Robber hits Chevron on Rodeo Road

An armed man robbed the Chevron station on Rodeo Road around 8:23 p.m. Tuesday. According to police, the man entered the store and waited in line to purchase a pack of gum, and when the clerk — a 30-year-old woman who was the sole person on duty at the time — opened the drawer to give the man his change, he pulled out a gun, pointed it at her and demanded the cash. The clerk stepped away from the register, and the man reached in and took about $220, according to Lt. Ken Johnson of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.

Johnson said the suspect was in his 20s or 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall with a tattoo on his neck and was wearing a blue shirt, a gold chain and khaki pants at the time of the robbery.

There are no suspects, Johnson said, but witnesses at the car wash nearby said the man fled the scene in a white car.

Johnson declined to say whether the clerk had been injured, citing the ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 986-2490.

Poll: Most negative about Aamodt deal

Fifty-nine percent of the residents in the Pojoaque Valley area have negative feelings about the proposed Aamodt water-rights settlement, according to a recent poll commissioned by Santa Fe County.

The settlement would resolve a 40-year legal battle between pueblo and nonpueblo residents over water rights in the valley. About 72 percent of those polled reported knowing little or nothing about the Aamodt settlement.

"Negative feelings about the process by which the Aamodt settlement agreement came about was highlighted in the poll results," according to a statement released by Santa Fe County on Wednesday. "Community members pointed out a lack of transparency and community outreach during the process."

Santa Fe County plans to reach out to provide more information to residents in the Nambé-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin in coming months, according to the statement.

Teens plan memorial fundraiser

Teenagers who hang out at Cathedral Park will host a fundraiser Saturday to raise money to help build a permanent memorial to honor four Santa Fe teens who were killed in an alleged drunken driving accident last summer.

The event will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. in a parking lot next to the park, according to a news release issued by the teens and filmmaker Eros Salvatore, who is making a documentary about the accident.

Live music, poetry and belly dancing will take place from 3 to 8 p.m., according to the release. The group Food Not Bombs will begin offering food at 5:15 p.m. and fire dancing will begin at 8:15 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5 to $10 to attend the event. For more information, call Joey Stephen at 577-2660 or Salvatore at 541-499-4720.

NMSU studies grape varieties

Vineyards contribute $33 million a year to the New Mexico's economy, but finding the best grape to grow in the state's diverse climate is challenging.

New Mexico State University researchers are testing a broad variety of grapes to see which types work best.

"We have so many grape varieties around the world, we are still looking for the best varieties to grow in different areas of New Mexico," said Bernd Maier, the college's viticulture specialist for the Cooperative Extension Service. "Eventually, we should be able to make recommendations to growers without them having to do all the work themselves."

Maier is using grapes grown in duplicate plots in Los Lunas and Farmington and comparing those with a plot outside of Las Cruces, according to NMSU. Each planting has grapes that produce popular wine varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot, as well as lesser-known varieties such as tinto cao.

"There is probably a vine that will grow anywhere in the continental United States," Maier said. "Whether or not it makes a good, drinkable wine is another question."

Lea County man dies of swine flu

The New Mexico Department of Health announced Wednesday that a 28-year-old man from Lea County has died from swine flu.

Health officials say the man died Sept. 23 after being hospitalized in El Paso. The man, whose name was not released, did not have any known chronic medical conditions.

So far this year, health officials say, there have been nine deaths related to the swine flu in New Mexico.

The previous eight deaths were a 5-year-old Sandoval County girl, a baby girl from Roosevelt County, a 17-year-old girl from Chaves County, a 45-year-old female from Sierra County, a 52-year-old female from Bernalillo County, a 48-year-old female from McKinley County, a 21-year-old female from Los Alamos County, and a 58-year-old male from Bernalillo County.

Bacon might seek county seat

David Bacon, a former Green Party candidate for governor and the Public Regulation Commission, said Wednesday that he's contemplating campaigning for the District 3 Santa Fe County Commission seat that will be vacated when Commissioner Mike Anaya is termed out next year.

"I'm thinking about running. But I've got a lot of people to talk to first," Bacon said. "I'm just in that stage."

Bacon — who said he changed his party affiliation to Democrat during the Barack Obama campaign — has never been elected to a public office. The retired builder and woodworker is originally from Dallas but has lived in Santa Fe for about 37 years.

State relaxes fishing rules

SANTA ROSA — The New Mexico Game and Fish Department has issued an emergency order relaxing fishing rules at Blue Hole Park Pond in an effort to remove as many fish as possible from the Eastern New Mexico pond before they go to waste.

The department says all fishing regulations related to bag limits, tackle and angler age restrictions will be lifted through Oct. 24. Anglers ages 12 and older are still required to have a license.

The pond is normally reserved for anglers younger than 11.

Blue Hole Park Pond developed a leak near the lake outlet, and the water level dropped significantly. It will be allowed to drain until repairs can be made. Then the lake will be restocked with game fish.

The pond contains rainbow trout, largemouth bass, catfish and sunfish.

Los Alamos to increase hydro plant

Los Alamos is looking to increase energy production from the community's hydroelectric power plant at Abiquiú.

The Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities wants to install a 3-megawatt, low-flow turbine at the plant, built in the late 1980s, to increase the amount of electricity generated there by 22 percent.

The public is invited to learn about the project at an open house from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Abiquiú Rural Event Center on N.M. 554.

The plant is built at the foot of Abiquiú Dam, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Periodic water releases from the dam drive the turbines that produce electricity. The new turbine will qualify under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for Renewable Energy Credits. Construction of a new powerhouse at the hydroelectric plant to house the additional turbine will begin this year and is expected to be completed by 2011.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.losalamosnm.us/utilities.

Former Roswell journalist dies

ROSWELL — Al Stubbs, who worked for newspapers in Roswell, Alamogordo and Ruidoso, has died at age 85.

The Roswell native died Sunday.

Stubbs, who was editor of the Roswell Daily Record for 19 years, also worked as editor of the Lincoln County News, the Alamogordo Daily News and the Ruidoso News.

Jack Swickard, who succeeded Stubbs as editor in Roswell in 1974, says Stubbs even shot photographs for the paper.

He says people working in the newspaper's backshop talked about Stubbs grabbing his camera, jumping on his motorcycle and driving off to go take photographs.

A memorial service is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Roswell.

Stubbs is survived by his wife, Florence Caryl Stubbs, three children, seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two sisters.

Agency updates scenic trail plan

DENVER — The U.S. Forest Service has amended a comprehensive plan for the 3,100-mile Continental Divide National Scenic Trail being built through five states.

The Forest Service said Wednesday that the amendments update a 1985 plan to provide a framework for deciding uses of the trail. The agency received 8,000 comments from the public on the plan.

Forest Service spokeswoman Janelle Smith says the intent is to accommodate as many uses as possible and to do that at the local level.

A study of a Continental Divide trail was approved in 1968, and the trail was established by Congress in 1978. About two-thirds of the trail is complete. It runs through parts of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.