S.F. Institute gets $7.5 million grant

The Santa Fe Institute has been awarded a $7.5 million challenge grant from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, the institute announced Friday.

As a member of the SFI Board of Trustees, Omidyar awarded the grant to establish the Omidyar Fellows Program, which is expected to draw scholars from across the social, physical and natural sciences. Recipients will spend two to three years as postdoctoral fellows in the program.

The gift brings SFI two-thirds of the way toward meeting the $50 million goal of its 25th anniversary fund-raising campaign.

"The board is very pleased Pierre has made such a generous contribution towards ensuring the vibrancy of SFI research" SFI board chairman Bill Miller said.

The Santa Fe Institute is a private, not-for-profit, independent research and education center founded in 1984 for multidisciplinary collaborations in the physical, biological, computational and social sciences.

Family hurt after rig overturns

A tractor-trailer rig overturned in the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 near the San Felipe exit Friday morning, injuring the driver, his wife and six children and backing up traffic most of the day, Sandoval County sheriff's investigators said.

The names of the family members, their home or destination were not disclosed nor was the extent of their injuries.

The Sandoval County sheriff's office said the rollover occurred about 11:30 a.m., and both northbound lanes were blocked until late afternoon, by which time the cab had been righted. All family members were taken to a hospital, investigators said.

Cerrillos Road work nears finish

The city of Santa Fe has scheduled intersection lane closures for Sunday night at Camino Consuelo and Cerrillos Road from 6:30 p.m. Sunday until 6:30 a.m. the following morning while crews work to complete a drainage and street reconstruction project.

Also, lane closures at Calle del Cielo are planned for 6:30 p.m. Monday until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the announcement said.

Side-street through traffic and left turns will be prohibited at those intersections, the statement said, and detour signs will be posted.

Final striping of the pavement is scheduled to begin Monday, and new traffic signals are expected to be in operation by Friday.

Weather permitting, all traffic lanes are scheduled to be open by the first week of November, the news release said, while bus plazas are expected to be completed around mid-November. Landscaping and other final details will be completed in the spring.

Comedian to join Obama at UNM

Comedian George Lopez will join Sen. Barack Obama at a rally tonight at The University of New Mexico, the Obama campaign said.

Gates at Johnson Field at the UNM campus open at 7 p.m.

Tickets are not required to attend the event. The party recommends making an RSVP at www.nm.barackobama.com.

Sen. John McCain also is in Albuquerque early today with a rally at the state fairgrounds.

Some felons are OK'd to vote

ALBUQUERQUE — Civil rights groups and the Secretary of State's Office have reached an agreement to ensure that felons who have completed all their probation or parole can vote in the general election.

A 2001 state law says people who have completed their sentence are to be reinstated onto the voter rolls.

However, the state has a backlog of such reinstatements for people whose voter rights had been restored.

The New Mexico Women's Justice Project, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Secretary of State Mary Herrera came up with an agreement to ensure those felons can vote.

Under it, Herrera will issue a directive allowing provisional ballots for people who state they have completed their sentences but who appear to be ineligible because of a felony conviction.

Suspicious fire closes post office

The New Mexico Fire Marshal's office on Friday was investigating a suspicious fire that closed down the Ranchos post office in Taos, according to The Taos News.

The paper quoted postal officials as saying the post office will be closed until further notice. Customers who normally use the Ranchos office will now get their mail at the Taos postal annex on Bertha Street.

The fire, which broke out about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, was confined to the rear of the building and did not destroy any mail, the paper said.

It appeared someone had tried but failed to pry open a door, and witnesses told sheriff's investigators that a car was seen speeding away from the building at the time of the fire, the newspaper reported.

Robles named to appellate court

LAS CRUCES — Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed state District Judge Robert Robles to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Robles, the chief judge for the Third Judicial District in Las Cruces, will fill a vacancy on the appellate court left by the retirement of Ira Robinson.

Richardson, in announcing Robles' appointment Friday, said the position comes with awesome responsibility, and an appellate judge should be principled and fair. He said Robles is that and more.

Robles has more than 32 years of legal experience, including 17 years as a judge in the Third District. He was elected by his colleagues as chief judge, a position he has held for nine years.

Robles has extensive experience in personal injury, commercial, domestic relations and criminal law.

Commissioners join blogosphere

Not ones to be left out, Santa Fe County commissioners are joining the rest of the world in becoming bloggers.

The Santa Fe County Commissioner Viewpoints blog (www.santafecounty.blogspot.com), which went public Friday, will serve as a place for commissioners to "express their individual viewpoints, receive feedback from residents, and respond," according to a statement issued by county spokesman Stephen Ulibarri.

As of Friday, two entries were on the blog. One, What you need to know about the $80,000,000 Transit Tax, is an argument against the proposed 1/8-cent transit tax that voters will be asked to approve in November. The other, Regional Public Transit: Let's Get Connected, is an argument in favor of the tax authored by Commissioner Virginia Vigil and signed by Commissioners Mike Anaya and Harry Montoya.




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