Man sentenced in stolen art case

A man connected to a Vincent van Gogh drawing that was stolen from a Santa Fe artist's home in 2009, then fenced to a Raton consignment shop, was sentenced last week to five years in prison, The Raton Range reported Tuesday.

Edward Laird, 46, who used to work at the shop and regularly brought in items from Santa Fe to sell at the shop, pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property for supplying the now-closed shop with stolen artwork valued at more than $300,000, the newspaper reported.

Laird also pleaded no contest to burglary and larceny in the burglary of an Angel Fire-area home in 2007.

Santa Fe police said last year that the 14- by 17-inch charcoal sketch attributed to van Gogh, titled The Night Café, a study for a subsequent painting, was returned to its owner soon after it was recovered. A Texas woman had purchased the artwork for $250 from the Raton shop along with several artworks by the Santa Fe artist whose home was burglarized in May 2009. She found out the works had been stolen when she called the artist to inquire about the value of his artwork.

Laird, who was arrested last year in Vermont on burglary charges, was returned to New Mexico earlier this year.

County approves indigent-care spending

Santa Fe County's Indigent Hospital and Health Care Board voted Tuesday to contribute $165,000 of additional Sole Community Provider funds to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

The money will be used to pay the hospital's costs for delivering care to Medicaid patients. Tuesday's appropriation is a supplement to the approximately $2.2 million of Sole Community Provider funds Santa Fe County contributed earlier this year.

Commissioners Virginia Vigil, Daniel Mayfield and Liz Stefanics approved Tuesday's contribution. Commissioners Kathleen Holian and Robert Anaya were not present for the vote.

Court asks for more legal arguments in veto case

The state Supreme Court wants lawyers for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and Democratic lawmakers to address a new legal question in a dispute over the governor's veto of a $128 million tax increase on businesses to shore up New Mexico's unemployment compensation fund.

The court directed attorneys on Tuesday to submit written arguments on whether the partial veto unconstitutionally distorted the intent of the unemployment legislation by selectively striking out words.

Six Democratic lawmakers asked the court in May to invalidate the veto, which leaves no tax rates in place in 2012. The unemployment fund is projected to run out of money in early 2013.

The court is reconsidering the case after the governor and Legislature failed to agree on an unemployment solvency measure in last month's special session.

Deming schools announce 'border protocols'

DEMING — Deming Public Schools has announced new safety measures after suspected illegal immigrants boarded school buses on at least two occasions.

The Deming Headlight reports that Deming Public Schools Superintendent Harvielee Moore presented last week the "District and Border Protocols" to district transportation department drivers.

Under the new rules, drivers will be required to observe the staging areas at the border and help identify students who are allowed to be on school buses.

Last month, suspected illegal immigrants entered the U.S and then boarded a Deming school bus. School officials later identified the suspects and turned them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Villanueva residents get bad news

Villanueva residents should know the fate of their post office, one of 54 in New Mexico set to close, by Feb. 25, 2012.

Jolea Quintana and Barbara Wood of the U.S. Postal Service in Albuquerque met with about 100 Villanueva residents Tuesday. They said people have 60 days to comment on the proposed closing before a decision is finalized.

Danny Torrez, whose family owns the Villanueva General Store, said he thinks it would be more practical to close one of the post offices in Ribera and San José, which are about three miles from each other, than to close the Villanueva post office, about 12 miles south of Ribera.

"It's not only a post office," he said. "It's a part of our culture, a place to go to, to meet your neighbors."



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