News in brief

| The New Mexican and wire services

9/12/2008 - 9/13/08

Governor lowers prices at state fair

In the wake of disappointing attendance at the state fair, Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday ordered fair officials to lower admission and midway prices.

Entrance at the fair will now be $8 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for kids. The new prices, which take effect today, are $1 cheaper. In addition, all-day ride passes are $25 for weekdays and weekends — $10 cheaper than previous weekend passes.

"High gas prices and economic uncertainty made it necessary for us to take another look at the costs associated with the state fair," Richardson said in a statement. "The fair is one of our state's great traditions, and we need to make sure it is affordable and accessible to every New Mexico family."

Parking is still free. The fair ends Sept. 21.

PEC approves School for the Arts

The Public Education Commission accepted the recommendation of the Public Education Department's staff and granted a charter to the New Mexico School for the Arts, a four-year statewide residential school for visual and performing arts.

The school will open in the fall of 2009 at a location in Santa Fe to be decided. Demolition this summer of buildings at the Santa Fe Indian School eliminated that campus as a possible site for the school. The founding committee has been looking at a former Catholic school for the first year of operation.

The PEC denied the application of The MASTERS Program, an early college high-school program based at Santa Fe Community College.

Of the 11 charter applications, six were approved, four were denied, and one school, The Ray of Hope Charter School in Albuquerque, withdrew. In addition to the School for the Arts, the applications approved include the Taos Academy, the School of Dreams Academy in Los Lunas and The New America School, Cien Aguas International School and The International School at Mesa del Sol, all in Albuquerque

In addition to TMP, applications from Henry David Thoreau High School in Albuquerque, The Resource and Learning Center in Moriarty and The Enchanted Circle in Taos were denied.

Woman sues in head-on collision

A Santa Fe woman is suing the Honda Motor Co. and others, claiming she was injured and her mother was killed last year when her decade-old Acura's air bags failed to deploy after another car slammed into it on Cerrillos Road.

Lena Kendall and the estate of her mother, Barbara Kendall, seek damages from the Japanese automaker; its Acura division; two U.S. Honda divisions; Premier Motorcars of Santa Fe, the local dealership where the 1997 Acura had been purchased four to six weeks earlier; and the driver of the other car, Anthony Cadavas.

According to the complaint filed this week in state District Court by lawyer Paul Abrams of Santa Fe and Philip Gaddy of Albuquerque, Cadavas' vehicle hit the Kendalls' car head-on Aug. 7, 2007, as it was stopped for a light at Vegas Verdes Drive. Although the Kendalls wore safety belts, the complaint says, the Acura's air bags failed to open, causing Barbara Kendall to be killed and Lena Kendall to suffer severe injuries.

Monty Mitchell, the general manager of Premier, did not return a phone call left Friday.

Student reports alleged rape at CSF

A student at the College of Santa Fe told police Thursday that a male friend raped her in her room on campus late last month, police said.

The 22-year-old woman said she and the man were going to have some drinks and watch a movie in her room Aug. 29, but he became aggressive and forced her to have sex, said Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño.

Police are investigating the case, and no arrests had been made as of Friday evening, he said.

Sandoval bridge will get repairs

The Sandoval Street bridge, ranked as the worst bridge in Santa Fe County because of its cracked concrete deck and steel beams, will be closed to traffic for 30 days, beginning Monday, for a major reconstruction.

The 39-year-old, 48-foot concrete-slab span across the Santa Fe River is “intolerable,” according to the National Bridge Inventory of the Federal Highway Administration, which rated it at 22.7 on a scale of 100 — less than half the score for Santa Fe County’s other deficient bridges.

A.S. Horner Inc. of Albuquerque will be paid $600,000 for the reconstruction work that will be done from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with occasional work on Saturdays, through Oct. 15.

Motorists will be detoured around the work zone, but access to local businesses will remain open, according to a city news release.

City cancels Sunday bike ride

The city has canceled a 20-mile bike race planned for Sunday because of low registration.

