Region offers hiking, sledding opportunities for nonskiers Outdoors, B-5
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Thursday, December 26, 2013
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Ruling could be good for business
Where’s that gift?
The state Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage could turn New Mexico into a wedding destination. PAGE A-6
Shipping problems at UPS and FedEx cause delivery delays. PAGE A-2
Francis shares Christmas wish for the world
Answering duty’s call For emergency dispatchers, holiday is business as usual
In his first Chrismas message as pontiff, the pope prayed for battered women, trafficked children, refugees and expressed hope for peace in the Middle East and Africa. PAGE A-2
Drivers see fracking’s impact at the pump Retail gas prices in New Mexico are among lowest in the country By Bruce Krasnow The New Mexican
It wasn’t that long ago when gas station owners such as Charley Brewer of Santa Fe were being accused of price fixing by state officials who claimed in court filings that gas prices were artificially inflated. Today, retail gasoline prices in the state are among the lowest in the country because New Mexico sits amid the inland refinery transportation routes that are the backbone of an economy that is producing more domestic crude oil. “The statewide average in New Mexico is now 21 cents less than the national average of $3.21. Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed, drivers in Santa Fe are paying the most at $2.99 and drivers in Albuquerque are paying the least at $2.90,” reports AAA New Mexico. “The resolution of production concerns along the Gulf Coast and limited seasonal demand between Thanksgiving and the Year-End holidays both contributed to the falling gas price
Please see PUMP, Page A-4
Eddie Lumb, one of Santa Fe County’s dispatchers, answers emergency phone calls on Wednesday at the Regional Emergency Communications Center. KATHARINE EGLI/FOR THE NEW MEXICAN NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO
By Uriel J. Garcia The New Mexican
I
t’s 10 a.m. on Christmas Day, and police dispatcher Roberto Lujan gets a call about an elderly man found dead in his home, apparently from natural causes. Lujan gets another call. This one’s from a man slurring his words, saying someone has broken into “Guadalajara.” The man hangs up without giving more details. “We get calls like these all the time,” says
Lujan, 28, at the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center. A call comes in from a mother claiming her child has bruises all over his face. She says the boy told her that his father’s friend had punched the boy in the face because the man thought he was drinking a beer. The woman says her son was only drinking a Coke. A sheriff’s deputy is sent to get a report. “That was a sad call,” Lujan says. While much of the city took Christmas Day off, it was business as usual at the dis-
patch center on the south end of town off N.M. 14. Phones were buzzing with calls — some serious, some pranks. The nine dispatchers there, including two in training, worked a 12-hour shift starting at 6 a.m. They sacrificed their holiday to help route first responders to emergency situations. Even dispatchers who got the day off had to be ready to report to work — just in case they were called in, Lujan said. The center can never be understaffed. The minimum
Laura Brenner, left, laughs with adopted daughter Ketia Brenner, 9, in their Seattle home on Jan. 18, 2011. Ketia was adopted in the wake of the massive January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
The Associated Press
Amid partisan conflict in Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both parties — including staunch liberals and conservatives — have united behind a bill that supporters say addresses a heart-rending issue beyond politics: the millions of foreign children languishing in orphanages or otherwise at risk because they have no immediate family. The bill would encourage more adoptions of foreign orphans, which have declined steadily in recent years, and reflects impatience with current policies overseen by the State Department. “Every child needs and deserves to grow up in a family,” says the bill’s chief advocate, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “While our foreign policy has done much to keep children
Index
Calendar A-2
ELAINE THOMPSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
alive and healthy, it has not prioritized this basic human right.” Titled the Children in Families First Act, the measure has been introduced in slightly different forms in both the Senate and House. Its co-sponsors range from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a hero of the Democratic left, to Rep. Michele Bachmann,
Classifieds B-6
Comics A-12
Cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline the week of Dec. 19: United States: $3.21
Colorado: $3.04
Oklahoma: $2.94
Arizona: $3.14
New Mexico: $3.00
Nevada: $3.27
Texas: $3.03
SOURCE: AAA NEW MEXICO
Please see HOLIDAY, Page A-4
Bill aims to boost foreign adoptions By David Crary
AVERAGE GAS PRICE
R-Minn., a favorite of tea party conservatives. “It’s not a slam dunk, but it is very possible,” Landrieu said of the bill’s chances. “We need voices from all parts of the political spectrum to make a change that many of us think is extremely important.”
Today Mostly sunny. High 44, low 21. PAGE B-12
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Glow Special outdoor lighting event running Thursday-Saturday through Jan. 4, with an exhibit by ceramic sculptor Christy Hengst, 5-8 p.m., Santa Fe Botanical Garden, 725 Camino Lejo; $8, children 12 and under no charge; santafebotanicalgarden.org, 471-9103. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Health care issues divide Republican Senate rivals as primaries near By Bill Barrow The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Republicans see the 2014 midterm elections as a chance to capitalize on voter frustration with the problem-plagued health care overhaul, but the GOP first must settle a slate of Senate primaries where conservatives are arguing over the best way to oppose President Barack Obama’s signature law. In intraparty skirmishes from Georgia to Nebraska, the GOP’s most strident candidates and activists are insisting on a no-holds-barred approach. They accuse fellow Republicans — including several incumbent senators — of being too soft in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act and to the president in general. The outcomes will help determine just how conservative the Senate Republican caucus will be during Obama’s final two years. And they could influence which party controls the chamber, with Democrats
Please see BOOST, Page A-4
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-11
Police notes A-10
Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
Please see DIVIDE, Page A-4
Sports B-1
Time Out A-8
Outdoors B-5
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 360 Publication No. 596-440