Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 6, 2015

Page 1

A some question As ti NFL offi fficiating, league offers some answers Sports, B-1

Locally own ned and independent

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢

Business matters New secretary takes ‘Moneyball’ to CYFD

PRC hears testimony on PNM power plan

Many are watching Monique Jacobson to see if her resultsdriven approach will work for the department. LOCAL BUSINESS, C-1

Senate leaders seek full vote on Skandera Lawmakers impatient after hang-ups in education secretary’s confirmation

Drivers enjoy falling prices at the pump

By Milan Simonich The New Mexican

Hanna Skandera’s four-year wait for an up-or-down vote on her appointment as New Mexico’s public education secretary may be about to end. A handful of Democrats in the state Senate have stalled Skandera’s nomination in the Rules Committee since 2011. But now frustrated Democratic senators, including some in leadership positions, say they want the full 42-member Senate to vote to confirm or reject her. “As an individual senator, I want the opportunity to vote and hear the testimony on this particular nominee,” said Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, the newly elected majority whip. Padilla’s comments Monday were more Hanna measured than those of Senate President Skandera Pro-tem Mary Kay Papen. Papen, D-Las Cruces, told The Associated Press on Friday that senators in her party had wasted time in stopping Skandera’s nomination from reaching the Senate floor. “We just need to get on with it,” Papen said. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez four years ago appointed Skandera as Cabinet secretary of the Public Education Department. Skandera, who has never been a teacher or a school principal, immediately went on the state payroll and began supervising the state’s 830 public schools. Many teachers and other critics of Skandera have said she is not qualified to run the school system. Her supporters, including a former state attorney general, Republican Hal Stratton, have called those arguments specious. Skandera is versed in education policy matters, they said, having worked previously for education departments under Republican governors in California and Florida.

Santa Feans saw gas prices drop as low as $1.62 a gallon as crude oil fell below $50 a barrel Monday morning. LOCAL NEWS, A-5

Report: SFCC didn’t mismanage funds Audit finds school met appropriate financial requirements for fiscal years 2009-12. LOCAL NEWS, A-5

Neighbors say warning shot during break-in was justified Residents say area has problem with burglaries

Please see VOTE, Page A-4

By Uriel J. Garcia The New Mexican

The west-side neighborhood where a man fired a warning shot to scare off a burglar Sunday is no stranger to property crime. So it’s perhaps no surprise that many in the neighborhood are praising his actions. Santa Fe police said Erica Duran, 32, broke into a home in the 1700 block of Agua Fría Street, an area where residenErica tial burglaries are Duran common, at about 11:48 a.m. Sunday. Police said Duran broke a window and then armed herself with a piece of glass, prompting the homeowner to fire a shot from a revolver into the ground just outside his home. Duran, who wasn’t injured, was apprehended by authorities a short time later on Maez Road, police said. “I would shoot, too, if someone broke into my house,” said Brandon Trimborn, who recently moved into a nearby house with his pregnant sister and brother-in-law. Trimborn, who was chopping wood in his front yard Monday morning, said he saw several police cars near his house Sunday but wasn’t aware what had happened. Police said the homeowner didn’t want to be identified and declined to be interviewed by The New Mexican. Sally Chiu, who moved to the area just east of Agua Fría Street’s inter-

Please see SHOT, Page A-4

PAGE A-6

Index

Protesters gather outside as others voice concerns inside By Staci Matlock

INSIDE

The New Mexican

M

ore than two hundred demonstrators from Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Silver City and several tribes gathered Monday morning outside the PERA Building in Santa Fe, asking the state’s largest electric utility to add more renewable energy to its plan for replacing coal power. Inside the building, a standing-room-only crowd packed into the Apodaca Room for the first of 10 days set aside for state regulators to hear testimony on Public Service Company of New Mexico’s request to close two coalfired units at the San Juan Generating Station near Farmington. The company plans to replace the power with a combination of nuclear, natural gas and solar energy, as well as with additional capacity on one of the remaining coal units at

