Local news in brief

| The New Mexican

4/4/2008 - 4/5/08

Motorcycle accident ties up Cerrillos Road

Cerrillos Road "looked like a parking lot" in Friday's rush hour, according to Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño, as traffic was backed up to St. Michael's Drive by a motorcycle accident at Zafarano Drive more than two miles away.

The motorcyclist, John Werner, 60, of Santa Fe suffered "massive head injuries," police said, and was taken by ambulance Friday night from St. Vincent Regional Medical Center to University Hospital in Albuquerque. He was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred.

Police said Werner was southbound on Cerrillos when a red sport-utility vehicle that had been going north made a U-turn in front of him. Attempting to avoid it, he slid into the median on the side of his 1985 Yamaha. The driver of the SUV left the scene, but a witness gave police a possible license plate number, which is being tracked down.

The Cerrillos-Zafarano intersection was closed and traffic backed up for two and a half hours.

17-year-old killed in single-car accident

A 17-year-old girl died in a one-car accident about 5:30 p.m. Friday when her car drifted off Camino La Tierra, hit an embankment and rolled over.

Police said that the girl was not wearing a seat belt at the time and was partly ejected through the sunroof of her 2007 Toyota Corolla. Her name was withheld pending notification of next of kin. There was no sign of alcohol use, and speed did not appear to be a factor, Sheriff Greg Solano said. “We’re not sure why she went off the road,” he said.

Man accused of stabbing speaker arraigned

The man who allegedly stabbed a speaker Wednesday during an international conference at La Fonda was arraigned Friday as Santa Fe County Magistrate Sandra Miera set cash bail at $200,000.

A statement of probable cause quoted witnesses to the stabbing as saying the man, Hirano Kazuki, had a knife in his hand, pushed people out of the way as he approached the stage where Rupert Sheldrake was speaking and tried to get onto the stage. According to the statement, Kazuki tripped as he tried to stab Sheldrake in the chest and stabbed him in the left thigh instead.

Several people attending the conference on science and consciousness seized Kazuki and held him until police came. As he was being led away by police, according to the statement, Kazuki said, "I stabbed him because I was drunk." He is charged with aggravated battery and assault with intent to commit a violent felony.

Meet independent candidate at party today

Ron Simmons, who is running as an independent in the 3rd Congressional District, is hosting a meet-the-candidate/petition-signature-gathering party at 1:30 p.m. today at the Randall Davey Audubon Center on Upper Canyon Road.

To get on the state ballot, independents must collect nearly 6,000 valid signatures of registered New Mexico voters by June 4. More information is available on Simmons' campaign Web site, www.simmons08.com.

Neighborhood park opens today with celebration

The opening of a new "pocket park" in a south-side Santa Fe neighborhood will be celebrated at 2 p.m. today with a ribbon-cutting, hot dogs and "bottles of bubbles" for children over age 5.

The site in Las Estancias neighborhood south of Rodeo Road and east of Yucca Street was vacant for nearly two decades, according a news release from the city Public Works Department.

The park now includes a city-built playground with equipment for swinging, sliding and climbing. Completion of the park, including sidewalks, seeding and tree planting, awaits a $50,000 allocation from a $30 million bond issue recently passed by city voters.

Workshop focuses on transit development

The city of Santa Fe plans to host a "transit-oriented development workshop" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Jemez Room at Santa Fe Community College.

Participants can learn about future commuter and local train service in Santa Fe and the design principles of mixed-use, transit-oriented development, a city news release said. They also will be able to provide input on pedestrian and bicycle access, improved traffic management and other subjects.

The city is studying potential transit-oriented development along the Santa Fe Southern Railway line within the city, including the Rail Runner commuter station sites.

Candidate hosts meeting in Las Vegas, N.M.

First Congressional District candidate Ben Ray Luján is hosting a "town hall" meeting in Las Vegas, N.M., today to discuss issues residents think are important.

The meeting is part of his Standing Up for New Mexico Tour, in which, Luján says, he will visit every county in the district at least once before the June 3 Democratic primary.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Middle School auditorium, 947 Old National Road.