Santa fe new mexican, sept 13, 2013

Page 1

Through time and space: Pianist Conrad Tao Inside

Locally owned and independent

Friday, September 13, 2013

The New Mexi

can’s Weekly

Magazine of Arts,

Enter tainment

& Culture

September 13,

2013

www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25

Self-defense class for teens

Quick-study quarterback

IMPACT Personal Safety helps collegebound girls build confidence. gen next, B-5

St. Michael’s Keith Dominguez is the guy standing center stage.

Taliban strike U.S. Consulate in Afghanistan

SPORtS, B-1

LANL, other nuke labs under fresh scrutiny

The U.S. says embassy personnel are safe, but the attack this morning in western Afghanistan killed at least two Afghans. PAge A-2

New Mexico: Steady showers spur Colorado: Mountainside torrents rescues but help fill thirsty reservoirs wreak havoc, leaving at least 3 dead

‘Unbelievable’ rain

Critics say virtually every project under NNSA oversight is behind schedule and overbudget By Jeri Clausing and Matthew Daly The Associated Press

LOS ALAMOS — At Los Alamos National Laboratory, a seven-year, $213 million upgrade to the security system that protects the lab’s most sensitive nuclear bomb-making facilities doesn’t work. Those same facilities, which sit atop a fault line, remain susceptible to collapse and dangerous radiation releases, despite millions more spent on improvement plans. In Tennessee, the price tag for a new uranium processing facility has grown nearly sevenfold in eight years to upward of $6 billion because of problems that include a redesign to raise the roof. And the estimated cost of an ongoing effort to refurbish 400 of the country’s B61 bombs has grown from $1.5 billion to $10 billion. Virtually every major project under the National Nuclear Security Administration’s oversight is behind schedule and overbudget — the result, watchdogs and government auditors say, of years of lax accountability and nearly automatic annual budget increases for the agency responsible for maintaining the nation’s nuclear stockpile. The NNSA has racked up $16 billion in cost overruns on 10 major projects that are a combined 38 years behind schedule, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reports. Other projects have been cancelled or suspended, despite hundreds of millions of dollars already spent, because they grew too bloated. Advocates say spending increases are necessary to keep the nation’s nuclear arsenal operating and safe,

Please see nUKe, Page A-8

Taos hospital to lay off 44 Officials at Holy Cross Hospital say the change is necessary as the facility switches to more profitable services in the wake of funding cuts over the last four years. PAge C-1

Obituaries

Thunderstorms. High 71, low 56.

Capt. Robert H. Skamfer, Ret., 99, Santa Fe, Sept. 11 Erlinda (Arlene) Montoya, Sept. 10 Ross Alan Glaser, 31, Portland, Ore., Sept. 4 Barbara Jean Cawley, 81, Santa Fe, Sept. 6 Phil R. Lucero

PAge B-6

PAge C-2

today

Officials investigate the scene of a road collapse on Highway 287 near Boulder that sent three vehicles into the water after flash flooding on Thursday. Numerous roads and highways were washed out from floodwaters, and torrents poured into homes. At least a few buildings collapsed. CLIFF GRASSMICK/(BOULDER, COLO.) DAILY CAMERA

Over an inch of rain reported in Santa Fe

By P. Solomon Banda The Associated Press

LYONS, Colo. eavy rains sent walls of water crashing down mountainsides Thursday in Colorado, cutting off remote towns, forcing the state’s largest university to close and leaving at least three people dead across a rugged landscape that included areas blackened by recent wildfires. After a rainy week, up to 8 more inches fell in an area spanning from the Wyoming border south to the foothills west of Denver. Flooding extended all along the Front Range mountains and into some cities, including Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Aurora and Boulder. Numerous roads and highways were washed out or made impassable by floods. Floodwaters poured into homes, and at least a few buildings collapsed in the torrent. Boulder County appeared to be hardest hit. Sheriff Joe Pelle said the town of Lyons was completely cut off because of flooded roads, and resi-

H

By Staci Matlock The New Mexican

The third day of rain across much of New Mexico on Thursday led to helicopter rescues, evacuations, a closed national park and leaking roofs. The unusually steady rain helped quench the droughtstricken state a little too much in some places, causing floods along the Pecos River and prompting officials to issue hazardous driving warnings. Some areas of Central and Eastern New Mexico had received record-setting amounts of rain, according to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. Santa Fe observers reported more than an inch of rain in

Pete Van Harvermaat III, left, and Pete Van Harvermaat IV, both of Los Lunas, shelter under their umbrella while watching the Demons’ soccer game against Los Lunas on Thursday at Santa Fe High School. For more coverage of the game, see Sports, B-1. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

some parts of the city and county, while one La Cienega observer’s gauge collected almost 2 inches of rain. While Santa Fe precipitation records have been haphazard over the last half-century, meteorologists believe Santa Fe had already surpassed its average for the month. The

September average is around 1.68 inches, and the city had received more than 2 inches by Thursday evening. The estimated 6.68 inches of precipitation since the beginning of the year still leaves the city a couple of inches below its

See SHOWeRS, Page A-4

Please see tORRentS, Page A-4

No worries, late-nighters — eatery to keep wee hours Atomic Grill changes hands; new owner to reopen soon with sports theme Index

By Phaedra Haywood The New Mexican

The Atomic Grill has closed. But don’t worry, the downtown eatery is not slated to become a gallery, a bank or a high-end Western-wear store. The restaurant’s new owner, 29-year-old Lane Sanders, said the name and look of the grill will change, but it will still pro-

Calendar A-2

Classifieds D-1

Comics B-8

vide midrange-priced food into the wee hours. While “The Atomic,” as it was known, stayed open until 3 a.m. some nights, Sanders said his place — which will be called El-Evation, a play on Santa Fe’s altitude — will stay open until 2 a.m. weekend nights and 10 to 11 p.m. or midnight during the week.

Lotteries A-2

Opinion A-7

Sanders said El-Evation will be “sports-oriented” and feature a menu based on gourmet pizza and burgers as well as “some more high-end things, like grilled lamb chops and steak specials,” and quality salads. Sanders said believes in the “farm-to- table” concept and hopes to use fresh, local, in-season ingredients whenever

Police notes C-2

Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Cynthia Miller, cmiller@sfnewmexican.com

Sports B-1

possible. Sander said El-Evation will serve beer and wine — it will be several months before that begins — and will feature happy-hour specials, “slice-anda-pint” deals and theme nights such as “Wing Night” or “Taco Tuesday.” Sanders has lived in Santa Fe since he was 4 years old and

Please see eAteRY, Page A-4

Time Out B-7

Gen Next B-5

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010

A sign on the door to the Atomic Grill, 103 E. Water St., announces Thursday that the business will close. CLYDE MUELLER THE NEW MEXICAN

Four sections, 32 pages Pasatiempo, 72 pages 164th year, No. 256 Publication No. 596-440


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