State-run museums and monuments will be among facilities that will be closed Thursday as thousands of state employees take the first in a series of unpaid, one-day furloughs ordered by Gov. Bill Richardson.

The shutdown on Christmas Eve day is part of a plan to cut spending as state government struggles to deal with a budget shortfall.

The closings include museum gift shops, with the exception of the store at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Museum in Las Cruces, which will be open on Christmas Eve.

Unaffected by the state's action is the private Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in downtown Santa Fe, which will be open from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Thursday.

While most state offices will be closed, some agencies will be only partially affected by the shutdown. A number of Health Department and Corrections Department facilities are unaffected, Transportation Department road crews will be on standby for snow removal and state police and other emergency responders will be on duty.

While Motor Vehicles Division offices will be closed, online services will remain available.

Future state shutdowns because of employee furloughs are scheduled next year on four different Fridays: Jan. 15, March 5, April 2 and May 28.

This week, hours of operation at local government offices as well as many businesses and institutions will be affected by the observance of Christmas Eve and the Christmas holiday:

• Santa Fe city administrative offices will close at noon on Thursday and remain closed Friday. For water and sewer emergencies, call 955-4333.
• Santa Fe County administrative offices and solid waste transfer stations will be closed Thursday and Friday. The transfer stations will reopen at 7 a.m. Saturday.
• 1st Judicial District will be closed as of noon Thursday and all day Friday.
• Santa Fe Municipal Court will close after video arraignments at about 1 p.m. Thursday, reopening Monday morning.
• The Genoveva Chavez Community Center will close at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and remain closed Friday.
• The Fort Marcy Complex and Salvador Perez Pool will close at 2 p.m. Thursday and remain closed Friday.
• Santa Fe public libraries will close at 1 p.m. Thursday and will remain closed Friday.
• Santa Fe Trails city bus service will run on a Saturday schedule Thursday. There will be no bus service Friday.
• The North Central Regional Transit District's "blue buses" will not run Friday.
• Federal offices and post offices will be closed Friday and there will be no mail delivery.
• City of Santa Fe refuse and recycling pickup schedules will not be affected by the holiday.