Music on the Hill series set

The first of six concerts in the Music on the Hill series, sponsored by St. John's College, is scheduled for June 10 with Bert Dalton (Brazilian jazz).

The concerts are from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday evenings on the athletic field at the college.

The series lineup also includes Eileen Meyers (indie folk, June 10), Arlen Asher Quartet (jazz, June 24), Michael Herndon (jazz vocals, July 8), Nacha Mendez (Latin jazz, July 15) and Wagogo (world beat/reggae, July 22).

This year the college is partnering with FAM JAM! to present pre-show events for families at 4:45 p.m. June 10 and June 24.

Elementary kids to read poetry

The Santa Fe Arts Commission and ArtWorks plan to host a poetry reading by local elementary school students at 4 p.m. May 30 at the Santa Fe Children's Museum. Students will read original work inspired by Valerie Martinez, the city's poet laureate.

ArtWorks is a program developed by the Santa Fe Arts Commission in response to the community's call for arts programming in elementary schools, a city announcement said.

Each year ArtWorks publishes a book of student poetry, and this year's book will be available at the reading. For more information, contact Kristin Watson, arts education coordinator, at 983-5078 or artworks@cybermesa.com.

Health panel needs volunteers

Santa Fe County is seeking volunteers to sit on the Santa Fe County Health Policy and Planning Commission.

The 21-member panel advises the County Commission on health-related matters.

A news release said the county, in particular, seeks volunteers who work in the fields of complementary and alternative medicine and dentistry. Members serve two-year terms.

To apply by June 25, mail a letter of interest and résumé to the Santa Fe County Health and Human Services Division, attention Marie Garcia at 2052 Galisteo St., Suite A, Santa Fe, NM, 87505, fax it to 992-9854 or e-mail it to garcia@santafecounty.org.

Railroad models to be on display

The Santa Fe Model Railroad Club opens its exhibit next weekend in El Museo Cultural in the Santa Fe Railyard, 1615 Paseo de Peralta.

The show opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the doors closing at 5 p.m. Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Memorial Day the show is open from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., when the hobbyists will take it apart again.

The club will show its trains and modules in August at the Santa Fe County Fair, in October at the XI Santa Fe Model Train Show, and in December during the Santa Fe Air and Transportation Show at the airport.

St. John's student wins assistantship

St. John's College senior Austin Xavier Volz received the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach in Germany. Volz will graduate from St. John's on Saturday. After his assistantship is over, he will enroll in the University of Hawaii's master's program in second-language acquisition. Volz is a native of Durango, Colo.

The English Teaching Assistantship places students as English-teaching assistants in schools or universities in foreign countries. This helps improve students' foreign-language skills, while helping others learn English. The Fulbright program has 294,000 participants in these international exchange programs.

Police seek clues to boy's death

ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque police are trying to unravel the mystery of how an unidentified body of a small boy wound up buried in an Albuquerque playground after a preliminary autopsy provided no clues about how the child died.

Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh says the Office of the Medical Investigator has found "no obvious signs or cause of death."

Walsh says about 50 police officers going door-to-door asking neighbors for help in identifying the 3- to 5-year-old boy also came up empty-handed Saturday.

The boy was found buried in the sand at the northeast Albuquerque playground Friday when a mother there with her children spotted a shoe sticking out of the sand and made the grim discovery.

Officials call for WIPP funds

CARLSBAD — Carlsbad officials are urging the Department of Energy and Congress to restore an $11.4 million shortfall in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's 2009-2010 budget.

State Rep. John Heaton, D-Carlsbad, and Carlsbad Mayor Bob Forrest want funding for the facility to at least reach last year's level of about $236 million.

The two traveled to Washington to meet with the DOE representatives, New Mexico's congressional delegation and members of the Senate Budget Committee about the nuclear waste depository located in underground salt beds about 27 miles east of Carlsbad.

President Barack Obama's budget provided about $225 million for WIPP.

Heaton says without the additional funding, routine maintenance and replacement of aging equipment will suffer.

Carlsbad court adds dress code

CARLSBAD — Three District Court judges have adopted a dress code that bans flip-flops and shorts among other attire for everyone attending proceedings in their court.

An administrative order issued this month is directed at lawyers, witnesses, jurors, spectators and court employees attending trials, hearings or other proceedings.

District Court Clerk Eric Ellis says the judges think people should show respect when they're in court.

The dress code prohibits tank tops, exposed midriffs, shorts, baggy pants and flip-flops among other clothing.

Clothing with indecent words or graphics or that advertise illegal substances or promotes gangs also is banned.

It was not clear what would happen if anyone violates the dress code.

Checkpoints turn focus on seat belts

Law-enforcement officers will conduct checkpoints around New Mexico the next two weeks to spot drivers who aren't in compliance with the state's mandatory seat-belt law.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said the effort is part of the "Click It Or Ticket" campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LANL workers give $170K to campaign

Employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory for the eighth consecutive year are the largest contributors to the United Way of Santa Fe County's annual giving campaign.

Lab employees and Los Alamos National Security LLC, the company that manages the lab for the National Nuclear Security Administration, donated $170,000 to the campaign, a news release from the lab said.

The lab, LANS and the lab's Community Programs Office will receive a "Raise Awareness" award at the United Way of Santa Fe County 2009 innovation awards reception Tuesday at Bishop's Lodge.

Los Alamos employees and LANS raised more than $2 million in pledges and donations in United Way's last campaign, the announcement said.