By Sean Sullivan and Robert Costa The Washington Post

Today Mostly sunny. High 49, low 25. PAGE A-8

Calendar A-2

Classifieds B-4

u Push for public-owned power company stalls at city panel hearing. LOCAL NEWS, A-5

San Juan. The state Public Regulation Commission also will decide if the company’s plan makes financial sense for ratepayers. The plan, if approved by regulators, means PNM would reduce its use of coal by about 14 percent, increase nuclear by 10 percent and increase renewables by more than 5 percent. Shutting down the two units at San Juan will greatly reduce levels of polluting emissions and water use. PNM maintains that the plan it has presented to regulators will provide reliable energy at the most affordable price. The San Juan power-replacement case could represent a crucial moment in the

Please see PNM, Page A-4

Boehner detractors set to add GOP drama to speaker vote Early party divisions a sign all might not go smoothly as new Congress convenes

Obituaries Leroy G. Ortiz, 75, Dec. 31 Eris H. Primm, Dec. 26 Rosario C. Talavera, 61, Dec. 29 Evaristo “Abie” Trujillo, Dec. 31

Joe Neidhardt of Santa Fe protests a power-replacement plan for the San Juan Generating Station on Monday morning outside the PERA Building. The Public Regulation Commission has set aside 10 days to hear testimony on Public Service Company of New Mexico’s proposal to shut down two coal-fired units at the plant and replace the lost power with a mix of energy sources. CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN

WASHINGTON — Decisive midterm election victories in November put Republicans in a powerful position to move their own legislative agenda this year, but as the new Congress convenes Tuesday there are early signs of trouble in the House for the GOP’s expanded majority. House Republicans are facing some of the same divisions that have hobbled their efforts

Comics B-8

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 986-3035

Crosswords B-5, B-7

In new report, feds rip WIPP’s emergency plans Review finds poor ventilation, diesel fumes could compromise workers By Patrick Malone The New Mexican

A new federal report about safety conditions at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad criticized the contractor that operates the below-ground nuclear waste repository for inadequate and unreliable information in the plans it developed to guide decision-makers during an emergency. The report, based on a review conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments, which evaluates federal contractors, focused on WIPP’s recovery plan for operating diesel equipment with restricted air flows. Air flows inside WIPP have been limited to about one-seventh of their normal level since a Feb. 14 radiation leak that began with the rupture of a drum of nuclear waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The report is the latest in a series of critical reviews by state and federal regulators that have found deep problems in the handling of such waste at Los Alamos and at WIPP since the incident. The leak exposed more than 20 workers to radioactive

Please see WIPP, Page A-4

ON THE WEB u View the report at www.santafenewmexican.com.

INSIDE u Republican-controlled Congress poses threat to Obama’s climate efforts. PAGE A-3

to govern over the past four years, particularly on fiscal matters. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is again the central figure in a now-familiar drama as he faces a revolt from rank-and-file GOP conservatives who want to deprive him of a third term as speaker. While the mutiny seemed unlikely to succeed, it could inject some turmoil into the leadership vote Tuesday and is a reminder of the lingering discord that threatens to blunt Republican

Lotteries A-2

Pasapick

www.pasatiempo magazine.com

Institute of American Indian Arts Writers Festival Readings held at 6 p.m. daily through Friday; tonight’s authors: Marie-Helene Bertino, Matt Donovan and James Thomas Stevens; freshman students read at 7:30 p.m.; IAIA Auditorium, Library and Technology Center, 83 Avan Nu Po Road; no charge; 424-2356.

Please see DRAMA, Page A-4

Opinions A-7

Sports B-1

Time Out B-7

Local Business C-1

BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM

Three sections, 20 pages 166th year, No. 6 Publication No. 596-440


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Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 6, 2015 by The New Mexican - Issuu