Locomotive breakdown delays Rail Runner

Mechanical failures delayed one of the northbound New Mexico Rail Runner Express trains on Tuesday morning, delivering about 350 passengers to Santa Fe about an hour and a half later than planned.

The locomotive broke down first at the Madrid siding but was repaired, said Augusta Meyers, spokeswoman for the agency that operates the passenger trains between metropolitan Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

The same engine failed again near N.M. 599, where engineers used another train to push it part of the way to a station.

The train, No. 504, was supposed to arrive at 7:43 a.m. and didn't arrive until after 9 a.m., Meyers said.

'Quiet car' pilot program to kick off on Jan. 3

The new year will bring a new, quieter ride aboard some New Mexico Rail Runner Express trains. Starting Jan. 3, the train kicks off a pilot program to test out a "quiet car" on select busy morning and afternoon trains.

"In surveys conducted earlier in the year, hundreds of our passengers said that they would use the 'quiet car' if it were implemented. So we're simply responding to their request and we're going to give it a try", says Dewey Cave, executive director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments.

The quiet car pilot program plans to run through the end of March. During the proposed 90-day trial period, riders will be surveyed to see what they think of the experience. If the feedback is positive, then a permanent program may be implemented aboard Rail Runner trains in the spring.

"The idea is to provide a peaceful, quiet atmosphere for passengers who want to work or rest without distraction while on the train," Cave added.

For information on when the quiet car will be offered, visit nmrailrunner.com

County man reported missing for week

A Santa Fe County mother is worried that her 24-year-old son might be hurt or dead and is seeking information about his whereabouts.

Joshua Valentine was last seen Dec. 19 after he argued with his sister in a 1994 blue Toyota Camry and drove away from the area near the Allsups on Agua Fría near Fairway Village, according to Celeste Valentine, who said it's unlike her son to be out of touch with family for so long.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department issued a missing-person alert on Thursday but has received no leads in the case, Lt. Adan Mendoza said.

Valentine made a call from his cellphone at around 9:30 that night, according to his mother's inquiries to the phone company, but now the phone is off or has run out of battery power, she said.

The young man returned to Santa Fe about two weeks ago after spending a month in California in a rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction, his mother said. He had recently withdrawn from photography classes at a school in New York.

Valentine has numerous tattoos, including a star on each side of his neck and a large chest piece that says "Make your own luck."

State urges taxpayers to file electronically

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico no longer will automatically mail out personal income tax packages to individual taxpayers.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the move is expected to save the state more than $70,000.

The Department of Taxation and Revenue says that last year, it mailed tax packages to 88,000 individuals at a total cost of $140,000.

This year, the department will send those same taxpayers a postcard urging them to file electronically, and tax packages will be mailed only if requested.

Officials say that paper filings have an error rate around 28 percent because of illegible information that results in human errors.

Paper filings also take longer to process and to return funds.




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