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THE NEW MEXICAN Tuesday, June 10, 2014
LOCAL NEWS Poll shows economic uncertainty Chamber survey casts doubt on city leadership’s ability to improve Santa Fe economy
Surveying city’s future Supporting entrepreneurs 7% Other 5%
Other 3% Reducing permit time 3%
Financial stability 20%
By Daniel J. Chacón
The New Mexican
A recent poll of Santa Fe residents paints a picture of a liberal-leaning populace that is uncertain whether the city’s leadership is capable of doing much to improve the local economy. Forty percent of respondents said they’re confident the new mayor and City Council are capable of growing the economy, while the other 60 percent were uncertain or doubtful. Mayor Javier Gonzales, elected in March, offered a different view of the results. “At least 70 percent of the people in the survey either are supportive of the leadership or they’re taking a wait-and-see [approach],” Gonzales said Monday. “The thing we have to do at City Hall is to develop positive economic policies that are going to see our economy grow in a way that impacts all families.” The telephone poll of 955 likely voters, commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, was conducted April 29 by
The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce commissioned a phone poll of 955 likely voters April 29. Among the questions:
Creating jobs 23%
Improving education 27%
Unsure 31% Yes 40%
Education 24% Recruiting outside businesses to Santa Fe 24%
Crime and public safety 19%
Reducing the cost of living 25%
Operating electric company 3%
Which of these is most important to you at this time?
No 29% Reducing crime 19%
Do you feel the city’s current leadership is capable to move the private sector forward?
Which of these priorities is most important for Santa Fe at this time?
SOURCE: SANTA FE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 4.5% MARGIN OF ERROR
BWD Global to gauge the community’s views “about the new city government” after the March 4 municipal election. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. Simon Brackley, the chamber’s president and CEO, said the group sought public input as part of its planning process before the start of the fiscal year on July 1 to determine the
BRIAN BARKER/THE NEW MEXICAN
chamber’s priorities for the following fiscal year. “Of course, the chamber represents business, but it’s in everyone’s best interest to listen to the community to determine what our priorities are,” he said.
Please see PoLL, Page A-7
Actress Martha Hyer, who starred alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in 1958’s Some Came Running, died May 31 at her Santa Fe home. She was 89. COURTESY PHOTO
MARTHA HYER, 1924-2014
A glamour girl from the Golden Age Academy Award-nominated actress dies at 89 in Santa Fe
RIDING FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS
By Robert Nott The New Mexican
M
artha Hyer, one of the last studio glamour girls of the Golden Age of Hollywood, died May 31 at her Santa Fe home. She was 89 and had lived in Santa Fe since the mid-1980s. A representative from Rivera Funeral Home confirmed the death and said there was no funeral service or memorial planned. A striking blonde who once turned down a date request from the young Sen. John F. Kennedy, Hyer was nominated for an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her work in 1958’s Some Came Running, an MGM film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. She lost to Wendy Hiller, for her role in Separate Tables. Although she put on a good face during the remainder of the Oscars show, Hyer later recalled that she went home and cried all night. The Oscar nod did not help Hyer’s career, which started with a three-year contract at RKO in the early 1940s and ended with a series of forgettable cheap films made in both America and Europe. Martha Hyer was born Aug. 10, 1924, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Julien C. Hyer, a Texas legislator, and Agnes Barnhart. In her 1990 autobiography, Finding My Way, she described her childhood desire to be an actress and her love of film. “Movies were magic, our passport to outside,” she wrote. She enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where she was spotted by a Hollywood talent agent — despite the fact that she was playing a
Please see HYeR, Page A-8
American Legion Riders from Santa Fe escort a group of riders from Project Road Warrior into town on Monday. The veterans’ group is embarking on a 10-day, 3,900-mile cross-country run from Seattle to Tampa, Fla. The group’s goal is to raise awareness and funds to support wounded, ill and injured service members. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
Review process begins for district charters Four schools up for renewal next summer By Robert Nott The New Mexican
All four Santa Fe Public Schools charter schools, which collectively serve about 1,470 young people, are up for renewal next summer, and the district has begun its process of reviewing their status. The school board met in a study session Monday evening to lay out both a timeline and a procedure for considering renewal of the charters for the Academy for Technology and the Classics, Monte del Sol Charter School, Tierra Encantada Charter School at Alvord and Turquoise Trail Charter School. The latter is an elementary school serving grades K-6; the other three serve grades 7-12. Last week, the school board approved the annual operating budgets of all four schools for the 2014-15 school year. But determining the long-term fate of the schools involves more scrutiny to ensure each is fulfilling its academic mission, meeting budgetary goals and maintaining a well-run organization. In addition to the schools’ operating budgets, the district
