Rejuvenated Donovan, U.S. Artists get creative to connect go for Gold Cup today Sports, D-1 with Spanish Market visitors Local, C-1
Locally owned and independent
Sunday, July 28, 2013
www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25
From destruction,
‘Magical’ mini-library stolen from front yard Woman vows to build another book kiosk for neighborhood By Staci Matlock
knowledge Parmenter holds a grasshopper, part of his collection of invertebrate samples, at a long-term fire monitoring site on the preserve.
Thompson Ridge Fire: Amid damage to scientific sites, Valles Caldera researchers see opportunity to learn
The New Mexican
Thieves in Santa Fe stooped to a new low in June. They made off in the middle of the night with a minilibrary outside of Alice Lee’s house off of Pacheco Street, stealing the bit of magic it had brought to the neighborhood. The mini-library held books people could borrow and return or exchange for free. Lee had seen a few such kiosks in Seattle and became intrigued. A career college English teacher, she decided to create a mini-library with the help of her husband, Wayne Lee. “I wanted to promote literacy, reading and community spirit,” she explained. Mini-libraries started years ago, and they are scattered now around
Please see STOLEN, Page A-4
Alice Lee built this mini-library with the help of her husband, Wayne Lee. Thieves stole it not long after. COURTESY PHOTO
By Staci Matlock Photos by Clyde Mueller The New Mexican
Behavioral health audit: A primer By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
The recent controversy over the state Human Services Department’s decision to defund 15 behavioralhealth Medicaid providers — after an outside audit reportedly found evidence of widespread fraud — is a complex matter that has raised many questions and sparked a lot of emotions. Here’s a primer to answer some of those questions about the controversy and how it affects both clients and the general public. To start with the most basic question: What does “behavioral health” mean? This is a term that in professional circles has replaced the term “mental health.” Some believe that “behavioral health” is less stigmatizing than the
Please see AUDIT, Page A-6
ABOVE: Bob Parmenter, the lead scientist at the Valles Caldera National Preserve, begins his hike Thursday to one of the 36 long-term fire monitoring sites on the preserve.
A
s the Thompson Ridge Fire swept across the forests and valleys of the Valles Caldera National Preserve in late May, scientists scrambled to get their research equipment out of harm’s way. The fire destroyed many research plots where projects had been underway for years. But the scientists took the damage in stride, focusing on what they can learn from the fire instead of what was lost. Marcy Litvak, a University of New Mexico ecologist, rescued some of her instruments from a tower in the preserve on the second day of the fire. “We still lost quite a few,” she said of the instruments, which measure the interactions between trees, soil and atmosphere. Litvak is studying the ability of different Southwestern forest types to sequester the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, among other research projects. The preserve’s lead scientist, Bob Parmenter, raced up the day after the fire and began to wrap silver reflecting space blankets around a weather station, one of more than a dozen scattered around the preserve. The fire blasted across the station. On instruments recording changes, “you can see the temperature rise as the fire went through,” Parmenter said. A solar radiometer that measures the sun’s radiation went black as smoke from the fire filled the sky. The station also measured a dip in humidity and increased winds as the blaze blew by, an indication of the weather conditions fires create. “The station survived the fire fine and kept cranking out data,” Parmenter said. Some scientists continued to conduct research just ahead of the blaze. Parmenter and longtime U.S. Geological Survey scientist Craig Allen went out and photographed dozens of places
LEFT: Parmenter at one of the monitoring sites at the preserve. He believes what scientists are learning from the long-term research projects on the Valles Caldera will help the preserve’s land managers in the future. ‘Being able to understand what this type of fire does to the landscape is incredibly important.’
Please see KNOWLEDGE, Page A-4 ON OUR WEBSITE: Watch video from the Valles Caldera National Preserve at www.santafenewmexican.com
Catholics embrace call to shake up church
Obituaries
Pope Francis urges young Catholics to make a “mess” of their dioceses and break out of their spiritual cages.
Filadelfio Esquibel, 95, July 24 Kathryn Colvin Wilson, 92, July 11 Ann McNeill Fortson Mandus, July 21 Norman L. Smith, 79, Feb. 2 Helen Compton Graham, July 17 Dulcinea Serrano, 103, Santa Fe Elva C. (Buzz) Williams, 87, July 19 Monica L. Augustine, July 24 Paul G. Ortiz, Jan. 15
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Index
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Classifieds E-9
Lotteries A-2
Neighbors C-6
Opinion B-1
Police notes C-3
Real Estate E-1
Interim Editor: Bruce Krasnow, 986-3034, bkrasnow@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
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Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Today Partly sunny. High 85, low 59. PAGE D-6
Time Out/puzzles E-16
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Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Santa Fe REP presents a reading of Moisés Kaufman’s play, 4 p.m., $15, discounts available, 629-6517 or sfrep.org. 1616 Old Pecos Trail.
Six sections, 76 pages 164th year, No. 209 Publication No. 596-440