Ski S.F. season tally 'pretty normal'

New Mexico ski resorts this winter recorded their best season since 2000-2001, with skier visits statewide up 23 percent over the previous season, the Ski New Mexico marketing organization reported Thursday.

The Santa Fe ski resort, meanwhile, ended up about 9 percent above the previous season's total, a Ski Santa Fe spokeswoman said Thursday. The final tally of 157,434 skier visits for the season that ended April 11 amounted to "a pretty normal year," said Debbie Owen, director of communications for Ski Santa Fe.

During the best seasons — such as the 1993-94 peak of 266,000 skier visits to the Santa Fe slopes — the ski area is able to open by Thanksgiving and enjoys excellent snow conditions for the Christmas and New Year holidays, she said.

The most recent season didn't get under way until Dec. 11, Owen said, and "We didn't get the really good snow until about the middle of January."

This year's storms helped bring the total amount of snow dumped on the ski runs to a healthy 263 inches, Owen said, which produced "a really good turnout at spring-break time" and allowed managers to extend the ski season by a week.

Senate panel OKs U.S. attorney pick

The nomination of Kenneth Gonzales as New Mexico's U.S. attorney cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday and headed to the full Senate for a final vote.

The Pojoaque High School graduate, who has worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico since 1999, would replace Gregory Fouratt, who has been interim U.S. attorney since David Iglesias was forced out during the controversial 2006 U.S. attorney firings by the Bush administration.

Gonzales, a 45-year-old Albuquerque resident, got his bachelor of arts and juris doctorate degrees from The University of New Mexico before becoming a career prosecutor.

He also served as a judicial law clerk to a New Mexico Supreme Court chief justice, was a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and was a judge advocate in the Army.

Bingaman and U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., both expressed hope for swift confirmation of Gonzales by the full Senate.

Congressmen want to rename building

Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation marked Earth Day on Thursday by introducing legislation to name the U.S. Department of Interior building in Washington, D.C., after the late Stewart Udall.

Udall, father of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., was the interior secretary from 1961 to 1969, serving in the Cabinets of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. The elder Udall, a longtime environmentalist, died last month at his home in Santa Fe.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced legislation in the Senate that would name the Interior Department headquarters the "Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building." U.S. Reps. Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Luján and Harry Teague, all New Mexico Democrats, co-sponsored the measure in the House.

"Stewart Udall was instrumental in the passage of virtually all of our nation's landmark environmental laws," said Bingaman, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Annapurna cafe might have to move

A kitchen fire Wednesday morning badly damaged Annapurna's World Vegetarian Café, located in the Solana Center, off West Alameda, and could force the business to find a new location.

"It was a pretty big fire," said restaurant owner Yashoda Naidoo. "We cannot operate the restaurant. It's closed."

The restaurant has been in its present location for about five years.

"If we can't reopen in this space, we will find some other space," Naidoo said. "We have a loyal following."

Naidoo said the cause of the fire is uncertain. "The Fire Department thinks it's electrical."

One insurance adjuster estimated the cost of cleaning the restaurant alone to be around $65,000. "And that's just cleaning, not repair," Naidoo said.

Annapurna's has about 12 employees, who will be covered by the store's interruption of business insurance coverage, she said.

Pregnant-girlfriend killing case ongoing

Testimony continued Thursday in the murder trial of a 23-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her father last May.

Witnesses, including the father of Marino Leyba Jr. and police officers, testified Thursday. The trial, scheduled to run through April 30, is set to resume Monday in front of state District Judge Michael Vigil.

Police say Leyba Jr. shot Sarah Lovato, 17, three times — including once in the stomach — and her father, Benny Lovato, 50, three times on May 22. Leyba's lawyer said Wednesday his client acted in self-defense, while prosecutors say he planned the killings.

Leyba is charged with two counts of murder, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence.

Police: Vandals hit middle school

Vandals caused extensive damage to Capshaw Middle School on Wednesday night, including breaking 35 windows, police said.

The broken windows occurred in the school's main building and three portables, said Sgt. Jason Wagner, city police spokesman. The vandals also damaged televisions and computers in at least one of the portables, but didn't steal anything, he said.

No damage estimate was provided in the police report, Wagner said.

