electric cars to the test. PAGE A-2

Dog owner pleads Man’s pack killed a pony and a goat in an attack this year. LOCAL,A-6

5th Dem officially enters gov. race Lawrence Rael cites more than 30 years in government jobs. LOCAL, A-6

Teachers: Bring back the joy

Conservative Phoenix gets perfect 100; Santa Fe gets 78% By Reid Wilson The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest cities are most likely to have laws that benefit gays and lesbians, while smaller cities and those in the South are least likely to accommodate homosexuals, according to a new survey. And in red states, where gay-rights advocates have been rebuffed in state legislatures, liberal cities are proving more fertile territory for antidiscrimination and partner benefit legislation. The Municipal Equality Index, published Tuesday by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation Institute, rates cities on a host of gay-rights issues using a 100-point scale. The city of Santa Fe earned 78 points, while the nearby Eldorado subdivision, scored as a separate entity, scored just 42 points. The groups hope to use the report to entice lower-scoring cities to improve their laws. “Cities really respond to the competition,” said Cathryn Oakley, an attorney at the Human Rights CamBernice García-Baca, left, president of the Santa Fe chapter of the National Education Association, leads a protest Wednesday at the Jerry Apodaca Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar Ave. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

Please see STUDY, Page A-4

MUNICIPAL QUALITY INDEX Santa Fe scored 78 out of 100 points. For more results, see Page A-4 or visit www.hrc.org/ campaigns/ municipalequality-index

Rally draws attention to discontent over state and district reforms about 80 other educators and supporters in a rally outside the Public Education Department offices in Santa Fe on Wednesday afternoon. Many carried signs that read, “Stop Blaming Teachers,” and “Take Back the Joy of Learning,” among other slogans. St. Clair’s handmade sign read, “Our Kids Have Lost Their Lives,” suggesting children now spend more time testing than playing. She noted that most of the participants were wearing black, as if in mourning for their careers.

By Robert Nott The New Mexican

t’s all about the demise of creativity and joy in the classroom, Jennifer St. Clair said. In her 21 years of teaching in New Mexico public schools, she’s never seen teacher morale so low. Teachers fear for their jobs, she said. The special education teacher at Santa Fe’s Wood Gormley Elementary School joined

I

JFK ASSASSINATION 5OTH ANNIVERSARY

A half-century later, Americans still doubt Oswald acted alone Conspiracy theories thrive as new books examine tragic moment in nation’s history By Maria Recio McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Who killed JFK? Fifty years after the slaying of the nation’s 35th president, that’s still a provocative question for many. Conspiracy theories began swirling almost immediately after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and have never really stopped. A spate of new books re-exam-

Index

Calendar A-2

ining that moment in anticipation of the 50th anniversary has revived some theories, tried to squelch others and found intriguing new details of botched investigations or deliberate concealment by authorities. There’s a ready audience: 61 percent of the American people believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in killing the president, according to the most recent Gallup poll, released Friday. While the percentage of those who believe in a conspiracy is the lowest since the late 1960s, it confirms the public’s

Classifieds B-7

Comics A-12

Lotteries A-2

ongoing doubts about the “lone gunman” theory. The likely conspirators? The poll found that 13 percent believe the Mafia and 13 percent

Opinion A-11

Please see DOUBT, Page A-5

INSIDE u Details of the Kennedy shooting and investigation, which still leave doubts. PAGE A-5

u Obama honors JFK.

Teacher unions across the state, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, organized similar afternoon rallies in Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Carlsbad and other communities, said NEA representative Paul Sanchez. The rallies, he said, are designed to “bring attention to the fact that teachers want to bring back the joy of learning.” Teachers have been

Want to get healthier? Just get nuts New study says nut eaters are less likely to die from disease. PAGE A-4

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

‘The Secret War’ Monologist Mike Daisey’s new work explores national security, privacy and freedom, 7 p.m., the Lensic, $10 and $20, ticketssantafe.org, 988-1234, encore Nov. 23. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo

Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Cynthia Miller, cmiller@sfnewmexican.com

Sports B-1

Obituaries Talea Scheffler, 87, Nov. 4 Thomas Laban Yoder, 64, Nov. 17 Leon Aron Mellow, 72, Nov. 14 Danielle Christine

Atkinson May, 46, Nov. 14 Javier Jose Ortega, 34, Nov. 16 Jennifer Leanna Martinez, 24, Nov. 18 PAGE A-10

Today Partly cloudy. High 54, low 32. PAGE B-6

PAGE A-4

Police notes A-10

Please see TEACHERS, Page A-4

Time Out A-8

Scoop A-9

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

Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 325 Publication No. 596-440


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