Lobos overwhelm Air Force 80-52 at UNM’s senior night Sports, B-1
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Thursday, March 6, 2014
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Whistle-blower wins PRC case Jury awards former PRC worker $110,000 after he says he was fired for reporting co-workers’ inappropriate computer use. PAge A-7
SAT gets overhaul
Alzheimer’s threat up
Board makes essay optional and does away with guessing penalty. PAge A-6
Report says disease could now be the third leading cause of death. PAge A-5
Mom pleads guilty in boy’s death Battered 3-year-old Pojoaque child put CYFD under scrutiny By Chris Quintana The New Mexican
The mother of Leland Valdez, a 3-year-old Pojoaque boy who died from blunt force trauma in
2011, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of abuse of a child and abandonment of a child resulting in great bodily harm. The plea of Tabetha Van Holtz, 25, signals forward movement in a years-old case that has bounced from judge to judge and has been fraught with missteps. The child’s death also spotlighted shortcomings at the state Children, Youth
from the boy’s father, Andrew Valdez, that Leland was suffering faces up to abuse in his mother’s household. nine years in Van Holtz’s then-boyfriend charges related and former co-defendant, Steven to the death Gallegos, still faces three felony of her son. counts of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm and a felony count of intentional child abuse and Families Department, which had received previous warnings Please see ABUSe, Page A-4
Tabetha Van Holtz
Finding new city manager is top priority for Mayor-elect Gonzales
MANHATTAN PROJECT
Time of transition
New series to begin filming in Santa Fe WGN show ‘Manhattan’ will tell story of atom bomb’s invention By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
Mayor-elect Javier Gonzales greets Michelle Diggs of Santa Fe and Magdalena Anderle, left, of Rivera, owners of Sun Stone Healing Arts, during a Wednesday tour of City Hall by outgoing Mayor David Coss. PHOTOS BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Daniel J. Chacón
The New Mexican
D
Crews will begin shooting scenes in Santa Fe this month for a new historical television series dealing with Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project, Gov. Susana Martinez and several television executives announced Wednesday. The governor made the announcement at the site of the old Bruns Army Hospital adjacent to the campus of the John Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where crews have been Benjamin Hickey busy in recent weeks rehabilitating old Bruns buildings to be used as sets in the series, called Manhattan. The Bruns location includes sets that will be used for the offices, laboratories and homes of the people who built the first atomic bomb during World War II. The show will debut on WGN America in July, said John Olivia Williams Wax, a senior vice president of programming for the network. Thirteen episodes are to be filmed in Santa Fe and various other locales in the state. It’s a production by a partnership including WGN America, Skydance Television and Lionsgate Television.
on’t expect any major changes at City Hall under the new Gonzales administration. At least not right away. A day after sweeping into office, Mayor-elect Javier Gonzales said Wednesday he plans a 90-day transition period that includes soliciting input from city councilors and others to develop a list of traits that Santa Fe wants in a city manager. Acting City Manager Brian Snyder has been filling in since May. “The most important message I want to send to the public is that it’s important for us to be deliberate in developing a process to select a city manager and to move to a more permanent administration because of the major amount of issues that are facing the city,” Gonzales said in a telephone interview. “We just can’t rush into making appointments,” he said. Gonzales, who won a four-year term, said it’s critical for an organization to get the right people in top management.
Please see SeRIeS, Page A-4
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Backyard Astronomy SFCC Planetarium public-programming series; live presentation followed by outdoor viewing of the night sky, 7-8 p.m., Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave., $5 at the door, discounts available. Call 428-1744, or visit sfcc.edu/planetarium for information. More events in Calendar, Page A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Please see MAYOR, Page A-4
InSIde u Residents elect leaders across the region. PAge A-4
Coss, front left, introduces Gonzales to Vicki Gage, operations manager of city’s Human Resources Department, Mark Allen, senior city attorney, and Sandra Perez, interim human resources director, on Wednesday.
Officials: No health risks for nuke site workers By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — Thirteen employees who were exposed to radiation during a leak at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste dump aren’t likely to experience any health effects, federal officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Energy confirmed last week that 13 workers were exposed when radiation leaked from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Testing on follow-up
Index
Calendar A-2
samples taken from the employees came back negative for plutonium and americium, the two radioactive isotopes that were detected in preliminary tests. The latest samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be verified, officials said. “Biological testing continues on other workers who were at the site following the initial exposure event, and there is always the possibility of positive exposure results
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Results from the 13 employees came back negative for plutonium and americium, the two radioactive isotopes that were detected in preliminary tests. from that testing,” said Farok Sharif, president of Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC, the contractor that runs WIPP. “The ability to detect extremely small amounts of radioactive
Opinion A-11
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Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Stephanie Proffer, sproffer@sfnewmexican.com
Obituaries Gib Singleton, 78, Santa Fe Maria Veneranda Lopez (Bennie), 89, Pecos, March 1 Emmajene (Parker) Romero, Santa Fe, March 2 Barbara ‘Bobbie’ Lujan, 83, March 1 Michael J. Lopez, 67, Cuarteles, March 1 PAge A-10
material also means there may be false positives that occur through the testing process,” he said. Energy Department officials
Please see nUKe, Page A-4
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Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Today Warmer with times of clouds and sunshine. High 63, low 37. PAge B-6
Two sections, 24 pages 165th year, No. 65 Publication No. 596-440