Burns to begin again in watershed

Santa Fe National Forest fire crews plan to burn in the municipal watershed east of the city again Wednesday, pending the right weather conditions.

People with asthma, allergies or other respiratory conditions should be aware of smoke, which could possibly settle into the basin in the morning and evening.

Forest crews are conducting prescribed burns and burning slash piles at several locations around the different fire districts as spring weather permits. The goal is to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and restore the national forests to a more natural state where periodic, low burning fires stimulated seedlings but prevented vegetation overgrowth.

For more information on prescribed burns in the Santa National Forest, call 1-877-971-FIRE or visit the Santa Fe National Forest Web site and to find out how to prepare your property for fire season, visit http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/.

PNM expands Good Neighbor Fund due to cold winter

Public Service Company of New Mexico is expanding the income level under which households can qualify for assistance with past due electric bills.

PNM raised the qualification for the Good Neighbor Fund from 150 percent of the federal poverty level to 200 percent. The company said it made the change so more families affected by early February's record-breaking cold can get help.

The fund is derived in part from PNM customers who mark off a donation box on their monthly electric bill. Shareholders also contribute, according to PNM.

The fund provides assistance of up to $140 toward a past due electric bill. A family of four making no more than $44,100 a year will qualify, for example. Last year, PNM provided a total of $807,220 to help 6,486 New Mexico families.

The expanded guidelines for the Good Neighbor Fund will be in effect from March 1 through May. PNM customers can apply at 21 Salvation Army offices. Applicants should bring a PNM bill showing the past due, plus proof of income for everyone and identification for everyone in the house.

Record ticket sales for Montreal-based band

Tickets to the Montreal-based indie band Arcade Fire sold out in a record six hours on the first day they went on sale.

Arcade Fire will perform April 18 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. When tickets went on sale Friday, a record 1,468 were sold within six hours, said Jo Fisher director for Tickets Santa Fe at the Lensic. It's the quickest tickets have ever sold for a band, Fisher said. The band had a pre-sale on its website and sold another 200 tickets.

"The quickest sell out of all time was for Noam Chomsky at the Lensic, only 821 seats, but gone in a fun-filled 22 minutes," Fisher said.

Sixty-six percent of Arcade Fire tickets were sold online and one-third were sold at the Lensic's box office. People from 17 states, from Massachusetts to California purchased the tickets, including many from Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

'Las Vegas Optic' names managing editor

LAS VEGAS N.M. — A former reporter for the Las Vegas Optic has returned to the newspaper as its managing editor.

Las Vegas native Martin Salazar, who reported for the paper from 2000 to 2003, will succeed David Giuliani, who moved to Illinois in December.

Optic editor and publisher Tom McDonald says Salazar's return says a lot about his passion for Las Vegas.

The 36-year-old Salazar has 15 years of newspaper experience, including stints at the Gallup Independent, The Wenatchee World in Washington state and the Albuquerque Journal.

He has worked for the Journal since 2004, where he was assistant city editor responsible for Sunday and Monday editions.

Salazar has won awards from Associated Press Managing Editors and the New Mexico Press Association.

He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from The University of New Mexico in 1998.

N.M. spaceport gets new executive director

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority's board of directors has named a retired Air Force civilian official as the spaceport's next executive director.

Gov. Susana Martinez's office announced Monday the appointment of Christine Anderson. Anderson previously served for 30 years in civilian positions with the Air Force, including several years at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Martinez says the spaceport has the potential to create jobs, spur economic development and make New Mexico a leader in space travel. She says her administration will work with Anderson and the spaceport authority to attract private investment and see the project through to its full potential.

Anderson was most recently a director at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson base in Ohio. She also was the founding director of the Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland.




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