Thornburg shares climb

NEW YORK — Shares of Thornburg Mortgage Inc. jumped after a Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst issued a research report arguing the home lender is in a good position to benefit when the mortgage industry recovers.

Shares of Thornburg Mortgage climbed 77 cents, or 8.1 percent, to $10.29 Wednesday.

Thornburg's stock has fallen about 60 percent this year and in August touched its lowest trade since 2000 as the mortgage industry plunged into upheaval. Yet as credit quality deteriorates throughout much of the country, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Paul J. Miller Jr. said, Thornburg's credit quality remains pristine. Also, Thornburg's loans generally are secured by strong collateral, and its borrowers have good incomes, Miller said.

SFCC board member resigns

Margaret Garduño has resigned her seat on the Santa Fe Community College governing board, citing "pressing family and health concerns," a Thursday news release from the college says.

Garduño was elected to a six-year term in 2005 as the first graduate of the community college to serve on the board, the news release says.

Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Gutierrez thanked Garduño for her time on the board, saying she brought "great enthusiasm" to her work.

The board, which is a five-member body, will discuss at its Nov. 27 meeting how to find a replacement to serve on the board until the next scheduled election in March 2009.

Deputy's trailer home to be sold

LAS VEGAS, N.M. — San Miguel County commissioners are selling a trailer home as excess property, leaving a deputy without a place to live.

County officials told Deputy John Hartigan a couple of months ago that they were terminating his housing agreement and he'd have to leave by Nov. 30.

Officials have said it would cost $8,000 to bring the trailer up to code.

The county entered into the agreement because it's hard to find housing in Conchas, where the county assigns a deputy. Commissioner Kenny Medina, who represents Conchas, says Hartigan lived there for five years.

Conchas residents had been collecting signatures to try to prevent the sale. Tucumcari, a 45-minute drive from Conchas, is the closest place for Hartigan to live. Conchas residents say that drive would leave less protection for the southeastern San Miguel County.

Former judge, ambassador dies

ALBUQUERQUE — Former state Court of Appeals Judge Benigno "Ben" Hernandez has died of Parkinson's disease. He was 90.

Hernandez, a former ambassador to Paraguay, died Sept. 30. A memorial service is slated for noon Jan. 27 at the Albuquerque Country Club.

Ben Hernandez married his wife, Evangeline, in 1943 when they were both students at The University of New Mexico. During World War II, Hernandez was a Navy flight instructor, then he went to law school at DePaul University.

He became U.S. ambassador to Paraguay in 1967. He joined the Court of Appeals in 1972 and retired in 1982.

Wage network plans rally

The Santa Fe Living Wage Network will hold a rally this afternoon in support of a plan by the city to expand its mandatory minimum wage to all workers with no exceptions.

The current minimum wage of $9.50 an hour applies to employers with 25 or more full- and part-time employees.

Speakers at the event, scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Southside Branch Library, 6599 Jaguar Drive, include City Councilor Miguel Chavez; school board member Frank Montaño; former Arby’s worker Jazmin Armenta; student government leader Fidel Zuniga; and Capital High School student Samantha Hendrickson.

The city and Arby’s earlier this year reached an agreement after the restaurant chain was sued by the city for allegedly not paying workers the mandatory minimum wage.

The City Council on Nov. 28 will consider an amendment to extend the $9.50 wage to all workers, delay a scheduled Jan. 1 increase to $10.50 an hour for one year and link future annual increases to a regional consumer-price index.

Film explores use of ‘descansos’

A documentary that explains why descansos — roadside memorials — are seen more and more worldwide will be shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival.

Resting Places, produced by Kansas City filmmaker Melissa Villanueva, includes photographs from around the world, including Santa Fe. The narrator is Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson.

The film shows at 3:45 p.m. Nov. 30 and 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 2 at the New Mexico Film Museum, 418 Montezuma Ave. Visit www.santafefilmfestival.com.

Udall pushes for wilderness area

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., testified this week in Congress for his bill to create the Sabinoso Wilderness on Bureau of Land Management land east of Las Vegas, N.M.

Udall wants to designate as protected wilderness about 20,000 acres that are 40 miles east of Las Vegas.

LANL plans for burns next week

Los Alamos National Laboratory fire crews plan to conduct two prescribed burns near N.M. 4 and White Rock beginning Monday.

The area is known as Fence Canyon and Lower Potrillo Canyon. The lab’s Emergency Management Division is managing the burns, which will take place through Wednesday.
Burns will cover 88 acres. During the burns, smoke might be visible in southwestern areas of LANL near White Rock and from Bandelier National Monument.

Coronado Lane to be closed

City workers will close a portion of Coronado Lane from Monday through Nov. 30, a news release says.

The city Water Division will install a new line for water service starting Monday at 511 E. Coronado, between Old Pecos Trail and Old Santa Fe Trail, during which time the road will be temporarily closed.

Coin toss settles contract bid

GALLUP — A Gallup firm has won a toss of a coin — and a contract to expand McKinley County’s Magistrate Court building.

A county procurement agent, Carol Bowman-Musket says Murphy Builders of Gallup and Southwest CM both bid $325,000 for the job, the first phase of a renovation and expansion project. The bids were opened Wednesday.

Staff and wire reports