Local news in brief Nov. 5, 2009
| The New Mexican
Posted: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 - 11/4/09
Posted: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 - 11/4/09
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Cooper joins national arts panel
Jill Cooper, wife of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., was sworn in this week as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Cooper, former head of the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs, currently works with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian and sits on the Board of Visitors and Governors for St. John's College. She's also on the board of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Other members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities include Teresa Heinz (wife of Sen. John Kerry), cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, and some award-winning actors such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Forest Whitaker, Alfre Woodard and Edward Norton.
The committee works with the National Endowment for the Arts and other groups to coordinate the administration's arts initiatives. First lady Michelle Obama is the honorary chairwoman. In an e-mailed comment, Cooper said the arts "have been a tremendous influence in my life and the president's committee is one place in the administration where I know I can make a real contribution for New Mexicans."
Gary King has neck surgery
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King is recovering from a neck surgery performed Wednesday at an Albuquerque hospital.
The procedure was to replace discs and fuse vertebrae in his neck to help ease long-standing pain, a release from King's office said.
King was listed in stable condition.
The Attorney General's Office is asking for privacy for King and his family so that he may concentrate on his recovery.
City library to honor Hillerman
The Santa Fe Public Library's Southside Branch will dedicate its teen patio in honor of author Tony Hillerman on Sunday.
A ceremony is planned for 1:30 p.m. at the library, 6599 Jaguar Drive, and is open to the public with a reception to follow.
Hillerman, a celebrated author who penned about 30 books, was best known for mysteries that featured Navajo police. He died in October 2008.
Together with the City Council, Hillerman's survivors planned the patio commemoration that includes installation of a carved stone by Tommy Pino, a medicine man of the Ramah Band of Navajo Indians.
Interviews set for district judgeship
A nominating committee will interview 17 candidates today for an upcoming district judge vacancy in the 1st Judicial District Court.
The District Judicial Nominating Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the state District Court on Catron Street downtown to evaluate those who have applied to replace Judge Jim Hall, who has resigned but will work through the end of the year.
The names of the applicants in alphabetical order are: Katherine Basham, T. Glenn Ellington, Steven Farber, Caren Friedman, Kurt Gilbert, Timothy Hasson, Michael Jones, Alisa Lauer, Mary Marlowe Sommer, Francis Mathew, Sharon Pino, Dennis Quintana, Sarah Singleton, Nathaniel Thompkins, David Thomson, Henry Valdez and Aaron Wolf.
The interviews are open to the public.
Student anti-tobacco scripts sought
Middle and high-school students have a chance to win $500 in a contest about tobacco.
The New Mexico Literacy Project and state Health Department are seeking scripts written by New Mexico teens for 30-second radio and television commercials aimed at preventing tobacco use by children and teens.
State residents between 12 and 18 are eligible to participate and must enter by Dec. 4.
The winning radio scripts will be produced at KUNM-FM, and the winning TV storyboards will be produced by an Albuquerque public access station. For rules and resources, log on to www.talkback.nmmlp.org or call 505-858-8897.
Grant to help train firefighters
About 10 temporary workers will aid in wildland fire prevention and firefighting with the Santa Fe Fire Department for next spring's fire season, thanks to a $149,000 grant from the N.M. Youth Conservation Corps Commission.
City Wildland Urban Interface Specialist Porfirio Chavarria said he'll be hiring people between 18 and 25 in March who will spend a few weeks being trained on chain-saw operation, tree identification and other skills to help reduce fuel loads and combat wildfires.
The young workers, whose jobs will last about six months, will not have the same certification as other city wildland firefighters, but they will respond to calls for help with other Western wildfires along with those who already serve on the team.
Last year, firefighters from the city traveled to California to assist crews battling blazes there.
Learn about the age of birds
Determining the age of a bird by its feathers is the subject of an upcoming Audubon New Mexico program.
Steve Fettig will talk about how to age the three species of rosy-finches we see in New Mexico each winter. A short update of environmental issues and chapter activities precedes the program. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 107 W. Barcelona Road.
For information, call Tom Taylor at 424-3238 or Tom Jervis at 988-1708, or go to www.NewMexicoAudubon.org/sdcas/.
There is no meeting in December.
Cow elk licenses available
Hunters can apply for one of 350 cow elk licenses available online at 10 a.m. Tuesday from the state Department of Game and Fish.
But be prepared. The licenses sell out in minutes.
Licenses will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, only on the department's Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Hunters are encouraged to visit the Web site before the sale date to review hunts available and to create or verify an online account, user name and password.
The licenses are for antlerless elk in five game management units, and the hunts are for any legal sporting arm. Maps for those hunts are available on the department Web site.
License fees are $62 for residents, $337 for nonresidents. License fees will be charged at the time of successful online application.
Only hunters who did not hold elk licenses for hunts this season are eligible for the late-season hunts. Licenses will be mailed to successful applicants after Tuesday.
Roundtails back in San Juan River
The state Department of Game and Fish has released more than 3,000 endangered roundtail chubs into the San Juan River.
