Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
tuesday January 27, 2015 | Volume 119 | Issue 89
Man indicted in DWI crash that killed two students By David Lynch An Albuquerque man has been indicted in the November car crash that killed two UNM students and sent two others to the hospital. Joshua Leal, 21, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide due to reckless driving, one count
of vehicular homicide due to DWI, and one count each of child abuse, larceny, tampering with evidence and stealing a motor vehicle, according to nmcourts.gov Leal and a second passenger fled the scene after ramming into another car carrying UNM students, only to be arrested soon af-
ter, according to a KOB report. Leal had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash, according to the report. UNM students Briana Hillard and Matthew Grant died when the car they were in was struck by a stolen truck driven by Leal near the intersection of Bellamah Avenue and
Rio Grande Boulevard. Two other students, Julia Thompson and Joe Mendoza, were sent to the hospital. Mendoza, a junior journalism and communications major, said the physical healing process is going well. He had to go through
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DWI page 2
Joshua Leal
‘Acequias’ shows water’s NM importance By Mateo Rocha It is an indispensable essence for communities and a valuable resource for the economy, but most of all, water is life. “Agua es Vida: Acequias in Northern New Mexico,” currently featured at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, highlights a hydrosocial cycle that has come to embody New Mexican heritage among the farming community. Politics, cultural life and sustenance are shown at the museum in a comparative fashion, said Devorak Ramonek, a curator at the Maxwell Museum. The topic of who has a right to water is an ongoing debate contested not only by those engaged with acequias, but also Native American nations and state governmental water management. “Water in New Mexico is everything,” Ramonek said. “The exhibition tells the story of how people survive here and are here, and the various interactions that occur in this environment.” The exhibition is designed to highlight the importance of the hydrological cycle in conjunction with the livelihood of acequia farmers in New Mexico. “Acequias are sustainable, but they do not make the same immediate economic bang that exploitation of water might make,” Ramonek said. “But in the long run, using water in a sustainable way is also going to have economic benefits, especially when decisions get made on a community basis.” Lorenzo Candelaria, owner of Cornelio Candelaria Organics in the valley of Atrisco, said that 25 farmers make their livelihood off of the
Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @dee_sea_
Farmer Lorenzo Candelaria, owner of Cornelio Candelaria Organics in Albuquerque’s valley of Atrisco stands before the backdrop of a sub-acequia that stretches 2,000 feet long on Monday morning. The sub-acequia is just one of the many acequias that allows for natural irrigation of the farms’ crops.
Arenal Acequia that he manages. His family has worked these lands for almost 400 years. Water is distributed according to farmer’s necessities, the size of their terrain and the changing seasons, Candelaria said. This is
a traditional form of governance through water; however, its very existence is now being threatened by both the commercial methods of its distribution and the relentless drought in the southwest. Along with the distribution of wa-
ter, the maintenance of acequias is a resource for the community to gather and discuss political and religious matters, he said. This includes the ceremonial reverence paid to San Isidro. “San Isidro has been the patron saint of farmers ever since the Span-
ish arrived here,” Candelaria said. “The tradition of San Isidro is where as a community we bless the waters of the acequias when the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District releases the water from the river.”
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‘Acequias’ page 3
Innovate seeking proposals Grant to fund future By Jonathan Baca
Innovate ABQ, UNM’s ambitious plan for a business incubator district, is looking for private developers who are interested in investing in the project during the first phase of development. Innovate ABQ sent out a Request for Statements of Interest and Qualifications last week, hoping to get private companies to submit proposals for contracts to build on the new campus. They will be accepting statements of interest until Feb. 20. Perkins and Will, the Atlantabased firm leading the development of Innovate, is currently working on its master plan for the site and wants to begin making partnerships with private sector developers. “We want to start getting devel-
opers lined up, so that as approval happens there is a line of developers there to get the work started,” UNM President Bob Frank said. “Remember, this whole Innovate idea is a public-private partnership. Now this is the private part coming to bear. This isn’t University money being spent on these projects, it’s private money.” A significant amount of public money has already been secured for the project, including $2 million from the city, a $3 million gift from the New Mexico Educators Credit Union, a $1.4 million economic development grant and $800,000 from UNM. Frank said he does not anticipate UNM spending any more of its own money on the project. The private developers Innovate is looking to partner with would be building specific businesses and facil-
ities on the Innovate campus, such as restaurants, coffee shops, and a large privately managed residence hall similar to Lobo Village. The campus may also be split up into distinct blocks with different specialties, like food, music and other focuses. Perkins and Will still needs to present their master plan to the Innovate ABQ board and to the Board of Regents, and a site manager still needs to be selected before construction can begin, Frank said. “Building this project is a synergistic thing. It all comes together because all these people interact with each other. It’s a moment to moment thing, and we don’t know exactly what’s going to
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Innovate page 3
undergrad profesors By Sayyed Shah UNM’s Honors College, in partnership with the Mellon Foundation, is using a $420,000 grant to fund undergraduate students who would like to become professors. The primary objective of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program is to increase diversity among professors, said Kate Krause, a professor of economics and the dean of the Honors College and University College at UNM. “To do that, the program provides summer and school year stipends to students who are working with a faculty mentor to become better prepared to enter
graduate school,” she said. In addition to paying the students, there will be funding available for some student travel to conferences, workshops and GRE prep classes, Krause said. “The director of MMUF visited Albuquerque last spring and met with a number of our colleagues who are involved in undergraduate research programs to see if UNM would be a viable MMUF site,” she said. MMUF administrators liked the undergraduate programs at the UNM’s Honors College and invited UNM to submit a proposal to locate a MMUF program on the campus, Krause said.
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Grant page 2