Police ID man in shooting

State police on Monday identified the man shot and killed by officers early Sunday morning in Cordova as 58-year-old Luis Montoya.

Montoya was shot after being kicked out of Ohkay Casino in Española, then returning home and calling 911 for an unknown reason, said Peter Olson, a state police spokesman. Officers arrived at Montoya's Cordova home about 3:40 a.m. and found him sitting on his porch holding a rifle, he said.

An apparently intoxicated Montoya began yelling at officers and threatening to "shoot everybody," Olson said. Officers told him to put down the weapon, but Montoya refused. After about 20 minutes, Montoya shot into the ground, and the officers on scene shot him, he said.

Montoya died about three hours later at Española Hospital. Olson didn't know how many officers fired or how many times Montoya was shot.

DWI citations up statewide

New Mexico state police issued 657 more drunken-driving citations statewide in 2009 as compared to 2008, according to a news release.

In the Santa Fe area, officers wrote 10 more drunken-driving tickets in 2009 than in 2008 — 280 as opposed to 270, the release says. In Española, officers issued more than double the number of DWI citations in 2009 as they did in 2008 — 362 as opposed to 136, the release states.

Overall, state police officers issued 4,182 DWI citations in the state during 2009 — 657 more than 2008.

The news release attributed the increase to checkpoints, saturation patrols and "the dedication officers have shown in stopping those that show signs of intoxication."

Police plan Neighborhood Watch meetings

The first in a series of monthly Neighborhood Watch Block Captain meetings is scheduled for Jan. 25 by the Santa Fe Police Department Crime Prevention Unit.

The 6 p.m. meeting will be held at the Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club gymnasium, 730 Alto St., an announcement said.

Department representatives will answer any questions and will have area burglar and vandalism statistics available for review during the session, which the news release said is intended to "motivate and excite existing Neighborhood Watch organizations."

For more information, call Sgt. Marvin Paulk at 955-2754 or 795-3741, or e-mail mlpaulk@santafenm.gov.

New eatery plans for spring opening

Soup, a planned soup-and-sandwich eatery on Old Santa Fe Trail, will request a restaurant beer and wine license from the Santa Fe City Council at its meeting Wednesday.

The restaurant is part of Santa Fe art dealer and businessman Gerald Peters' Santa Fe Dining operation. It will be in a space formerly occupied by Café Pink.

"It's a quick-service concept," said Jeff Jinnett of Santa Fe Dining. "We hope it will be popular with the state workers in the area."

The restaurant will have a seating capacity of about 25 people and will offer takeout.

Soup, which will employ six to eight people, is expected to open in April or May, Jinnett said.

Souper Bowl benefit scheduled

Souper Bowl XVI, an annual benefit for The Food Depot, will give more than 1,000 guests a chance to decide which participating restaurants offer the best soups in Santa Fe.

The Jan. 30 event is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

Advance tickets, $25 for adults and $10 for children 6-12 years of age are available at The Food Depot, 1222 Siler Road, by calling 471-1633, ext. 12, or by ordering online at www.thefooddepot.org.

Restaurants will compete in one of four categories — sweet, savory, seafood or vegetarian. All will contend for "Best Soup in Santa Fe."

The competitors who have signed up so far include Anasazi Restaurant; Bamboo Asian Cuisine; Café Pasqual's; Chef Nuevo Caliente; Delicasa; Dinner for Two; Embudo Station; Encantado, an Auberge Resort; Jambo Café; Joe's Diner; Kingston Residence of Santa Fe; La Boca; La Casa Sena; Luminaria Restaurant at the Inn & Spa at Loretto; O'Keeffe Café; RainbowVision Santa Fe; Rio Chama; San Francisco Street Bar & Grill; Santa Fe Bar & Grill; Vinaigrette; Whole Foods Market; and Zia Diner.

The Food Depot is the food bank for nine Northern New Mexico counties. It distributes an average of 300,000 pounds of food and household products each month through 110 not-for-profit agencies.

Road project to cause delays

The intersection of Old Pecos Trail and Rodeo Road will be closed intermittently between 1 and 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Department of Transportation.

Traffic will be stopped for 15-20 minutes at a time for the duration of the project. Motorists are encouraged to seek an alternate route if in a hurry.

Crews are scheduled to complete blade patching operations to address deteriorating conditions on the road.

Courthouse cleanup overview

Curious how the cleanup of petroleum contamination at the site of the new District Courthouse will proceed?

New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry and other state and county officials will provide an overview of the process at 10 a.m. Thursday at 327 Sandoval St.

The site has been declared a "State Lead" site, which means the Environment Department will pay for and oversee the majority of the work that will be done there.

Construction of a $38 million building on the site was put on hold last summer when petroleum contamination from gas stations formerly in the area was discovered.

Talk scheduled on H1N1 virus

Mathematical models of flu transmission are helping scientists understand the H1N1 virus and making a real-time impact on public health decisions.

Find out how at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the James A. Little Theater, 1060 Cerrillos Road, when Lauren Ancel Meyers, an associate professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas, gives a public presentation on "The Swine Flu and You: Predicting and Controlling the H1N1 Pandemic."

The talk is the next in the Santa Fe Institute Community Lecture series. Meyers is an external faculty member at the institute.

The lecture is free, but seating is limited.