Volunteers adorn veterans’ graves with flags for Memorial Day Page A-6
Locally owned and independent
Saturday, May 24, 2014
www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢
Provider switch cost state $24M Arizona behavioral health firms got $18M up front to ensure services, pay employees; $6M billed later
Capital seniors see perseverance pay off About 230 receive diplomas, including some who feared they wouldn’t make it. LOCAL News, A-6
By Patrick Malone
The New Mexican
The state of New Mexico spent nearly $24 million on the abrupt transition to Arizona companies that were chosen to replace 15 New Mex-
Consulting Group turned up $36 million in suspected Medicaid overbilling and whistleblowers accused the providers of billing improprieties. But an investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has found no evidence of fraud by the two providers it has reviewed so far. “We’re outraged. It’s an outrage,” said Patsy Romero, chief operating officer of Easter Seals El Mirador in
ico providers of behavioral health services suspected of fraud, some of which have been cleared, state records show. Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration ousted the New Mexico companies last year after an audit by Public
Santa Fe, one of the displaced providers. Romero obtained the records through a public records request. “People thought we’d feel good to be exonerated. You feel somewhat vindicated, but they accomplished what they set out to do — bankrupt everybody. It’s going to take years to get back on our feet.”
Please see swITCH, Page A-4
SWAIA backs shows Deal with Jemez Pueblo designed to add credibility to local artists markets. LOCAL News, A-6
Chip cards for U.S.? Visa and MasterCard renew push to eliminate cards with magnetic strips in wake of high-profile data breaches. PAge A-3
Storm knocks out power, Leg. panel confronts snarls traffic across city children’s struggles
Amazon battle vs. publishers escalates
Lawmakers question state department’s focus on intervention instead of prevention By Daniel J. Chacón
The New Mexican
Internet giant delays shipments, raises prices, blocks upcoming titles By David Streitfeld and Melissa Eddy
The New York Times
Amazon’s power over the publishing and bookselling industries is unrivaled in the modern era. Now it has started wielding that might in a more brazen way than ever before. Seeking ever-higher payments from publishers to bolster its anemic bottom line, Amazon is holding books and authors hostage on two continents by delaying shipments and raising prices. The literary community is fearful and outraged — and practically begging for government intervention. “How is this not extortion? You know, the thing that is illegal when the Mafia does it,” said Dennis Loy Johnson of Melville House, echoing remarks being made across social media. The battle is being waged largely over physical books. In the United States, Amazon has been discouraging customers from purchasing titles from Hachette, the fourth-largest publisher by market share. Late Thursday, it escalated the dispute by making it impossible to order Hachette’s forthcoming books. It is using some of the same tactics against the Bonnier Publishing Group in Germany. But the real prize is not the physical books. It is control of e-books, the future of publishing. Amazon is the dominant e-book company, and feels it deserves more of the proceeds than it is getting. The publishers, contemplating a slide into irrelevance if not nonexistence, are trying to hold the line. Late Friday afternoon, Hachette made by far its strongest comment on the conflict.
Please see AMAZON, Page A-5
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds B-6
A police officer directs traffic on Cerrillos Road at the intersection of Don Diego Avenue and Guadalupe Street, after the lights went out Friday. Public Service Company of New Mexico said 10,000 customers in Santa Fe lost power at about 4 p.m. due to the thunderstorm. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Holiday weekend likely will see more wind, rain By Chris Quintana
The New Mexican
A
windblown storm dumped rain and hail on New Mexico on Friday, causing traffic snarls and a power outage that left a large swath of Santa Fe without electricity for more than two hours. Public Service Company of New Mexico said 10,000 customers in Santa Fe lost power at around 4 p.m. Friday as a thunderstorm battered the city. By 6:15 p.m., crews had started to restore power. PNM spokesman Pahl Shipley said one of the transmission lines that provides power throughout the city had failed. The outage affected most of downtown and broad sections of the city, he said. Shipley said it was too soon to
Cars approach the rain-soaked intersection of Cerrillos Road, Don Diego Avenue and Guadalupe Street after power went out in downtown Santa Fe during a thunderstorm Friday.
determine what had caused the failure. From Moriarty to Albuquerque, there were reports of pea-sized hail. Some roads in Rio Rancho were
Obituaries
Today
Suzanne Fielding, 85, May 14 Richard A. Snyders, 68, Santa Fe, May 17
Some sun and thunderstorms. High 70, low 44.
PAge A-10
PAge A-12
Comics B-12
Crosswords B-7, B-11
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-11
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 983-3035
✮ Gram!✮ AD ISS ! GR M ’T NCE N DO CHAour grardint, IS y p TH to havberated ienpsake ✮
e . e cel this k ation in ublic p
✮
flooded from heavy rains, and gusts at the Albuquerque International Sunport topped out at 60 mph. A
Please see sTORM, Page A-4
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Sports B-1
Time Out B-11
More than half of abused and neglected children in New Mexico repeatedly passed through the state’s child welfare system during a nineyear period, according to a new report. A majority of kids seen by the Child Protective Services division between 2004 and 2012 were visited by caseworkers up to four times after their initial contact with the agency. Other children had so many referrals they became known as “frequent fliers.” “Some of the kids had more than 23 referrals over time,” Charles Sallee, deputy director of the Legislative Finance Committee, told state lawmakers Friday. The number of re-referrals was among a long list of sobering facts presented to the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee on Friday about New Mexico’s abused and neglected children. “Probably bad things are happening to a lot of kids in the state. Not all cases are being referred, so that number is probably much higher,” Sallee said. In 2012, about 45 percent of victims were under the age of 6, he said. “These are very high-risk cases because these kids are not generally out in the community as much as their older peers, who are in school, for example,” Sallee said. “They’re much more vulnerable … because it’s not as easy for them to tell an adult that they’re being harmed.” The legislative committee also received a report on several programs that could help reduce child abuse and neglect.
Please see CHILDReN, Page A-4
Cary ginell: The author reads from and signs copies of The Evolution of Mann: Herbie Mann and the Evolution of Flute in Jazz, 4-5 p.m., Op. Cit. Books, 500 Montezuma Ave., Suite 101, Sanbusco Center, 428-0321.
Two sections, 24 pages TV Book, 32 pages 165th year, No. 144 Publication No. 596-440
Family A-9
BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM
Congratulate your graduate with a
Alejandro Men dez SANTA
in The New Mexican’s special keepsake publication for local grads!
FE HIGH
Congratulatio We are so prou ns Ale! d of yo We love you! u!
Deadline: May 28, 5pm • Publishes: June 8th $25 includes one color photo of your grad plus your personal message (75 characters max).
You turn to us.
Visit santafenewmexican.com/gradgrams or fill out a form at The Santa Fe New Mexican, 202 E. Marcy St., to create your custom
GRADGram!✮ !
Mom, Kat, Nin Tito and Jasmina, e