The fish grow up to 12 inches long. They historically occurred throughout the Colorado River basin, including the San Juan River and its tributaries in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The big minnows have been rare or absent in recent years due to fragmented or destroyed habitat, poisoning before the construction of Navajo Dam and predation by non-native fish. The species has been on the state endangered species list since 1996.
The chubs released Oct. 21 were 2 to 3 inches long, bred from chubs found in the Navajo and La Plata rivers and raised in the Colorado Division of Wildlife Native Species Hatchery. They were stocked in the San Juan River near the confluence with the Animas River, in the hope that they will disperse downstream.
The recent stocking was part of a cooperative agreement among the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department, Southern Ute Tribe Division of Wildlife Resource Management and Colorado Division of Wildlife. Earlier this year, the Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department and Southern Ute Division of Wildlife Resource Management stocked more than 20,000 roundtail chubs in tributaries on tribal land and completed habitat restoration projects.
Chavez Center offering discounts
The Genoveva Chavez Community Center is calling for more families to apply for its Youth Programs after-school activities, which is struggling to meet the necessary enrollment.
To encourage people to sign up, the center is offering a 20 percent discount to new customers; and a 10 percent "loyalty discount" for existing customers.
In order to receive the "loyalty discount," participants must register for a minimum of two sessions at a time and pay in full in advance. The two sessions are not required to be in successive weeks.
For more information, call Youth Programs coordinator Jonathan Salazar at 955-4014
Cathedral basilica hosting veterans
A Veterans Day Retreat for veterans, active duty service members and their families will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The retreat will offer presentations by the Rev. Gerald Johnson and Brenda Mayne, and time for journaling and reflection. Archbishop Michael Sheehan and the Rev. Ricardo Russo will offer a healing mass at 5:15 p.m. at the cathedral, followed by a reception at Crispin Hall at 6:15 p.m.
RSVP to Joseph Duran at the Santa Fe Vet Center, 988-6562, by Friday.
Bali Art Project seeks candidates
At 3 p.m. Nov. 15, Zenia Victor and Gaylon Duke will host an introductory meeting at their home, 46 Old Agua Fría Road West, for both high-school juniors and adults hoping to be part of the 2010 Bali Art Project, which provides a six-week trip to Bali for local high-school juniors. Adults who wish to financially sponsor a child are also welcome to attend the meeting. Adult sponsors are also welcome on the Bali trip. Call for directions, 988-7209.
High-school juniors can sign up for interviews at the meeting. There are eight spots open, and the participants must interview and be selected to attend.
Jill Cooper, wife of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., was sworn in this week as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Cooper, former head of the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs, currently works with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian and sits on the Board of Visitors and Governors for St. John's College. She's also on the board of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust and Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Other members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities include Teresa Heinz (wife of Sen. John Kerry), cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, and some award-winning actors such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Forest Whitaker, Alfre Woodard and Edward Norton.
The committee works with the National Endowment for the Arts and other groups to coordinate the administration's arts initiatives. First lady Michelle Obama is the honorary chairwoman. In an e-mailed comment, Cooper said the arts "have been a tremendous influence in my life and the president's committee is one place in the administration where I know I can make a real contribution for New Mexicans."
Gary King has neck surgery
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King is recovering from a neck surgery performed Wednesday at an Albuquerque hospital.
The procedure was to replace discs and fuse vertebrae in his neck to help ease long-standing pain, a release from King's office said.
King was listed in stable condition.
The Attorney General's Office is asking for privacy for King and his family so that he may concentrate on his recovery.
City library to honor Hillerman
The Santa Fe Public Library's Southside Branch will dedicate its teen patio in honor of author Tony Hillerman on Sunday.
A ceremony is planned for 1:30 p.m. at the library, 6599 Jaguar Drive, and is open to the public with a reception to follow.
Hillerman, a celebrated author who penned about 30 books, was best known for mysteries that featured Navajo police. He died in October 2008.
Together with the City Council, Hillerman's survivors planned the patio commemoration that includes installation of a carved stone by Tommy Pino, a medicine man of the Ramah Band of Navajo Indians.
Interviews set for district judgeship
A nominating committee will interview 17 candidates today for an upcoming district judge vacancy in the 1st Judicial District Court.
The District Judicial Nominating Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the state District Court on Catron Street downtown to evaluate those who have applied to replace Judge Jim Hall, who has resigned but will work through the end of the year.
The names of the applicants in alphabetical order are: Katherine Basham, T. Glenn Ellington, Steven Farber, Caren Friedman, Kurt Gilbert, Timothy Hasson, Michael Jones, Alisa Lauer, Mary Marlowe Sommer, Francis Mathew, Sharon Pino, Dennis Quintana, Sarah Singleton, Nathaniel Thompkins, David Thomson, Henry Valdez and Aaron Wolf.
The interviews are open to the public.
Student anti-tobacco scripts sought
Middle and high-school students have a chance to win $500 in a contest about tobacco.
The New Mexico Literacy Project and state Health Department are seeking scripts written by New Mexico teens for 30-second radio and television commercials aimed at preventing tobacco use by children and teens.
State residents between 12 and 18 are eligible to participate and must enter by Dec. 4.
