City employees to head to casino for annual party

Santa Fe city employees will have to travel to Pojoaque for this year's Christmas party at Buffalo Thunder Casino Resort and Casino.

Councilor Miguel Chavez said he usually goes to the event, but won't this year. "I thought we were supposed to be operating under this concept where we keep our money in the local economy," he said.

Mike Landavazo, a traffic technician supervisor in the city Public Works Department and chairman of Employee Benefit Committee, which hosts the Christmas party, was not available for comment on why Buffalo Thunder was chosen.

The resort and casino's director of marketing, Richard Ross, wouldn't discuss what city employees will pay for the party, but said "Buffalo Thunder offers opportunities for anybody seeking different activities under one roof."

Keith Toler, director of the city Convention & Visitors Bureau, recently told the Santa Fe Reporter that he had offered the Employees Benefit Committee free use of the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

Hospice helps King heal from heart surgery

Former Gov. Bruce King is receiving weekly visits from a hospice nurse at his home near Moriarty, a spokesman for Attorney General Gary King said Friday.

King, 85, is recovering from a September surgery to improve the function of his pacemaker, which family members described as successful.

He suffered a heart attack in 1997.

A Democrat, King served as New Mexico's governor for three separate nonconsecutive terms in the '70s, '80s and '90s.

State Rep. Varela seeks re-election

State Rep. Lucky Varela will be seeking re-election to his District 48 seat in Santa Fe.

Varela, a Democrat, has served in the Legislature for 23 years. In his 12th term in the House of Representatives, he serves as chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee.

Varela won his last election with no opposition in the primary or the general election.

State suspends MVD contract

The state has temporarily terminated its relationship with an Albuquerque-based private Motor Vehicle Department contractor after one of its employees was suspected of issuing titles and registrations for stolen vehicles.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department searched the offices of New Mexico Registration Services Inc. Thursday and seized computers and other software equipment used for issuing vehicle titles and registrations.

State Taxation & Revenue Secretary Rick Homans said they are "deeply troubled" by allegations against the firm.

Homans said to protect integrity and confidentiality of MVD customers, the state severed all ties to the company and terminated its access to a state database.

Court rejects records request

The state Court of Appeals has rejected a lawsuit by San Juan River irrigators trying to obtain records about a documentary on Navajo water problems.

The court ruled Thursday the San Juan Agricultural Water Users Association did not have authority to sue under the Inspection of Public Records Act because its lawyer — not the group — had filed the records request at issue in the case.

The irrigators sought records from the state engineer's office and others about the making of a public television documentary, which they contend was intended to increase public support for a water-rights settlement with the Navajo Nation.

The association's lawyer said Friday his client will ask for a rehearing or the state Supreme Court to review the ruling.

Group plans trip for seniors

The Santa Fe Senior Services Travel Committee is making arrangements for a three-day trip to Carlsbad Dec. 7-9.

The trip involves a boat ride down the Pecos River in view of the Christmas lights along the river banks and a visit to Carlsbad Caverns.

For additional information (including cost), please call Connie Duran at 982-4908 or Mercy Moreno at 986-1416.