Local news in brief Oct. 2

Staff and wire reports |

10/1/2008 - 10/2/08

Rail work mishap blocks Zia traffic

The busy intersection of St. Francis Drive and Zia Road was blocked for nearly a half-hour Wednesday afternoon because of a malfunction of the new Rail Runner crossing.

Project Manager Chris Blewett said a welder working on the tracks about 12:50 p.m. accidentally caused a connection of the electrical circuit that activates the gates that block traffic in both directions on Zia Road.

One motorist estimated Zia traffic backed up for several miles before the problem was fixed 30 minutes later. Blewett estimated contractors got the call within 10 minutes of the problem and had it fixed 10 minutes later.

"It was our fault," he said. "We're sorry it happened. We'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again."

WildEarth Guardians receives state grants

Santa Fe nonprofit WildEarth Guardians has been awarded two river restoration grants from the state for work on the Rio Puerco and La Jencia Creek.

The restoration projects are located along the Rio Puerco, south of Cuba, and La Jencia Creek, west of Socorro. The grants, $157,750 for the Rio Puerco and $137,700 for the La Jencia Creek project, will pay for removing non-native vegetation, planting more than 30,000 native cottonwoods and willows, and restoring stream channels.

The projects will occur on about four miles of state, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and private lands along the two streams.

The state awarded 15 grants for a total of $2.8 million in funding to help restore and improve the health of New Mexico's river ecosystems. This is the second year grants were awarded through Gov. Bill Richardson's River Ecosystem Restoration Initiative. In 2007, 12 projects received $2.5 million to restore rivers and streams.

Los Alamos firm gets Army cleanup contract

A Los Alamos firm is one of five companies that will share a $29.5 million contract to carry out environmental remediation work in the mid-Atlantic and northeast U.S.

Lata-Sharp Remediation Services LLC of Los Alamos was selected by the U.S. Army to take part in the five-year contract for radiological and other hazardous and toxic waste projects throughout the Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division.

"Lata-Sharp has developed into a very good firm for this type of work, and I am glad to see this small New Mexico business get new work to advance environmental cleanup," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who is ranking member on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Army Corps.

Lata-Sharp Remediation Services LLC is a disabled veteran-owned small business.

Tell us who made an impact

Each year, The New Mexican recognizes 10 people in Northern New Mexico by writing about them in a special section, 10 Who Made a Difference.

Those chosen must live in Northern New Mexico and be involved in one or more volunteer activities that made a difference in their community. To nominate an individual, write a letter or e-mail describing the person and his or her accomplishments. Tell us how to contact you as well as the nominee.

Letters must received by The New Mexican by 5 p.m. Oct. 15.

Send nominations to: 10 Who Made a Difference, The New Mexican City Desk, P.O. 2048, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Or e-mail nominations to brucek@sfnewmexican.com.

Profiles on those honored will be published Thanksgiving Day.

Deputy fired over inmate's death

FARMINGTON — A San Juan County sheriff's deputy who failed to inform jail officers that a female inmate who later died needed medical attention and ignored her pleas for hospitalization has been fired.

Sheriff Bob Melton said Tuesday that Deputy James Frost was fired Sept. 17 when detectives discovered he did not tell jail officials that 38-year-old Bobbie Long had consumed a potentially fatal does of methanol.

Long was found Sept. 12 dead in her jail cell. She was arrested Sept. 11 on an outstanding warrant for minor traffic violations.

Frost, a 10-year veteran, has 10 days to appeal the decision.

State sues El Paso Electric

The state Environment Department has sued El Paso Electric Co. for alleged air-quality violations at the utility's Rio Grande Electric Power Generating Station.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in state District Court in Santa Fe, alleging multiple violations of New Mexico's Air Quality Control Act. The facility is located near the border between El Paso and Sunland Park.

El Paso Electric spokeswoman Teresa Souza said the lawsuit is an old dispute about some ambiguous language in an air permit that has been clarified. She said the plant is in compliance with the air permit.

Environment Department spokeswoman Marissa Stone said Wednesday that the department issued a compliance order to El Paso Electric for excess emissions violations about two years ago, and those violations have not been resolved.

Event to focus on wilderness

Writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams and federal Bureau of Land Management Regional Director Linda Rundell will be among presenters at The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 11 at The Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town.

Guest speakers also include New Mexico author and artist Mary Beath, QiGong Master Robert Bawol, wildlife biologist Roberta Salazar and community organizer Arturo Sandoval.

Participants can choose from six workshops: Creative Nature Writing; Building Community with Land Grants and Acequias; Wilderness Awareness; Celestial and Solar Navigation Skills; and New Mexico Birds.

Space is limited and registration is required. Call 505-843-8696 for more information or visit www.nmwild.org to register online.

Bio Park wins national award

Albuquerque Biological Parks' Tingley Beach Restoration Project earned the 2008 Top Honors Award for North American Conservation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The award was presented recently in Milwaukee.

"Albuquerque Bio Park is a leader in conservation," said Association of Zoos and Aquariums president Jim Maddy.

The organization annually recognizes exceptional efforts by accredited zoos and aquariums to preserve regional habitat, restore native species and support biodiversity in the wild.

In partnership with other agencies, the Bio Park undertook the Tingley Beach construction project to restore degraded fishing waters, re-create wetlands and establish native plant species.

Film on West's water airs tonight

Actress Jane Seymour narrates the documentary film The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?, which airs at 9 p.m. tonight on KNME-TV.

The film chronicles the ongoing water crisis in the American West. Producer, director and writer Jim Thebaut takes viewers on a tour of dwindling water resources at the Rio Grande, the Colorado River, Lake Powell, Lake Mead and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Drought, climate change and increasing urban populations are all impacting the West's water supply. Seymour and Thebaut take a look at the problems and explore solutions in cities like Albuquerque, Phoenix and Palm Springs. Seymour also visits the Navajo Nation to explore water problems faced by the tribe.