Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig goes from unknown to overnight sensation Sports, B-1
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Leaders weigh many risks in battling fires By Staci Matlock
The New Mexican
Lightning sparks fire in Pecos Wilderness
Incident commanders have to consider the big picture when managing complex fires such as those burning now in the Pecos Canyon and Jemez Mountains. If they and team leaders below them make critical errors, people die. In 2012, 15 firefighters died battling wildfires around the nation. Eleven died the year before.
New fire quickly grows to more than 300 acres and chases out a handful of firefighters who rappelled in to help. PAge A-4
John Pierson, Type II incident commander on the Tres Lagunas Fire in the Pecos Canyon, said the goal is always zero: no deaths, no injuries. Everything else, from saving homes to preventing a fire’s spread, has to be weighed against the risks of hurting firefighters and other people, Pierson said. “We want to make sure people get back safely every day. I preach
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Incident Commander John Pierson provides details on the Tres Lagunas Fire at a news conference earlier this month in Pecos. KATHARINE EGLI/FOR THE NEW MEXICAN
Court now in session
$63 million judicial complex opens for business after years of delays, controversy
Christus nurses: Staffing shortage ‘critical’ Patient care affected, workers say in complaint By Phaedra Haywood
The New Mexican
and law enforcement. The Santa Fe County Commission last year voted to eliminate public parking in the 150-space, two-level underground garage after security concerns were raised by the District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. “We’re trying to do all we can to alleviate the parking situation in light of the County Commission’s decision,” First Judicial District Chief Judge Raymond Ortiz said Monday. From the beginning, Ortiz had supported allotting 40 spaces to the public in the garage.
Some patients at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center are getting food and medications late, sitting for hours in their own waste and not being turned or walked as often as needed because the hospital is short-staffed, say union representatives who filed a complaint Monday with the state Department of Health. Representatives of the District 1199 branch of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees said they have also sent a letter complaining about the staffing issues to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. “The incidents of insufficient care are increasing,” the letter states, “and, in our opinion (and those of the health care workers we represent) are at a very serious level.” The letter requests that the Department of Health conduct an investigation. Hospital spokesman Arturo Delgado responded in writing late Monday that the hospital is “committed to patient care at all times and through all levels of care delivered. As always we welcome any reviews from state or national agencies to ensure we are compliant at all levels of patient care.” Delgado also said the hospital has a system in place for monitoring patient complaints and concerns and that a review of those records “did not identify any trends as indicated in the complaint filed today.” Union officials said during a press conference outside Department of Health offices Monday morning that
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Please see NURSeS, Page A-5
Criminal proceedings began Monday before State District Judge Stephen Pfeffer in the Ceremonial Courtroom, the largest of the new courtrooms at the new Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Nico Roesler
The New Mexican
M
ore than four years after construction crews broke ground at the site of the new Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex in downtown Santa Fe, the over-budget, $63 million building opened its doors to the public Monday. The 103,000-square-foot, multistory courthouse, completed after years of setbacks and funding shortfalls, was filled with people taking in the pristine building. “Beautiful,” said Larry Neto of Santa
Fe, who attended a family member’s court hearing Monday morning, though he complained about one of the most controversial aspects of the planning that went into the brand new complex — the lack of public parking. “Parking is horrendous,” Neto said. “I was surprised to see absolutely no parking spots. When someone eventually finds a spot, they will have missed their hearing.” Santa Fe County deputies Monday morning repeatedly had to wave off people trying to pull into the building’s underground parking garage, which is reserved for court personnel, government lawyers
Spy programs raise ire in U.S., abroad By Lara Jakes
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration faced fresh anger Monday at home and abroad over U.S. spy programs that track phone and Internet messages around the world in the hope of thwarting terrorist threats. But a senior intelligence official said there are no plans to end the secretive surveillance systems. The programs causing the global uproar were revealed by Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old employee of
Index
Calendar A-2
government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden, whose identity was revealed at his own request, has fled to Hong Kong in hopes of escaping criminal charges. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee and supports the surveillance, accused Snowden of committing an “act of treason” and said he should be prosecuted. Coolly but firmly, officials in Germany and the European Union issued complaints over two National Security Agency programs that target
Classifieds B-6
Comics B-12
Lotteries A-2
suspicious foreign messages — potentially including phone numbers, email, images, video and other online communications transmitted through U.S. providers. The chief British diplomat felt it necessary to try to assure Parliament that the spy programs do not encroach on U.K. privacy laws. And in Washington, members of Congress said they would take a new look at potential ways to keep the U.S. safe from terror attacks without giving up privacy protections that
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Tako Kichi: Kite Crazy in Japan Exhibit of traditional Japanese kites at the Museum of International Folk Art; through March 2014, 706 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill, 476-1200. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Please see SPY, Page A-5
Opinions A-10
Police notes A-7
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-1
Obituaries Carole Darr, 70, Santa Fe, June 7 Edward J. Frei Jr., 69, Santa Fe, June 5 Jessica Shelley Pabinquit, 21, June 5 Danny Clyde (Bulle) Vigil, Pecos, June 7 PAge A-7
Today Plenty of sunshine. High 95, low 57. PAge B-5
Time Out B-11
Local Business A-9
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 162 Publication No. 596-440