Ex-officer pleads in vehicular homicide case

Carlos Fierro's passenger pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident Friday morning in state District Court.

Former state police Sgt. Alfred Lovato — whose prosecution is based on a tenuous Court of Appeals precedent alleging a passenger's culpability in a drunken-driving death — is set for trial in May.

"Why are we wasting taxpayer dollars prosecuting this man?" Lovato's lawyer, Sam Bregman, asked during the hearing.

Lovato, a former member of Gov. Bill Richardson's security detail, was sitting in the passenger seat of Carlos Fierro's BMW on Nov. 26, 2008, when Fierro struck and killed William Tenorio, who was crossing Guadalupe Street. Fierro was convicted by a jury of vehicular homicide in October, pleaded no contest to leaving the scene of a fatal accident in November and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

After a preliminary hearing last month, state District Judge Michael Vigil ruled that a prosecutor barely reached the threshold of probable cause and warned that the evidence presented would not meet the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt during trial.

Snowboarder comes out of coma

Nicolas Flores, the 17-year-old who was in a coma following a snowboarding accident at Sipapú on Sunday, is awake, speaking in full sentences and recognizes people.

"It's wonderful," said his father, Billy Flores, speaking from Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

Billy Flores said a flood of teens had been at the hospital to visit his son, who is still in the intensive care unit, but they aren't yet allowed to see him. Flores said hospital officials are concerned about exposing his son to the flu or other illnesses.

Nicolas Flores, a Monte del Sol Charter School senior, was selected as the poster artist for this year's Santa Fe Winter Spanish Market. He was scheduled to sign posters today.

He was snowboarding without a helmet when his snowboard apparently flipped backward and he hit his head on a tree.

Santa to ride Rail Runner trains

Santa Claus will be riding the rails between Santa Fe and Belen today and next Saturday.

He'll go from car to car on various Rail Runner Express trains to have his photo taken with young passengers, a news release said.

Santa's journey will begin at the downtown Albuquerque station when he boards the 9:46 a.m. train heading south to Belen, then hops on the 10:48 a.m. train heading north and arriving at the Santa Fe Depot at 1:06 p.m. At 1:20 p.m., Santa will leave Santa Fe and take the Rail Runner all the way back to Belen, then catch the 3:58 p.m. train to finish his day back in Albuquerque.

Rail Runner staff said passengers who want to take advantage of the next two "Saturdays with Santa on the Rail Runner" should simply find a seat on the train and have a camera ready.

N.M. is No. 1 in U.S. for breakfast program

The state Public Education Department says New Mexico ranks first in the nation for low-income student participation in the school breakfast program.

The nonprofit, Washington, D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center ranked New Mexico No. 1 for the third year in a row.

The department says nearly 63 percent of eligible children participated in the school breakfast program. The national average was almost 47 percent.

In the 2008-09 school year, more than 103,000 New Mexico children participated in the program on an average day.

The federal government pays for the low-income school breakfast program, but New Mexico goes beyond that by serving meals to all children at 223 low-performing elementary schools.

Public Education Department Assistant Secretary Gilbert Perea says the federal government then reimburses the state for part of that extra cost.

Navy to commission new sub

The USS New Mexico, the Navy's newest Virginia-class nuclear submarine, will be commissioned on March 27.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus set the date for he ceremony, which marks the point when a vessel officially joins the fleet.

The event will be held at the Norfolk Naval Station in Norfolk, Va.

The $2.7 billion submarine recently returned from sea trials to the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard, which hopes to deliver the submarine to the Navy before the end of the year.

It is the Navy's sixth Virginia-class submarine and will be armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as torpedoes.

An earlier USS New Mexico was a battleship that was in service from 1918 to 1946.

Inspectors checking for illegal signs

Santa Fe city inspectors are looking for signs that are out of compliance with historic-zone codes, says a city news release.

City ordinances regulate materials, lighting, dimensions and locations of signs in the historic districts.

But Sevastian Gurulé, city constituent services liaison, said the inspectors will be looking closely at signs that appear to advertise discounts or distressed-merchandise sales.

He said there are no recent changes in the city ordinance, but that the land-use department recently assigned an inspector to concentrate on illegal signs during the Christmas season.

Talk on U.S.-China scheduled

Art McHaffie, vice president of the Council on International Relations, will address China-U.S. relations at a Jan. 6 luncheon in Santa Fe.

McHaffie was part of the World Affairs Councils of America leadership mission to China in November, which coincided with President Barack Obama's visit to China. The group had access to senior government officials in addition to leading Chinese think tanks and universities, a news release said.

At the luncheon, set for 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Santa Fe Hilton, he will address such topics as monetary exchange rates, the effect of China's status as a major lender to the U.S. and whether the U.S. should continue a nonintervention policy with regard to Tibet, Taiwan, Chinese minorities, civil rights and censorship.

Cost of the talk and luncheon is $32 for nonmembers and $26 for CIR members. For more information or to register, go to www.sfcir.org or call 982-4931.

City's 400th in 'USA Today'

Santa Fe has been named one of the "Destinations to Watch in 2010" by SmarterTravel.com.

The city's "vibrant art community and stunning scenery aren't a limited-time offer. But a 400th anniversary comes along only once," the travel Web site reports.

The blurb, published this week in USA Today, highlights a free outdoor movie series on Friday and Saturday nights that had been planned as part of the anniversary celebrations. However, those plans are in limbo as the nonprofit in charge of planning the anniversary faces a funding gap.

A proposal seeking more city cash is not expected to be reviewed by city finance officials until next month, said Darlene Griego, business manager for the convention center and the city staff person who oversees a contract for anniversary programs.

In addition to Santa Fe, Germany, Singapore, Tampa and Mexico are also mentioned in the article.

Chavez center pools set to reopen

The therapy pool, leisure pool and spa at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center will reopen Monday now that retrofit work has been completed.

Automatic access doors to the therapy pool will also reopen, however, work on the entrance will be ongoing, according to a city announcement.






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