County offers free water in La Cienega

Santa Fe County is offering free water to La Cienega-area residents who have been ordered by the state Environment Department to boil their water before use because of the possible presence of E. coli.

The state Environment Department issued a boil-water order for customers of La Cienega Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Association on Monday after routine tests revealed the presence of E. coli bacteria in the system's water.

The presence of E. coli in water indicates the water may have been in contact with sewage or animal wastes, according to a statement issued by the Environment Department. Customers are advised to boil water for five minutes before drinking it or using it for washing.

Environment Department Compliance Manager Mike Huber said finding E. coli in drinking-water systems is fairly common in summer, when water tends to be "on the move."

Huber said the system is being flushed with chlorine, and if samples taken this week test clean, the order will be lifted Friday.

In the meantime, Santa Fe County is offering free water to residents who bring containers to the La Cienega Community Center, 136 Camino San Jose. The water is available 24 hours a day.

PNM settles on gas business sale

ALBUQUERQUE — A settlement has been reached by Attorney General Gary King, Public Service Company of New Mexico and union workers over the company's pending sale of its natural-gas utility.

The agreement was filed Wednesday with the state Public Regulation Commission, which will consider it following hearings on the matter next month.

In January, PNM Resources agreed to sell its New Mexico utility's natural-gas operations to a subsidiary of Continental Energy Systems LLC for $620 million.

Under the agreement filed with state regulators, New Mexico Gas Co. will freeze base rates for three years and make average annual capital expenditures of at least $21.6 million for major projects and replacements during the three years.

The agreement also calls for pension and salary guarantees for employees and for the utility to keep its headquarters in Albuquerque. Other offices and employee numbers will have to be maintained for at least three years.

Howard Dean to appear in S.F. today

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean will appear in Santa Fe today when the "Register For Change Bus Tour" arrives at the Casa Solana Shopping Center parking lot on West Alameda Street west of St. Francis Drive.

Dean will be joined by Jill Cooper Udall, wife of U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall, actor Kal Penn and Los Angeles Laker Derek Fisher.

The tour started in President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, and has traveled to eight other states and the District of Columbia. The tour will continue to through key states after the Democratic National Convention, which begins Monday in Denver.

House hopeful Luján to hold town hall

Ben Ray Luján, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District, is holding a town hall forum today.

Luján's "Standing Up for New Mexico" event is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the NEA Building, 2007 Botulph Road.

The event is open to the public.

Crews manage fires in Northern N.M.

Fire season isn't over yet in Northern New Mexico.

Two fires are burning northwest and west of Santa Fe.

The Alta Fire, sparked by lightning Aug. 8, had burned 525 acres by Wednesday evening. The fire, three miles northwest of Coyote, is burning slowly west of Forest Road 77 in a northwesterly direction. Fire managers are monitoring the fire but allowing it to burn naturally rather than extinguishing it. The fire isn't threatening private property or structures.

Fire managers are asking visitors to avoid camping in the area for a few weeks. Smoke from the Alta Fire is visible from the Abiquiú Dam, Coyote and Youngsville.

The Tusas Springs Fire began Aug. 13 and has grown to 15 acres. It is two miles south of the Chaparral Girl Scout Camp. Firefighters are building control lines around the fire and using natural topographic features such as canyons and roads to manage the blaze without putting it out. Smoke from the Tusas Springs Fire is visible from the Cuba area.

Domestic violence conference set

Domestic and sexual violence is the topic of a conference planned for next month in Santa Fe.

Rev. Marie M. Fortune will speak at the 2nd Annual Faith Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence Conference to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 23 at Christ Church.

Fortune is a pioneer in the field of religion and domestic violence and a leading national expert on sexual exploitation by religious leaders, according to a city announcement.

To register for the event, sponsored by the Santa Fe Coordinated Community Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence Council, log onto www.santafe-ccrc.org/.

Foreclosure auction postponed

Wednesday's foreclosure auction for a Park Plaza home for unpaid homeowners-association fees was postponed until next month to give the owner more time to pay.

John Kennedy, a lawyer retained by the Park Plaza Neighborhood Association, said the postponement should give the homeowner, Carmen Vidal-Lieberman, more time to work out an agreement with the association.

Vidal-Lieberman, a political science professor at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M., lives at 31110 Plaza Blanca in the subdivision off Rodeo Road. She reportedly owes the association about $1,800 in monthly homeowner fees plus $8,000 in legal fees.

Jonathan Morse, the special master for the foreclosure sale, declined comment.

Summer rains keep lake levels high

Santa Rosa and Sumner lakes will remain higher than usual this year, thanks to summer moisture.

Rains have reduced the need for releasing irrigation water to farmers.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced it will release only 3,000 acre-feet of water from Sumner Lake instead of the expected 10,000 acre-feet. Water levels will remain around 16,000 acre-feet through Labor Day weekend, according to state officials. (One acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons.)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will release only 8,000 acre-feet from Santa Rosa Lake rather than 24,000 acre-feet, leaving almost 26,000 acre-feet in the lake for the holiday weekend. Water releases will occur over four or five days instead of two weeks. Both lakes impound water from the Pecos River for delivery to the Carlsbad Irrigation District.

City hosts second Freedom Ride

The city is hosting a 20-mile bike race for the second year next month. The 599 Freedom Ride race will take place at 7 a.m. Sept. 14, starting at The Downs of Santa Fe, traveling along N.M. 599 and through residential areas. It will conclude on the Plaza.

Registration is $15 per participant and is ongoing through Sept. 12. Participants can register the day of the race but will have to pay a late registration fee of $17. Registration forms are available at Fort Marcy Complex, 490 Washington Ave. For more information, contact Steve Alire at 955-2506.