will look at their academic standing — including their ranking in the state’s A-F school grading system — and how they manage their resources. The Academy for Technology and the Classics, which serves about 365 students, operates on an annual budget of about $2.7 million and is graded as an A school. Monte del Sol Charter School, with about 360 students, is a B. Tierra Encantada, which has about 280 students, is a C, and Turquoise Trail, with about 465 K-6 students and 40 pre-K students, is a D. In a presentation that accompanied the budget approval process last week, the district laid out some areas of strength and concern for all four schools. The district noted that the Academy for Technology and the Classics is building a cash reserve after years of financial mismanagement and that its plan to purchase its existing facility by next fall give it greater flexibility to use capital funds and upgrade its technology system. If the school cannot complete the purchase, it could sustain a loss over time as it makes lease payments and would likely not be able to support technological infrastructure and its instructional mission. As for Monte del Sol, it is facing a leaner budget as it works to
create a larger cash balance and will adapt to new leadership as Robert Jessen takes over as head learner/principal after Jim Ledyard retires this month. Tierra Encantada, which stresses a program of experiential learning for its students, maintains one of the highest percentage cash balances in the district, about $540,000, but the district’s report notes that “it is not clear whether the [Tierra Encantada] budget for the current year or next year has been or will be optimized for advancing the instructional mission” and suggests more of the operational budget should go toward instructional support for students. Turquoise Trail also maintains a healthy budget and cash balance. Its biggest challenge, the district report notes, is its ability to use available resources to improve its D designation. The four charter schools are required to turn in their applications, as well as their financial, operational and academic information, to the district by Oct. 1. The district will then review the applications with an eye toward approving or denying the charters in December. Although most charters typically are renewed for five years, Boyd and several board members
discussed the possibility of granting probationary renewal terms of one or two years to ensure the charter schools comply with the district’s wishes: “Conditional renewals — you meet these conditions, we renew,” district legal counsel Geno Zamora told the board. If the district denies a school’s charter application, the school can appeal to the Public Education Department. It also could request state charter authorization. Only two charter school representatives — Principal Susan Lumley of the Academy for Technology and the Classics and Randy Freeman, Turquoise Trail business manager — attended Monday’s meeting. Board President Steven Carrillo expressed disappointment that no one from either Monte del Sol or Tierra Encantada attended. Freeman said after the meeting that the process seems aligned with state laws and said Turquoise Trail will reapply for a charter. Lumley said her school is already gathering information to provide to its own governing board so it can meet the district’s timeline. She said the school likely will close on the purchase of its building by the end of September. Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.
Section editor: Howard Houghton, 986-3015, hhoughton@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Carlos A. López, clopez@sfnewmexican.com
Hyer and Sinatra in a scene from Some Came Running. In her 1990 autobiography, Finding My Way, Hyer wrote fondly of her co-stars — Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. COURTESY PHOTO
Stage 1 fire restrictions set for parts of S.F. National Forest Campfires and charcoal grills soon will be allowed only in fire pits and developed campgrounds in parts of Santa Fe National Forest under Stage 1 fire restrictions. The Jemez Ranger District, Cuba Ranger District and the Valles Caldera National Preserve will enter Stage 1 restrictions at 8 a.m. Thursday. Despite recent rains, fire danger remains high because grasses and brush have dried out. The weather forecast predicts wind and dry conditions in the next several days, increasing the risk of fires caused by people and lightning. Under Stage 1 restrictions: u Campfires, charcoal grills and stove fires are prohibited, except in established fire pits in developed campsites and picnic areas. u Pressurized liquid or gas stoves, lanterns and heaters are allowed. u Smoking is permitted only in enclosed vehicles or buildings, developed recreation sites or in areas at least 3 feet in diameter that are clear of flammable material. u Possessing, discharging or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device is prohibited. The New Mexican
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