Pojoaque Valley Elkettes sweep No. 2 seed, will play for title Sports, B-1
Locally owned and independent
Saturday, November 16, 2013
www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢
Batkid gets his wish, saves day
D.H. Lawrence’s N.M. ranch could reopen
Animal cruelty or sport?
A 5-year-old California boy who has battled leukemia is called into action as a masked superhero. PAGe A-2
Members of the Taos community have joined in an effort to make the famed writer’s property once again accessible to the public. PAGe A-6
The fairly dangerous custom of rooster pulling was once popular in New Mexico. PAGe A-6
SKI SANTA FE SEARCHES FOR WORKERS AS SEASON APPROACHES
President Barack Obama and other officials met with health insurance CEOs at the White House on Friday to brainstorm ways to make sure Americans know what their coverage options are under the law. EVAN VUCCI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Switch to affect many in the state Thousands in N.M. waiting to see result of Obama’s choice to let them keep old plans
By Staci Matlock
The New Mexican
Thomas Fitzgerald, Ski Santa Fe’s repair and rental shop supervisor, uses the brand-new Wintersteiger Mercury machine to tune a pair of skis Friday. The fully automated machine from Austria can complete a precision tuneup in minutes, he said. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN The New Mexican
S
ki Santa Fe’s hiring fair drew 200 people Friday who were looking for full- and part-time jobs during the ski season. The hiring fair continues from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the La Casa Cafeteria at the base of the ski area, which will notify applicants Monday or Tuesday about whether they have been hired. Ski Santa Fe tentatively plans to open Thanksgiving Day. On peak days, there can be up to 500 people working on the mountain. New this year at the ski area is a Wintersteiger Mercury, a fully automated ski and snowboard tuning machine. One of only a few in the U.S., it is capable of completing a precision tuneup in minutes. Ski Santa Fe’s base depth was only 6 inches Friday afternoon. But that’s
likely to change over the weekend. The National Weather Service reported Friday that a “potent upper level disturbance” was moving into Northern New Mexico, bringing breezy to windy conditions and mountain snows. Snow levels were expected to start above 10,000 feet and gradually lower to near 7,500 feet by Saturday morning. The west-facing slopes of the Sangre de Cristos were expected to receive more significant snowfalls. Damaging winds are possible across the eastern slopes late Saturday through early Sunday. For Santa Fe, scattered rain was predicted for after midnight Friday, with winds and isolated rain showers forecast for Saturday, along with highs in the 50s. Gusts of up to 50 mph are possible. Sunday’s forecast is for sun and more winds and highs in the 50s.
Please see SWITCH, Page A-4
From left, Scott Contino, 30, interviews with manager Jeremy Jordan and assistant manager Roland Garcia on Friday for a position in the Ski Santa Fe rental shop. The ski area’s job fair continues Saturday, and applicants will be notified Monday or Tuesday about whether they have been hired.
State refuses to delay new teacher evaluation system By Robert Nott The New Mexican
Despite opposition from some New Mexico teachers and Democratic lawmakers, the Martinez administration intends to continue implementing a teacher evaluation system it launched in August. Earlier this week, Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, and Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, asked Public Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera to slow the evaluation process to give teachers — who are already under pressure to incorporate new Common Core Standards — more time to acclimate to the rating system. And in September, some Democratic legislators joined teachers unions in filing a District Court lawsuit in Albuquerque to
Index
Calendar A-2
halt implementation of the new evaluation system, arguing that it violates the School Personnel Act because it does not have legislative support. That case is due to be heard Nov. 21. But the administration signaled this week that it will not budge. Skandera told Sapien and Miera via a Nov. 12 letter that “now is not the time to delay.” She noted that the state’s low status in national education rankings warrants immediate action. The evaluations would affect about 18,000 teachers statewide. Sapien is chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and both he and Miera are members of the Legislative Education Study Committee, which met Thursday to discuss the issue. The teacher evaluation system, supported by Gov. Susana Martinez and implemented by Skan-
Classifieds B-7
Comics B-12
dera this year, measures teacher performance using a variety of factors, but 50 percent of a teacher’s rating is based on students’ Standards Based Assessment scores. Principals’ observations of classroom teaching account for 25 percent of the evaluation. Not all of the state’s 89 districts have aligned with the Public Education Department’s teacher evaluation system — Santa Fe Public Schools is one of several that have put together their own plans — though all districts must emphasize student test score data. While the heavy emphasis on test scores has been a point of contention, Thursday’s discussion focused on the observation portion of the teacher evaluations. Many legislators from both parties said they have heard
Lotteries A-2
As President Barack Obama met with insurance regulators Friday to explain his sudden change on canceled health insurance plans, New Mexico regulators and insurance companies were still trying to figure out what it all means. Thousands of New Mexicans with individual plans who received policy termination notices weeks ago will be affected by whatever happens next. Obama announced that state regulators now have the option of letting insurance companies sell plans for another year that aren’t compliant with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Today Partly sunny and windy. High 56, low 33. PAGe A-12
Obituaries Michael Martinez, 52, Santa Fe, Nov. 13
Jose Plutarco Quintana, 66, Oct. 27 PAGe A-10
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Nedra Matteucci Galleries Leon Gaspard: Impressions of Russia and the Faraway, retrospective exhibit, reception 2-4 p.m., through December, 1075 Paseo de Peralta, 982-4631. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Please see TeACHeR, Page A-4
Opinions A-11
Police notes A-10
Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
House approves health law change Lawmakers vote to permit the sale of plans that don’t meet federal requirements By David Espo
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Brushing aside a White House veto threat, the Republicancontrolled House voted by a healthy bipartisan majority Friday to weaken a core component of “Obamacare” and permit the sale of individual health coverage that falls short of requirements in the law. In all, 39 Democrats broke ranks and supported the legislation, a total that underscored the growing importance of the issue in the weeks since millions of cancellation notices went out to consumers covered by plans deemed inadequate under federal rules. The final vote was 261-157 as lawmakers clashed over an issue likely to be at the heart of next year’s midterm elections. The measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Democrats seeking re-election in 2014 are leading a move for similar legislation. “For the last six weeks the White House stood idly by ignoring the pleas of millions,”
Please see CHANGe, Page A-4
Sports B-1
Time Out B-11
Life & Science A-9
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Two sections, 24 pages TV Book, 32 pages 164th year, No. 320 Publication No. 596-440