Man found dead in apartment

Police late Saturday were investigating the death of a man whose body was found in an apartment on Santa Fe's southwest side.

Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies found the unidentified man when they responded to a report of criminal damage to property at the Cedar Crest Apartments on Airport Road about 2 p.m., Undersheriff Robert Garcia said.

They found a bullet hole in an apartment wall and a dead man in the apartment on the other side of the wall.

It was still unclear as of 8:45 p.m. Saturday whether the man had been shot, Garcia said.

"We're awaiting OMI and the state police, and we're getting a search warrant so we can process the scene," Garcia said.

LaDuke to address IAIA grads

Winona LaDuke, who ran for vice president in 1996 and 2000 as Ralph Nader's running mate on the Green Party ticket, will give the commencement speech Friday at the Institute of American Indian Arts College of Contemporary Native Arts graduation ceremonies.

LaDuke (Anishinaabe) is a Native American activist, environmentalist and economist. She will travel to Santa Fe from Minnesota, where she is program director for the Honor the Earth Fund.

She also is the founding director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch universities, she has written extensively on Native American environmental issues and is a former board member of Greepeace, USA.

The 11 a.m. ceremony at the IAIA campus south of Santa Fe will also include a processional by the Albuquerque drum group Zotigh Singers and an invocation by New Mexico Indian Affairs Department Secretary Alvin Warren (Santa Clara Pueblo). As part of the ceremony, an honorary degree will be awarded to Hopi painter Dan Namingha.

Authorities identify La Cienega body

Jose Gutierrez, whose body was found in an arroyo near La Cienega last week, had been missing since January.

Undersheriff Robert Garcia identified Gutierrez on Saturday afternoon, three days after a resident along Las Estrellas Road, off the Interstate 25 frontage road near The Downs at Santa Fe, found the thinly clad, decomposed body 50 yards behind his home.

Gutierrez, 51, who lived in the same area and had a history of epileptic seizures, Garcia said, had been reported missing by his sister, who lives in Pojoaque, on Jan. 25. That was nine days after he was admitted to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, according to a hospital identification bracelet on the body that called him only "John Doe."

Last January, deputies spoke to Gutierrez's other relatives in Moriarty, who "thought he might have traveled to Mexico to visit his mom and dad," Garcia said. He said Gutierrez's birth place is listed as Santa Fe.

"We don't suspect foul play," he said. "But we're still waiting on the toxicology report."

Bandelier project to cause delays

Visitors to Bandelier National Monument may see delays between now and Memorial Day because of a road repaving project.

Superintendent Jason Lott says the road into Frijoles Canyon needs to be repaved after new sewage lines were installed under the main road into the monument.

Lott says to minimize delays, roadwork will not occur on weekends or Memorial Day.

Lott says bicycles will be prohibited on the main road during all phases of the repaving.

Bandelier Facility Manager Liza Ermeling says the new sewage lines that required the repaving will ensure the park has long-term capacity to provide restrooms for park visitors.


One trip features three railroads

Train lovers later this month will get a chance to make an Albuquerque-Lamy-Santa Fe journey on three different railroads: Amtrak, Santa Fe Southern Railway and New Mexico Rail Runner Express.

Passengers on May 23 can begin what is being billed as the "Golden Triangle" trip from either Albuquerque or Santa Fe by buying a ticket package from the Santa Fe Southern Railway that is good for all three legs of the trip.

A news release said the package — which costs $50 for adults, $40 for seniors and children under 13 — includes a commemorative four-pocket ticket holder that will hold all three tickets as well as a photo of all three locomotives.

Santa Fe Southern president Carol Raymond said the idea was suggested by train riders. "I think people are blogging about it," Raymond said. "Never underestimate the passion of trainiacs."

Marvin Pendergrass of the Amtrak office in Albuquerque said, "Since National Train Day is in May, Memorial Day weekend is a good time for train fans to celebrate the joy of riding trains."

Manhole work to affect traffic

One traffic lane will be closed Mondayon Paseo de Peralta while a contractor works on manholes between Don Gaspar Avenue and Old Santa Fe Trail.

A city news release said work by the contractor TCI on six manholes in the area is expected to take all day.

On Wednesday, TCI will be working at the intersection of Paseo de Peralta and Palace Avenue, requiring the closing of the east-bound lane of Palace while work is under way, the announcement said.

St. John's sets 2009 commencement

Dr. Steve Forman, a St. John's College alumnus now with the City of Hope cancer center near Los Angeles, will address the 2009 graduating class in Santa Fe later this month.

Eighty-six seniors, having completed their senior essays and defended them in oral examinations, are expected to receive their diplomas at the college's 43rd commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. May 28 at the campus on Santa Fe's east side. Twenty-one students will receive Master of Arts in Liberal Arts degrees.

Forman, an international leader in the field of hematologic malignancy and bone marrow transplantation, chairs the Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Department at City of Hope.

He is a former member of the college's Board of Visitors and Governors and a key supporter of the St. John's College Ariel Internship Program.

Five of the master's candidates are New Mexico residents, including James Edward Kuziel, Kathleen Marie Longwaters and Michael Anthony Multari, all of Santa Fe; Carrie Ann Holt of Los Alamos; and Lincoln Arnold Draper of Albuquerque.