No cause yet on Cumbres & Toltec fire

Engineers from the Kansas City-based firm HNTB examined the Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad's 64-mile line between Chama, N.M., and Antonito, Colo., on Saturday. The 310-foot trestle was severely damaged by fire Wednesday night.

Railroad company spokesman Nick Quintana said the cause of the fire still hasn't been determined by the state fire marshal, and he doesn't expect a report until Monday.

His biggest concern, he said, is when the scenic railroad will be back in service from the Chama Depot. The damaged trestle is about four miles from there. According to Quintana, the company received about 1,000 cancellations this week, and "this is just for the rest of June."

Quintana said the engineers were evaluating the steel and wood structure, along with the track foreman and the general manager. They climbed up and down the trestle and hiked into the canyon 100 feet below and took numerous photographs to help them determine the extent of the damage.

Man arrested for firing 3 shots in the air

Santa Fe police officers responded to a large house party near César Chávez Elementary School on the south side Saturday after receiving calls that shots had been fired.

Nobody was injured, but Abel Maez, 22, admitted to police he had fired three shots into the air trying to stop a fight that had broken out between 15 to 20 males in the 4100 block of Monte Azul Loop around 3 a.m.

Santa Fe Police Deputy Chief Abram Anaya said Maez was arrested on charges of unlawful use of a firearm and for using a weapon that had been stolen at an unspecified time or location in Santa Fe County.

Maez was booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center, Anaya said.

New Mexicans join anti-drilling protest

More than 100 New Mexicans participated today in an International Hands Across the Sand day of action.

They met at the Old Alameda Walking Bridge over the Rio Grande in Albuquerque and joined hands to protest offshore drilling.

The event began in Auckland, New Zealand, and worked its way across global times zones. The event is scheduled to finish on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii.

The Albuquerque protest was one of more than 900 in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 37 countries encouraging the U.S. to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels and toward clean energy.

"We are here ... because we don't ever want to see the BP oil spill disaster repeated," said Jake Horowitz, of Environment New Mexico, according to a news release.

Hands Across the Sands was founded by a Florida surfer and restaurateur in 2009 in response to the state legislature's attempt to open Florida's coasts to drilling.

Congressman to attend shelter opening

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., will be on hand today for the opening ceremony of the new St. Elizabeth Shelter facility.

The Casa Familia shelter, 1604 Berry St., will have 16 beds for single women and five rooms that can accommodate 25 people. It also has facilities for people to get housing counseling and help to move into independent living.

Greek Festival to be held today

Today is the day to enjoy those yummy — and gooey — Greek pastries for sale at St. Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church's annual Greek festival.

The event is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta. In addition to the baklava, there will be koulourakia, kourambiedes, loukoumades, as well as spanakopita, gyros, souvlaki, Greek-style chicken, Greek lasagna and Greek salad. The Aegean Sounds Band and the Palamakia Dancers will perform; $100 raffle tickets are available.

Trout removed from South Fork Fire area

More than 270 native Rio Grande cutthroat trout were removed from Polvadera Creek on Tuesday to prevent them from being wiped out by the South Fork Fire burning approximately 20 miles west of Española.

Crews from the Department of Game and Fish and the Santa Fe National Forest used electroshocking equipment to stun the fish so they could be transported to Seven Springs Hatchery near Fenton Lake. The 5- to 10-inch trout will remain there until they can be returned to the creek, or biologists find them another suitable stream.

Fisheries biologists estimate that about 1,000 adult cutthroats live in a five-mile section of the creek. The stream is considered a "core" population of pure-strain native Rio Grande cutthroats and important to recovery of the species.

The more than 2-week-old fire, which has burned 16,407 acres, was 50 percent contained as of Saturday. According to a Santa Fe National Forest posting, 438 personnel are committed to the fire.

State police target stores selling minors booze

New Mexico state police say a four-county operation to crack down on liquor sales to minors ended with 13 stores cited.

The Department of Public Safety says it sent minors trying to buy alcohol into 94 licensed liquor stores or restaurants in Doña Ana, Luna, Grant and Otero counties on Friday evening.

Agents also tried to get adults to buy them alcohol. Two people in Deming agreed and were arrested on felony charges.

Another operation was planned on Saturday night.

Illegal immigrant arrests down

DEMING — Arrests of illegal immigrants in West Texas and New Mexico are down substantially this month compared to previous years.

The U.S. Border Patrol says agents assigned to the El Paso sector made 8,000 arrests between June 1 and June 23. Last year, agents arrested 15,000 suspected illegal immigrants and in 2007, 75,000 were caught.

Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier says illegal immigrants are either going to other areas to try to cross into the U.S. from Mexico or not coming at all.

The El Paso sector covers West Texas and all of New Mexico.

$3.4 billion Indian settlement stuck in Senate filibuster

HELENA, Mont. — A $3.4 billion government settlement with hundreds of thousands of American Indians has been caught in a Senate filibuster.

Congress must authorize the Obama administration's settlement with Indians who have land held in trust by the Interior Department. The 14-year-old lawsuit claims the government mismanaged those accounts for more than a century.

The settlement is part of the Democrats' jobs-agenda bill that fell short of breaking a Republican filibuster on Thursday. Now the future of the agreement is in doubt.

The lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell of Browning, Mont., says the settlement should not fall victim to an unrelated partisan fight.

She says she doesn't know what's going to happen next, but she's not going to give up the fight.

Police: Boy left behind after beer run

LAS CRUCES — Police in Las Cruces say they've tracked down and arrested a 21-year-old man who left his young nephew behind after crashing his sedan while fleeing from police.

Leroy J. Gonzalez was allegedly one of two men who stole two cases of beer from a convenience store June 14. Authorities say a police officer spotted the fleeing Nissan and gave chase.

The car crashed into two curbs and was disabled.

Authorities say Gonzalez and two other men then ran away. Police found the suspect's 5-year-old nephew scared but unhurt in the car.

Gonzalez is jailed on felony charges of intentional child abuse and fleeing from a law enforcement officer.

An 18-year-old man is charged with a misdemeanor for his part in the beer theft. A third man hasn't been identified.

Police bust pot 'growhouse'

FARMINGTON — A narcotics task force has seized 28 marijuana plants and arrested two Farmington men who were allegedly running a "growhouse" operation.

Region Two Narcotics Task Force Lt. Neil Haws says the two men were obviously under the influence of marijuana and reacted calmly when a SWAT team broke down the door of a home early Friday morning.

Two women from out of town who had just arrived at the house on Chaco Street were not arrested.

Sgt. Brice Current says the plants averaged 2 to 3 feet tall and had not yet reached maturity. The front room of the house was equipped with a full ventilation system and grow lights, which simulate natural sunlight.

The men, ages 25 and 21, were charged with distribution of marijuana and other charges.




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