zine of Arts, Enter an’s Weekly Maga The New Mexic
e tainment & Cultur
January 24, 2014
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State OKs electronic billboards
School looks to move New Mexico School for the Arts says its needs room to grow, hopes to leave downtown site. LocaL, B-1
New rules allow signs in developed areas along federal highways with municipal approval The state Transportation Commission on Thursday unanimously voted to allow electronic billboards along federal highways in New Mexico, but restricted them to more developed areas within the boundaries of municipalities, towns and villages. Melissa Dosher, a spokeswoman for the
Transportation Department, said the revisions were needed because the current rules had not been changed since 1988. The action Thursday came after several public hearings. Other amendments approved stipulate that any electronic sign image must be static for at least eight seconds, and it cannot have moving images or flashing lights. The signs, controlled remotely, have to be monitored 24 hours a day and hooded to prevent light from
LEGISLATURE
2014 CITY ELECTIONS
By Staci Matlock The New Mexican
Senate leader lashes out at own party chairman
casting straight up into the night sky. The commission also agreed to an amendment that requires off-premises digital billboards to be spaced at least 1,000 feet apart, regardless of which direction they face. Finally, the changes would not usurp local permitting authority over sign placement, even along federal highways.
Please see BiLLBoarDs, Page A-6
New PAC backs Javier Gonzales
NTSB says better routes, rules are needed. page a-3
Candidate says he’s unfamiliar with group, running own campaign. LocaL, B-1
Dimas outspends rivals Mayoral hopeful has doled out $42,487 for signs, ads, campaign reports show
By Milan Simonich
The New Mexican
The state Senate majority leader made an unusual public attack Thursday, denouncing his own political party’s chairman for supposedly trying to influence a vote on early childhood education. Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, delivered a fiery speech on the Senate floor in which he accused New Mexico Democratic Party ChairMichael man Sam Bregman Sanchez of trying to muscle another Democratic senator. Sanchez was careful not to name names in his speech, but it was plain that he accused Bregman of threatening to retaliate against Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Smith opposes using part of the state’s $12 billion land-grant endowment, called the Land Grant Permanent Fund, to increase funding for early childhood education. The endowment raises funding mainly through oil and natural gas extraction fees for drilling on state trust lands, and it is used to help fund public schools and universities, among other beneficiaries. Sanchez implied that it was Smith’s stand on a bill that would have tapped the endowment for more early childhood funding that had angered Bregman. Bregman said Sanchez’s account was riddled with inaccuracies because he didn’t understand why the Democratic Party leadership was upset with Smith. Bregman said Smith last year killed the bill that would have provided more funds for early childhood programs by refusing to permit a vote on the measure in his committee. Bregman said
Oil train warning
By Daniel J. Chacón
The New Mexican
I Mayor’s race spenDing Each of the three mayoral candidates received $60,000 in public financing. Reported expenditures
Cash on hand
LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
ciTy coUnciL races District 1
Bill Dimas $42,487
Signe Lindell* $24,718 spent Michael Segura $12,982 spent
District 2
$17,513
Joe Arellano $4,758 spent Joseph Maestas $3,469 spent Rad Acton $3,108 spent Mary Bonney* $1,069 spent Jeff Green* $238 spent
patti Bushee $16,918 $43,082 Javier gonzales
District 3 Marie Campos $6,814 spent Carmichael Dominguez $3,702 spent Angelo Jaramillo $557 spent
District 4
$14,648
Ron Trujillo* $0 spent
$45,352
Please see LasHes, Page A-4
Bill Dimas thus far has outspent other candidates vying for municipal office. Signage and advertising make up the majority of his expenditures.
*Indicates candidate did not obtain $15,000 in public financing
n a little more than a month, mayoral candidate Bill Dimas has burned through more than twothirds of his $60,000 in public campaign funds. With just over six weeks still left before Santa Fe’s March 4 municipal election, Dimas has only $17,513 cash on hand. Dimas, a city councilor, has spent the bulk of his funds on campaign signs, which are plastered all over the city, and advertising, including more than $16,000 with The New Mexican. Dimas, who has spent more than twice as much as his two competitors combined, said his campaign is right on track. “It’s called early planning,” he said. “We’re exactly at where we want to be at.” Dimas declined to disclose his strategy going forward, but said he wasn’t sure whether he would spend the entire $60,000 that mayoral candidates received under the city’s public financing system. “I’m hoping not, but it’s hard to say at this point,” he said. Thursday was the deadline for candidates and political action committees participating in the city election to file campaign finance reports. In the City Council races, District 1 candidate Signe Lindell was leading in spending, though all of her money came from private donations. Lindell, who has raised $32,640 and spent $24,718, said she decided to forgo public financing because she’s never run for public office and believed she needed to start early. “I needed to start early and work hard,” she said. Lindell said the new public campaign finance code, tested for the first time in council races two years ago, also was a cause for concern. “We’ve had some incidents, and I think we could clarify it some more,” she said. “We just need to give it another review.” The two other mayoral candidates, City Councilor Patti Bushee and Javier Gonzales, a former county commissioner and former state Democratic Party chairman, reported $16,918 and $14,648 in expenditures, respectively. Gonzales, who has spent the majority of his money so far on consulting services and campaign signs, said he plans to amp up spending in his campaign closer to the election as voters begin to make a decision.
Please see spenDing, Page A-4
insiDe u Additional coverage of the legislative session. page a-4
Today Mostly sunny and warmer. High 46, low 22. page B-4
obituaries Mayakala Ashley Martha Garcia, Santa Fe, Jan. 20 Mario Hinojoza, Jan. 14 Hugh Avery Linn, Santa Fe, Jan. 14 David Nash Loughridge, 33, Santa Fe, Jan. 19 Steven D. Trujillo, Jan. 17 page B-2
index
Calendar a-2
Classifieds c-3
AG releases part of audit on behavioral health provider By Trip Jennings and Heath Haussamen New Mexico In Depth
A state-hired auditor found $1,873 in questionable Medicaid payments to a health care provider cleared of fraud last week by the attorney general, according to a portion of the audit released Wednesday. Using a statistical formula, the auditor then “extrapolated” from that $1,873 figure to come up with approximately $612,000 in potential Medicaid overpayments by The Counseling Center in Alamogordo, the document shows. The overbilling estimate, in part, led the state Human Services Department to find “credible allegations of fraud”
Comics a-8
Lotteries a-2
Opinions a-7
against the Alamogordo organization in June 2013. The overbilling also played a role in the state agency’s decision to freeze The Counseling Center’s Medicaid funding and forward the audit to several law enforcement agencies, requesting that they investigate issues including potential Medicaid fraud. Ultimately, The Counseling Center shut its doors in August following the state’s decision to freeze Medicaid funds to the organization, which was providing services such as drug treatment and suicide counseling. The release of the portion of the audit Wednesday comes a few days after the Attorney General’s Office
Please see aUDiT, Page A-5
Police notes B-2
Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-5
A screenshot of a page from the portion of the Public Consulting Group audit that details findings for The Counseling Center in Alamogordo.
Time Out c-2
Generation Next c-1
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