N.M. jobless rate rises in March

New Mexico's jobless rate hit 8.8 percent in March, rising from the 8.7 percent rate in February and the 6.3 percent rate of March 2009.

State labor officials say New Mexico's unemployment rate is higher than it's been in more than 22 years, but falls below the national average.

The rate for Santa Fe County was 7.6 percent in March, up from 7.2 percent in February and 5.6 percent a year ago.

The analysis from the Department of Workforce Solutions indicates the job market is no longer deteriorating — and the county added 400 jobs in March while the construction sector continued to contract.

Complaint against Coss gets dismissed

The Santa Fe Ethics & Campaign Review Board has dismissed Stephanie Beninato's complaint against Mayor David Coss.

Beninato, who ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Rebecca Wurzburger for the District 2 City Council seat in March, complained that Coss violated campaign codes by asking voters, "What do you need from me to vote for me?"

On Thursday, the board unanimously upheld the recommendation of the complaints subcommittee to dismiss the complaint because no language in the city campaign code prohibits a candidate from asking such a question.

"Instead the reasonable interpretation of the alleged conservation would be wholly consistent with an effort to be responsible to the people," the subcommittee said.

The subcommittee has yet to act on Beninato's complaint against Wurzburger on similar grounds because it has lacked a quorum since subcommittee chairwoman Nancy Long was disqualified because she contributed to Wurzburger's campaign.

District 3 hopefuls to attend forum

The La Cienega Valley Association will host a forum for District 3 County Commission candidates.

The forum is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the La Cienega Community Center, 136 Camino San Jose.

The candidates are Angelica Ruiz, David Bacon and Robert Anaya.

N.M. to join rural meth fight

New Mexico has been chosen as one of seven states participating in a new effort to strengthen responses to drug abuse in rural areas.

According to the National Association of Counties, 47 percent of county sheriffs say methamphetamine is their top drug problem.

The association also says 62 percent of counties with populations of less than 25,000 report an increase in meth abuse by women.

The two-year Rural Law Enforcement Methamphetamine Initiative is funded by stimulus funds and administered under the Department of Justice.

The program is expected to focus on several priorities to strengthen responses in rural communities, including intercepting methamphetamine production and distribution, coordinating statewide law enforcement efforts, developing strategies to reduce gangs and improving access to prevention, treatment and recovery services.

Court upholds drilling decision

The state Court of Appeals has upheld the Oil Conservation Commission's decision to deny applications to drill for oil and gas in an area of potash reserves in southeastern New Mexico.

Bass Enterprises Production Co. and Devon Energy Production Co. had appealed the commission's decision to district court, which reversed the commission. The issue then went to the Court of Appeals.

The companies applied to drill on separate 40-acre tracts, which was opposed by a potash firm, Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc.

The appellate judges concluded this week the commission acted within the law.

The court said the record supported the OCC's findings that drilling would waste potash reserves and the energy companies had other ways to develop the oil and gas reserves.

State home sales increase

ALBUQUERQUE — The Realtors Association of New Mexico says home sales rose 21.5 percent last month compared to March 2009.

The association says the activity reflects buyers who are trying to beat the April 30 deadline for the expiration of tax credits for homes.

The group's executive vice president, Steve Anaya, says the real test of a sustained recovery will come after the credits expire.

The median sales price of a home in New Mexico last month was $171,000. That's slightly higher than the February median price of $169,950.

The association also reports an 11.6 percent increase in the number of homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

Contractor files lien on racino

RATON — The main contractor for a planned racetrack and casino in this Northern New Mexico community has filed a lien for nearly $845,000 against the project's Canadian developer and the corporation behind it.

The Albuquerque Journal reported in a copyright story Thursday that the president of Las Vegas, N.M.-based Franken Construction Co. Inc., alleges he's owed $844,678, plus interest, from developer Michael Moldenhauer and Horse Racing at Raton LLC.

The lien, filed April 12 with the Colfax County clerk, lists unpaid invoices in March and April.

Neither Moldenhauer nor Franken's president, James Franken, returned a call Thursday from The Associated Press seeking comment.

A lien is a creditor's claim against property. It's a way for a contractor to try to ensure payment.

The New Mexico Gaming Control Board authorized a casino license for the planned $50 million track last June. Racing commissioners approved horse racing a month earlier.




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