The second annual 599 Freedom Ride was called off Friday because fewer than a dozen people had registered, said Steve Alire, the city's recreation coordinator.

Alire said many of the city's recreational activities have seen less participation this year than in recent years, a consequence of the economic downturn.

Registered participants will be able to obtain a refund and should contact Alire at 955-2506 for further information. Last year's race had 26 participants. This year, only 10 registered.

ISP drops service for two hours

RUIDOSO — Customers of Windstream Communications in four New Mexico communities had their Internet service dropped for almost two hours Friday, a problem blamed on a software failure. Affected areas included Ruidoso, Carlsbad, Española and Hobbs.

"It would have covered a pretty good amount of our territory in New Mexico," Windstream spokesman Chris Hunt said.

Service was lost for about 20 minutes sometime after 10 a.m., then resumed briefly and failed from 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Hunt said the issue was resolved when the software was restored.

State estimated tax payment looms

Many New Mexico taxpayers must make quarterly payments of their estimated income tax, state tax officials said in a reminder Friday, and the third installment of the current tax year must be postmarked by Monday.

Every person required to file a New Mexico personal income tax return must pay estimated tax on income as it is received throughout the year.

The estimated tax may be paid by having New Mexico income tax withheld from income, such as wages, by sending quarterly estimated payments or by a combination of the two.

When the 2008 return is filed next year, the tax due, after rebates, credits and withholding, must be less than $500. If the tax due amount is $500 or more, a penalty will be due for underpaying estimated tax.

Estimated payments should provide name, Social Security number and the tax year being paid. Estimated payments can be mailed to New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, P.O. Box 8390, Santa Fe, NM 87504-8390; e-filed at www.tax.state.nm.us; or hand delivered to a Taxation and Revenue Department field office.

For more information, call 866-809-2335.

Deputies arrest suspect in death

A 31-year-old man has been arrested in the death of another man whose charred body was found Sept. 4 inside the trunk of a burned car on Albuquerque's west side.

Leonard Romero was taken into custody Thursday night after an hourslong standoff when officers tried to arrest him.

Undersheriff Sal Baragiola says a Special Weapons and Tactics team surrounded a home and used tear gas. Even at that, deputies say it took time to locate Romero.

They say the home had a trap door covered by a rug, and Romero dug underneath to try to hide. Deputies say a police dog sniffed him out.

Romero faces an open charge of murder in the death of 26-year-old Anthony Salazar.

Animals seized in hoarding case

LAS CRUCES — Doña Ana County animal control officers have counted 464 dogs, cats, birds, sheep, rabbits and other animals seized from the grounds of a mobile home. They say 19 species were found on the 2.8-acre property in the latest animal hoarding case in the Las Cruces area.

Animal control Supervisor Curtis Childress says typical hoarding cases involve dogs or cats, not what he called the smorgasbord found Wednesday.

Childress says there's some indication some animals were used for food. He says many of the birds are sick.

County ordinance allows up to six animals, although a special permit can be obtained for up to 15.

The home's owners were identified as Maria Troncoso and her husband, whose name was not immediately available.

Crosses can stay in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES — A federal appeals court Friday rejected lawsuits that claimed city and school district officials violated the Constitution by using Christian crosses in city logos and buildings.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver affirmed a lower court ruling that had dismissed a lawsuit by Las Cruces residents Paul Weinbaum and Martin Boyd against city government. Justices also rejected another lawsuit by Weinbaum against Las Cruces Public Schools.

Las Cruces is Spanish for "The Crosses." The city and school district routinely use logos that include three crosses.

The appellate court acknowledged that use of such symbols raises legitimate constitutional concerns but found the use of crosses "is not a religious statement" and is based on the city's name and history.

A U.S. district judge in Las Cruces dismissed both lawsuits in 2006, ruling "a city may make use of images that have a religious connotation as long as the primary or principal effect is not to endorse religion."

In an interview earlier this year with the Las Cruces Sun-News, Weinbaum, who is Jewish, and Boyd, an atheist, said the lawsuit was not an attack on Christianity but a defense of the Constitution.