Santa Fe New Mexican, Dec. 29, 2013

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Locally owned and independent

Sunday, December 29, 2013

www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25

‘Journal’ to slash print klly frequency, publish weekly

You don’t find folklore sitting at a desk in Santa Fe. You’ve got to go out into the communities, to celebrations and fiestas, to churches, to bars.”

State to lose longtime folklorist at year’s end New Mexico’s official cultural preservationist retiring from little-known post after 23 years The New Mexican

Claude Stephenson was having lunch recently in Santa Fe when the conversation turned to which place in San Antonio, N.M., had the best green chile cheeseburger, the Owl Bar & Cafe or the Buckhorn Taven. Stephenson argued for the Buckhorn, for its food as well as its ambiance. He noted that owner Bobby Olguin — whose family has operated the tavern for generations — is not just a good cook, but a musician as well. “I’m the state folklorist,” Stephenson said. “I know where all

Some who live above 8,000 feet find the elevation exacerbates health issues. PAGE C-1

The Albuquerque Journal will cease printing its Tuesday-through-Sunday northern edition in February, several sources say. LOCAL NEWS, C-1

Claude Stephenson, state folklorist

By Steve Terrell

Altitude and age don’t mix

the colorful characters are.” Stephenson, a native of Alamogordo, undoubtedly always will know where the colorful characters — and the great food — are. But after the end of the year, he’ll no longer have the title of state folklorist. After 23 years of working at that job, Stephenson, 61, is retiring. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what a “state folklorist” is. Before he got the job and a friend first tipped him off that there was an opening for the position, Stephenson said his first reaction was: “There’s a job like that?”

2014 MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Mayor’s race hinges on rivals’ game plans Close on key issues, candidates pressed to present standout strategies

Please see FOLKLORE, Page A-4

Boy Scouts from the Chief Seattle Council carry U.S. flags as they prepare to march in the Gay Pride Parade in downtown Seattle in June. The Boy Scouts of America, in the most contentious change of membership policy in its 103-year history, will accept openly gay youths in 2014. ELAINE THOMPSON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Scouts prepare to open ranks to gay youth Jan. 1 By David Crary and Nomaan Merchant The Associated Press

The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year’s Day, a historic change that has prompted the organization to ponder a host of potential complications — ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades. Despite their be-prepared approach, however, Scout leaders are rooting for the change to

be a non-event, comparable to another New Year’s Day in 2000, when widespread fears of digitalclock chaos to start the new millennium proved unfounded. “My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1 as the Y2K scare,” said Brad Haddock, a Boy Scouts national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee. “It’s business as usual, nothing happens and we move forward.” Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units

Please see SCOUTS, Page A-5

Today

Smart homes

Partly sunny and colder. High 37, low 21.

Wireless options let homeowners control just about everything inside. REAL ESTATE, E-1

PAGE C-8

Obituaries Monique Cene Amador, 26, Santa Fe, Dec. 25 James Harm Beverwyk, 68, Lyden, Dec. 24 Pedro Garcia, 65, Rio Rancho, Dec. 20 Sylvia R. Gonzales, 87, Santa Fe, Dec. 24 John James Lujan, 84, Tesuque, Dec. 25 Juan D. Romero, 80, Tesuque, Dec. 24

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

A Holiday Circus Cabaret Local circus arts and puppetry troupe Wise Fool New Mexico, 2 and 4 p.m., Wise Fool Studio, 2778-D Aqua Fría St., $10-$20 sliding scale, ages 12 and under $7, brownpapertickets.com, 992-2588.

NEW MEXICAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

By Daniel J. Chacón The New Mexican

he Santa Fe mayor’s race has gotten off to a contentious start, with candidates slinging barbs at one another over various allegations of campaign finance abuse. But as those attacks have failed to take hold, many voters are still waiting to hear how the rivals will address pressing issues in the city. It’s perhaps no surprise that all three candidates in the race — Patti Bushee, Bill Dimas and Javier Gonzales — think a vibrant economy and more jobs would be good for the city. And none is advocating for fewer cops and more crime. All three say they want better schools, too. Although they would have no direct authority over the public education system, it would not behoove a mayoral candidate to remain silent on the city’s dismal high school graduation rate. And no one is saying they want less water, either. In fact, Dimas

T

From left, Javier Gonzales, Patti Bushee and Bill Dimas.

promises “abundant water” in his campaign literature and jokes that he may call on his deceased father to perform a rain dance in heaven to make it pour. With all three candidates not so far apart on the issues, the defining difference among them may not be the “what” but the “how.” “I notice when I hear them talking, they say, ‘Oh yeah, we need to have apple pie and rainbows and unicorns.’ Well, of course we do. But what are you going to do to actually start an apple pie factory? What are you going to do to recruit unicorns and rainbows to Santa Fe?” Simon Brackley, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, said Friday. “I want to hear some commitment and vision from them rather than lists of ways the community could be better. That’s not leadership,” he said. The candidates have had help defining the issues. Not only have they been hearing directly from voters in their grass-

roots campaigns, there has been polling, too. A poll commissioned earlier this year by the chamber, the Santa Fe Association of Realtors and the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association found that voters identified the top issue in the race as the economy and jobs. Crime, public safety, water supply and conservation all tied in second place. A separate poll commissioned by ProgressiveNow New Mexico, a liberal-leaning Albuquerque group, also listed water protection, improving schools, job creation, crime reduction and maintaining the “living wage” among the top issues. “Candidates, unless they’re special interest candidates, know what the main issues are because polling has been done, if not by them, by somebody else,” said former City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer, who remains active in local affairs. “So then, the question becomes not what issues they say are important but what they

Please see RACE, Page A-4

PAGE C-2

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds E-7

Lotteries A-2

Neighbors C-7

Opinions B-1

Police notes C-2

Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com

Real Estate E-1

Sports D-1

Time Out/puzzles E-12

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

Six sections, 40 pages 164th year, No. 363 Publication No. 596-440


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