Water main fix forces street closure

East Palace Avenue will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday between Paseo de Peralta and Martinez Street while crews replace a water main at the intersection of Faithway Street and East Palace Avenue.

The detour route will begin at the intersection of Paseo de Peralta and East Palace Avenue, head north to Hillside Avenue, east on Hillside to Martinez Street and south on Martinez back to East Palace. Access to businesses and residences will be accommodated for vehicles approaching from the east on East Palace Avenue.

The water main replacement is part of the Water Transmission and Distribution System Rehabilitation Project.

Richardson creates cost-saving committee

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has created a new committee whose members will be charged with finding ways for government to save money.

The new Committee on Government Efficiency is expected to look for ways to save money by streamlining, consolidating or eliminating areas of government that aren't needed.

The independent working group announced Friday will be chaired by former Gov. Garry Carruthers. Also on the eight-member committee is Richardson's Finance and Administration Department secretary, Katherine Miller.

Museums to close early for holiday events

To prepare for the annual Christmas at the Palace and Las Posadas events, the New Mexico History Museum and the Palace of the Governors will close at 3 p.m. Friday and Dec. 13. The History Museum will remain closed until Dec. 14, while the Palace will be open from 5:15 to 8 p.m. Friday for Christmas at the Palace; the Palace courtyard will be open from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Dec. 13 for the conclusion of Las Posadas.

For more information, call 505-476-1141.

Science demonstrations this week

Pojoaque Valley High School science students will be demonstrating a wide variety of experiments and projects at the school's science fair Friday. Judges will include scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory and state government, retired private-sector scientists and parents.

As part of the fair, students in the culinary arts program will prepare and serve a gourmet luncheon from 11:10 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. for administrators, judges and science faculty. Community viewing of the projects will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Science Night at the intermediate school will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. High-school science students will help the fifth-graders with their projects Tuesday and Wednesday. Students at the Sixth Grade Academy will hold their science fair from 8 a.m. to noon Dec. 17.

Pojoaque High School science department director Joe Matteson said the district's science programs this year received a $15,000 boost from the LANL Foundation.

Thin ice closes Eagle Nest Lake

Fishing and boating on Eagle Nest Lake are prohibited until the ice on the lake becomes thick enough to allow safe passage. The state Department of Game and Fish and New Mexico State Parks made the announcement Friday.

The ice will be considered safe when it is 9 inches thick, and the lake then will reopen for ice fishing. For more information and updates, call Eagle Nest Lake State Park at 575-377-1594.

Jury charges teen accused of killing nun

ALBUQUERQUE — A federal grand jury has charged a teenager accused of killing a nun at her home on the Navajo reservation with first-degree murder.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque said Thursday that 18-year-old Reehahlio Carroll also is charged with burglary and transporting a stolen vehicle in interstate commerce.

Carroll is accused of killing 64-year-old Sister Marguerite Bartz while burglarizing her home in Navajo. Bartz was found dead Nov. 1.

Assessor plans property rollback

ALBUQUERQUE — Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya plans to roll back property values for homes sold since 2002.

The move could save some Albuquerque-area homeowners thousands of dollars on future tax bills, but might also reduce income to government agencies already facing budget shortfalls.

Montoya said Friday that she decided to roll back values after two judges ruled the state's property-tax law is unconstitutional. That law limits annual tax increases to 3 percent, but that limit doesn't apply when a home is sold.

Tens of thousands of homeowners will be affected by the rollback. It's not clear how her decision will affect tax bills. State administrators could offset the lower values by raising tax rates.

Biorefinery gets federal grant

COLUMBUS — A planned algae biorefinery plant near Columbus has received $104 million in a grant and guaranteed loans to build a facility.

Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall say San Diego, Calif.-based Sapphire Energy was one of 19 biorefineries nationwide that received $564 million in grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Friday. The loan guarantee comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rep. Harry Teague says construction of the biorefinery is expected to begin in September 2010. He estimates 750 direct and indirect jobs will be created by the facility.

Sapphire has a research and pilot production facility in Las Cruces and is planning an additional demonstration project in Portales.

Basins closed to water applications

The state engineer is not taking any more applications for new appropriations of ground water from the High Plains aquifer in the Curry-Portales underground water basins.

State Engineer John D'Antonio says he closed the basins to new applications to extend their life.

He also says the action will protect those who have owned water rights the longest in the basin.

The order does not affect people's ability to obtain well permits for relatively small amounts of water for domestic or livestock use or for temporary construction uses.

The state engineer's office is developing new guidelines for processing water rights applications. It plans a public hearing next year to let the public comment on the draft proposal.

Man identified in fatal N.M. crash

TUCUMCARI — A man killed in a rollover crash on Interstate 40 in Eastern New Mexico was identified on Saturday as a 69-year-old Idaho resident.

New Mexico State Police say George Bellinghiere of Nampa, Idaho, died at the scene of Thursday morning's accident just east of Tucumcari.

Bellinghiere was driving a Dodge pickup pulling a travel trailer westbound on I-40 when he lost control, slid off the interstate and hit a rock wall.

The truck and trailer rolled and the pickup landed upside down on the trailer, crushing it.

State police say Bellinghiere was not wearing a seat belt.

Fugitive sentenced in deadly crash

ESTANCIA — An Arizona fugitive who hit and killed a woman and her grandson as he fled police has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Thursday's sentence was the maximum 31-year-old Paul Sanchez could have received under an agreement with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide.

Sanchez was driving a pickup truck on April 8 when he was pulled over by Mountain Chief of Police Ed von Kutzleben. He then sped off as the chief fired at his tires before giving pursuit.

Several blocks later Sanchez blew through a stop sign and hit a car driven by 78-year-old Flora Chavez. The crash killed her and her 10-year-old grandson.

Investigators later estimated Sanchez was driving 55-60 mph when he hit Sanchez's car. At the time Sanchez was wanted in Arizona on a parole violation.

Suspect shot by police was unarmed

ALBUQUERQUE — An Albuquerque police spokesman says a burglary suspect who was fatally shot last month by an officer wasn't armed.

Police spokesman T.J. Wilham says investigators believe 42-year-old Roderick Jones might have been reaching for a bottle of tequila in his back pocket when he was shot.

Officer Brandon Carr confronted Jones inside a home on Nov. 6 after responding to a burglar alarm. Wilham says Carr and another officer found a back door open, went inside and ordered Jones to surrender and raise his hands.

When Jones reached toward his back pocket, Carr fired, then shot again when Jones ran away. Jones died at a hospital several hours later.

When the police investigation is finished, Bernalillo District Attorney Kari Brandenburg will review it and decide if the shooting was justified.





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