Library media center casualty of cutbacks

The Santa Fe Library Division will close the Main Library's Media Department from Feb. 4 through April 30 -- the third recent cutback announced to deal with staffing shortages.

Until the Media Department reopens May 1, patrons may access media materials by placing holds on them for pickup at the circulation desk or access them at the La Farge or Southside branches.

Two weeks ago, the Library Division announced the La Farge branch would close on Saturdays until early May. In December, it announced it would suspend interlibrary loans until early May.

"The closure is not due to budget shortages," says the most recent announcement. "The Library is working as quickly as possible to advertise, interview and hire for the 11 vacant positions."

City begins absentee, early balloting

Voting for the March 6 municipal election begins next week.

Absentee voting in person on a paper ballot begins Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Office of the City Clerk, Room 215 of City Hall, 200 Lincoln Ave., beginning Tuesday.

You can request an absentee ballot to be mailed to you by calling the clerk's office at 955-6519, 955-6520, 955-6521 or 955-6326.

Applications for mailed absentee ballots must be completed and accepted by the city clerk by 5 p.m. March 2. The city clerk will accept completed absentee ballots delivered by mail or in person by the voter casting the absentee ballot, their caregiver, or by a member of the voter's immediate family until 7 p.m. March 6.

Early voting begins Feb. 15 and ends at 5 p.m. March 2. Early voters will vote in person on a paper ballot, which is inserted into a voting tabulator at the clerk's office.

The last day to register to vote for the municipal election is Feb. 7.

Cable blamed for Tesuque power loss

About 2,400 Public Service Co. of New Mexico customers in the Tesuque area temporarily lost power at about 3:30 a.m. Friday due to a cable fault.

Power was restored to all households and businesses by midday Friday.

A PNM spokeswoman said a large underground cable coming out of a utility substation failed. "It's old and really needs to be replaced," said Valerie Brown.

This was the second large outage to affect the area recently. The last one was on New Year's Eve.

Brown said a project to replace the cable has been moved to the top of the priority list. The cable has been ordered and the work will be done in a couple of weeks, she said.

Española superintendent gone

The Española Valley School Board voted this week against renewing the contract of Superintendent Evelyn Maruska and placed her on paid administrative leave through the end of her contract in June, The Rio Grande Sun reported.

The move came after Maruska suggested she leave office, the report said.

Maruska, who previously served as interim superintendent for the district, grew increasingly unpopular with students, staff members and media outlets -- particularly after she started a policy to ban Rio Grande Sun reporters from school campuses after the paper repeatedly criticized her job performance.

The board named Gloria Shuttles as interim superintendent as it solicits superintendent applications for the 2012-13 school year.