Denish names Kilmer to board

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has invited a host of people to serve on her transition advisory teams. The members are from all 33 counties in the state and include a rumored rival to Denish in the 2010 gubernatorial race: actor Val Kilmer, who owns a ranch in San Miguel County.

The list includes business and community leaders from around the state, mostly Democrats, and Denish's husband, Herb. It also includes Santa Fe Mayor David Coss.

Denish's office says the members of the advisory team will be asked to make "constructive recommendations" to her by Jan. 15.

Homewise wins prestigious award

A local nonprofit that tackles affordable housing won a prestigious nationwide award this week.

Homewise was named one of the two top-performing community development financial institutions for 2008.

Winning the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance is like winning the Oscar, said Mike Loftin, Homewise executive director. In addition to the praise, the group gets something better: a check for $2.75 million.

Loftin said the money will help pay for a program that funds a portion of mortgage costs so people don't have to pay mortgage insurance. Some of it will also go toward an energy and water conservation program.

Founded in 1986, Homewise has made loans to help over 1,200 households buy and improve their homes and provided homeownership education to more than 3,000 people in the state.

"Homewise impressed the selection committee with its integrated, cutting-edge approach to making homeownership sustainable for low- and moderate-income families, even in a high-cost market," said Mark Pinsky, president and chief executive officer of Philadelphia-based OFN, a network of community financial institutions.

The other entity recognized this year was Chicago-based IFF, which serves a five-state region in the Midwest.

State denies school's charter

The New Mexico Public Education Commission voted Thursday to not issue a state charter to Española Military Academy. The action means the school will lose its authorization as a charter school at the end of the current school year. It has 30 days to file an appeal. The current charter, issued by the local board of education, runs out in June.

The commission approved applications of four other existing charter schools. They included three schools in Albuquerque and one in Las Cruces. All five of the schools had previously been authorized as charter schools by their local boards of education and were seeking renewals of their charters from the state.

Assistant Education Secretary Don Duran said the Española Military Academy is not a viable option for families in Española. The school, which serves grades six to 12, has not shown its students are making academic progress, enrollment is declining, and the school made significant changes to its charter without approval from the local school board.

In the 2007-08 school year, less than 2 percent of students tested proficient in math, according to the department.

Domenici closes Washington office

ALBUQUERQUE — Sen. Pete Domenici closed his office in Washington, D.C., on Friday, signaling the end of his 36-year career in the U.S. Senate. His term ends next month.

"This is a difficult day after all these years in the Senate, but I am upbeat about the change," he said in a news release.

Domenici, R-N.M., announced his retirement after disclosing he had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. He said last month that a prominent doctor has questioned whether he suffers from the illness.

Domenici said he met with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Sen.-elect Tom Udall, the Democrat who won the race for Domenici's open seat, and offered "to help them where I can to advance the best interests of our state."

City provides free music, parking

Local musicians are scheduled to perform at various locations in downtown Santa Fe and on Guadalupe Street today and next Saturday.

Also, the city Parking Division is offering free parking at all downtown parking meters, the Community Convention Center and Railyard garages and other spaces at the Railyard on Saturdays and Sundays until Dec. 28.

In addition, the city is providing one free hour of parking at the Sandoval Parking Garage on Saturdays and Sundays.

A news release said the Saturday musical performances — involving 10 musical acts — are part of a Home for the Holidays initiative to encourage residents to shop in Santa Fe during the holiday season. The musicians will rotate through various locations between noon and 5 p.m.

The city Department of Economic Development and the Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered with the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Fe Alliance on the initiative.

Santa Fe River history talk today

Take a walk through history along the Santa Fe River from 10 a.m. to noon today.

Pamela Dupzyk, program director of the nonprofit Santa Fe Watershed Association, will talk about what the river looked like centuries ago when the Spanish arrived and why it looks the way it does now.

The walk is scheduled to begin downtown at 310 Old Santa Fe Trail and the river. Parking is available at the New Mexico State Land Office on Old Santa Fe Trail.

Grant helps city buy, plant trees

The state Forestry Division's Forest Re-Leaf program has awarded the city of Santa Fe $8,000 to purchase and plant trees along the Santa Fe River corridor near West Alameda Street. Santa Fe was among four projects in the state awarded a total of $31,780.

"The New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf Program provides much needed resources to support community tree planting efforts across the state," said State Forester Arthur "Butch" Blazer.

New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf was established in 1990 to provide a tree-planting grant program for public schools, cities, towns, counties, soil and water conservation districts and rural fire districts.

Deadline for judge applications Jan. 5

Lawyers have until Jan. 5 to apply for a vacant judgeship in the First Judicial District.

The vacant Rio Arriba County position has been held by Judge Tim Garcia, who was recently named to a vacant seat on the state Court of Appeals.

Interested lawyers can obtain an application at http://lawschool.unm.edu/judsel/application.php or by calling Sandra Bauman at 505-277-4700.

The Judicial Nomination Committee will meet Jan. 15 in Santa Fe to evaluate applications.

State plans health care discussion

The state invites the public to join in a discussion about "the opportunities and challenges of the health care delivery system in north-central New Mexico."

Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde is among people who will attend a town hall meeting from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Nick L. Salazar Center for Performing Arts at Northern New Mexico Community College in Española.

Also present will be Department of Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil and Alex Valdez, chief executive officer of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

Officers to face charges in death

RATON — A grand jury has ruled there is sufficient probable cause to indict three police officers on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a man in custody, the Raton Police Department said Friday.

The department said the three officers — Sgt. Chris Edmondson and Officers Nolberto Dominguez and Leonard Baca — are on administrative leave.

The charges stem from a Nov. 18, 2007, incident involving Jesse Saenz, 23. While officers were trying to subdue an unruly Saenz, they fired their Tasers at him.

He was then placed face down in a police car with his legs shackled and bent behind him. He was taken to the Colfax County Detention Center in the back of the squad car with an officer sitting on his lower back.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator classified Saenz's death as a homicide.

According to the autopsy, the means used to restrain Saenz and the position of his body impaired his breathing abilities, heightened the effect of drugs in his system and contributed significantly to his death.

Shortly before the cruiser pulled up at the jail, Saenz's body convulsed and he went limp. Efforts to resuscitate him failed, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at a Raton hospital. The autopsy found high levels of cocaine and the presence of marijuana in his bloodstream.