Mall cinema now 'discount' venue

Movies at the Regal Entertainment UA North 6 theater at the Santa Fe Place mall are about to get cheaper.

Starting Friday, the cinema will charge $3.50 all day, every day. In the past, regular admission has been $9.25, or $6.50 for children and seniors. "We're now a discount theater," said a local employee, who asked not to be identified and declined further comment Wednesday.

Officials at Regal Entertainment's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., could not be reached.

Films to be offered Friday include 12 Rounds, Taken, Gran Torino, Watchman, The Race to Witch Mountain and He's Just Not That Into You.

The six screens at UA North 6 have a total of 1,767 seats.

Deer spotted grazing downtown

A group of deer apparently have been making nocturnal visits to downtown Santa Fe's north side in recent weeks.

The latest sighting came Wednesday night when Ray Graumlich, head reference librarian at the Santa Fe Public Library, was on his way home from work shortly after 9 p.m.

He counted seven of the animals crossing Paseo de Peralta just west of the Masonic Lodge toward the U.S. District Courthouse.

After turning around to report the small herd to an emergency dispatcher, Graumlich said he last saw the deer near a curve on Paseo de Peralta.

"They were just kind of munching on whatever was available," he said.

Another downtown worker said that a couple of weeks ago, he saw a group of deer late one night in the same general area.

City hosts charity baby shower

Almost a fourth of New Mexico babies are born into poverty, say organizers of a charity drive, and many families lack such basic necessities as diapers, bottles, blankets and car seats for newborns.

The city of Santa Fe, in partnership with the University of Phoenix and Presbyterian Hospital, will host a charity baby shower at noon April 28 at City Hall, 200 Lincoln Ave.

Organizers are asking the community to donate such items as nursing supplies, baby picture books, mobiles, infant toys, cribs, crib sheets, playpens, socks, onesies, sweaters, sleepers, strollers, car seats, baby wipes, bibs or other baby items.

Until the end of April, new items also can be dropped off at the Santa Fe campus of the University of Phoenix, 130 Siringo Road.

Cindy Sheehan to speak in Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Chapter of Veterans for Peace will host a speech by peace activist Cindy Sheehan.

The event is scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Church in Santa Fe, 107 W. Barcelona Road.

Sheehan, whose son was killed in the Iraq war, made news when she camped out near then-President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch in an effort to get an audience with him. She has written a book that is due for release.

Show features museum bedding

Bedding from the Museum of New Mexico Collection will be featured on the Emmy Award-winning reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The show airs from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on May 10. The show's design team selected bedding from Berry Creek, a Salt Lake City-based company, which is a partner in the 100-piece Museum of New Mexico Collection, for the renovation of a house in Las Vegas, Nev., for sisters who suffer from a rare immune disorder.

The nine-piece bedding collection in the show includes duvet fabric inspired by a 20th-century Argentinean textile made by the Mapuche people. The bolster fabric is adapted from an 18th-century Bolivian wool poncho. The retail price is nearly $2,000 for the queen bed size.

Scoop the poop in park cleanup

The annual spring dog park cleanup, which usually coincides with Earth Day, is a weeklong affair this year.

Jane Tokunaga of Friends of the Santa Fe Dog Park, a loose-knit group of people who gather twice yearly to clean up the Frank Ortiz Park, said the spring cleanup is now being sponsored by the city of Santa Fe Parks, Trails and Open Space Division. A portion of the Camino las Crucitas park is reserved for off-leash companion animals.

The city will be putting out barrels April 27 and is encouraging dog-park users to help spruce up the area during the week. A larger effort is planned from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 2.

Expo New Mexico gets new director

The deputy secretary of the state Tourism Department has been named director of Expo New Mexico.

Gov. Bill Richardson announced Craig Swagerty's appointment Wednesday. Swagerty will replace Judith Espinosa, who left the post after 15 months in hopes of being appointed to the Bernalillo County Commission.

Richardson says he's confident Swagerty will lead the fairgrounds to success as the state looks to redevelop the 236-acre property in Albuquerque. Expo includes the fairgrounds, Tingley Coliseum and The Downs at Albuquerque racetrack and casino.

Swagerty has served as deputy tourism secretary since 2007. He was previously the mayor of Red River and also served on the City Council. He holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Las Vegas, N.M., call center closing

A Las Vegas, N.M., call center plans to close at the end of the month, costing the community 48 jobs.

Vertex officials say they will close the center, based at New Mexico Highlands University, because it lost its only client, Duke Energy.

A company spokeswoman, Diane Webb, says the agreement with Duke was no longer beneficial to either party.

She says the center will close April 30.

The center opened in late 2007 under IEI Financial Services, which shortly afterward was taken over by Vertex, based in the United Kingdom.

Las Vegas has one other call center, Results-Las Vegas, which opened last year after a previous call center shut down.

Founder of Blake's Lotaburger dies

The founder of the New Mexico hamburger chain, Blake's Lotaburger, has died at age 88.

G. Blake Chanslor died Friday in Albuquerque.

Chanslor opened the first Lotaburger in 1952, charging 35 cents for a hamburger, which came with a bag of potato chips.

Two more locations opened in 1953. Lotaburger had 75 restaurants and $30 million in annual sales when Chanslor sold it in 2003. The chain, now run by Ronald and Brian Rule, has 76 locations across New Mexico, including 34 in Albuquerque, according to its Web site.

Chanslor was known for his philanthropy, and was a major donor for Heart Hospital's New Heart Center for Wellness, Fitness and Rehabilitation, which opened in 2005.

Chanslor, who was born June 8, 1920, in Borger, Texas, served in the Navy in World War II. He moved to Albuquerque afterward.

He is survived by his wife, a son, two daughters, three grandchildren and two sisters.