Groups protest at Taos hotel

TAOS — Members of several civil rights groups protested Saturday in front of a Taos hotel where Hispanic employees have clashed with the new owner.

Whitten Inn owner Larry Whitten forbade employees to speak Spanish and ordered some to Anglicize their Hispanic names when he started making changes at the hotel in July.

Taos officials and organizers say the number of protesters ranged from 60 to 75.

Shirley Reyes is a Taos chapter president for the League of United Latin American Citizens whose son was fired by Whitten. She says the protesters called for a national boycott of Whitten's hotels.

Taos public relations director Cathy Connelly says the protest was peaceful.

Whitten did not immediately return a phone message left with a hotel employee.

Supercomputer gets federal grant

Gov. Bill Richardson says The University of New Mexico has received a $41 million federal grant for the state's supercomputer.

Richardson said Friday that the money comes from the National Science Foundation.

The money will help fund the state's supercomputing center, the New Mexico Computing Applications Center, for five years. The center oversees the state's supercomputer, Encanto.

The supercomputer models how climate change will affect mountain water systems in New Mexico.

The center also is working to develop a long-term database to provide scientists, decision makers and citizens with information to address environmental, social and technological challenges.

Siler Road bridge opens Tuesday

The long-awaited new bridge across the Santa Fe River at Siler Road will be open for traffic at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Besides the bridge, the project includes a road extension from Agua Fría Street to a roundabout at West Alameda Street.

The $6 million project will provide a safer alternative to a couple of low-water river crossings now used by drivers at San Ysidro and at Camino Carlos Rael.

The construction budget includes $3.6 million from state transportation bonds, $250,000 from a regional gross-receipts tax and about $750,000 from the city's impact-fee fund, collected from real-estate developers. An additional $1.1 million from city and county funds went for design and acquisition of right of way.

Stories sought for holiday contest

It's that time again! Get your pen and paper or your computer keyboard ready and start writing a short story, an essay or a poem for this year's contest. Enter your piece in The New Mexican's 2009 Winter Tales writing contest. Winning entries will publish in Pasatiempo on Dec. 25.

The categories include: adults (ages 19 and up) 500-1,200 words; teens (ages 13-18) 500-1,200 words; children (through age 12) 350 to 1,000 words. Poems should be 800 words or less. Cash prizes range from $25 to $100 for each category.

Mail entries to: Sandra Baltazar Martínez, Winter Tales, c/o The Santa Fe New Mexican, 202 E. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 or e-mail them to smartinez@sfnewmexican.com. Electronic submissions are highly recommended.

Entries must be received by 10 a.m. Dec. 4. No exceptions. We reserve the right to edit winning stories. Submissions must include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, age and category (short story, essay, or poem). For a complete list of rules, e-mail Sandra Baltazar Martínez or call at 986-3062.