The winning radio scripts will be produced at KUNM-FM, and the winning TV storyboards will be produced by an Albuquerque public access station. For rules and resources, log on to www.talkback.nmmlp.org or call 505-858-8897.
Grant to help train firefighters
About 10 temporary workers will aid in wildland fire prevention and firefighting with the Santa Fe Fire Department for next spring's fire season, thanks to a $149,000 grant from the N.M. Youth Conservation Corps Commission.
City Wildland Urban Interface Specialist Porfirio Chavarria said he'll be hiring people between 18 and 25 in March who will spend a few weeks being trained on chain-saw operation, tree identification and other skills to help reduce fuel loads and combat wildfires.
The young workers, whose jobs will last about six months, will not have the same certification as other city wildland firefighters, but they will respond to calls for help with other Western wildfires along with those who already serve on the team.
Last year, firefighters from the city traveled to California to assist crews battling blazes there.
Learn about the age of birds
Determining the age of a bird by its feathers is the subject of an upcoming Audubon New Mexico program.
Steve Fettig will talk about how to age the three species of rosy-finches we see in New Mexico each winter. A short update of environmental issues and chapter activities precedes the program. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 107 W. Barcelona Road.
For information, call Tom Taylor at 424-3238 or Tom Jervis at 988-1708, or go to www.NewMexicoAudubon.org/sdcas/.
There is no meeting in December.
Cow elk licenses available
Hunters can apply for one of 350 cow elk licenses available online at 10 a.m. Tuesday from the state Department of Game and Fish.
But be prepared. The licenses sell out in minutes.
Licenses will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, only on the department's Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Hunters are encouraged to visit the Web site before the sale date to review hunts available and to create or verify an online account, user name and password.
The licenses are for antlerless elk in five game management units, and the hunts are for any legal sporting arm. Maps for those hunts are available on the department Web site.
License fees are $62 for residents, $337 for nonresidents. License fees will be charged at the time of successful online application.
Only hunters who did not hold elk licenses for hunts this season are eligible for the late-season hunts. Licenses will be mailed to successful applicants after Tuesday.
Roundtails back in San Juan River
The state Department of Game and Fish has released more than 3,000 endangered roundtail chubs into the San Juan River.
The fish grow up to 12 inches long. They historically occurred throughout the Colorado River basin, including the San Juan River and its tributaries in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The big minnows have been rare or absent in recent years due to fragmented or destroyed habitat, poisoning before the construction of Navajo Dam and predation by non-native fish. The species has been on the state endangered species list since 1996.
The chubs released Oct. 21 were 2 to 3 inches long, bred from chubs found in the Navajo and La Plata rivers and raised in the Colorado Division of Wildlife Native Species Hatchery. They were stocked in the San Juan River near the confluence with the Animas River, in the hope that they will disperse downstream.
The recent stocking was part of a cooperative agreement among the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department, Southern Ute Tribe Division of Wildlife Resource Management and Colorado Division of Wildlife. Earlier this year, the Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department and Southern Ute Division of Wildlife Resource Management stocked more than 20,000 roundtail chubs in tributaries on tribal land and completed habitat restoration projects.
Chavez Center offering discounts
The Genoveva Chavez Community Center is calling for more families to apply for its Youth Programs after-school activities, which is struggling to meet the necessary enrollment.
To encourage people to sign up, the center is offering a 20 percent discount to new customers; and a 10 percent "loyalty discount" for existing customers.
In order to receive the "loyalty discount," participants must register for a minimum of two sessions at a time and pay in full in advance. The two sessions are not required to be in successive weeks.
For more information, call Youth Programs coordinator Jonathan Salazar at 955-4014
Cathedral basilica hosting veterans
A Veterans Day Retreat for veterans, active duty service members and their families will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The retreat will offer presentations by the Rev. Gerald Johnson and Brenda Mayne, and time for journaling and reflection. Archbishop Michael Sheehan and the Rev. Ricardo Russo will offer a healing mass at 5:15 p.m. at the cathedral, followed by a reception at Crispin Hall at 6:15 p.m.
RSVP to Joseph Duran at the Santa Fe Vet Center, 988-6562, by Friday.
Bali Art Project seeks candidates
At 3 p.m. Nov. 15, Zenia Victor and Gaylon Duke will host an introductory meeting at their home, 46 Old Agua Fría Road West, for both high-school juniors and adults hoping to be part of the 2010 Bali Art Project, which provides a six-week trip to Bali for local high-school juniors. Adults who wish to financially sponsor a child are also welcome to attend the meeting. Adult sponsors are also welcome on the Bali trip. Call for directions, 988-7209.
High-school juniors can sign up for interviews at the meeting. There are eight spots open, and the participants must interview and be selected to attend.
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All users are expected to abide by the forum rules and and be courteous to other users. Comments can be accepted up to eight days following publication. After that, comments can be read but no new submissions made. Send questions to webeditor@sfnewmexican.com
IMPORTANT: Comments must be posted under your own full, real name. Anonymous comments and those posted under a pseudonym can be removed. Please consult the forum rules. If you have questions, e-mail webeditor@sfnewmexican.com.
