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Hospital braces for labor strike
Johns Hopkins settles OB-GYN suit for $190M
Union issues 10-day notice of possible work stoppage; preparations underway to find replacement staff
Medical center agrees to payout after doctor secretly took pelvic exam images of 8,000 patients with a tiny camera. PAGE A-3
By Patrick Malone The New Mexican
The union that represents nearly 400 nurses and technicians at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical
Texas to send troops to U.S. Mexico border Gov. Rick Perry announces plan to deploy 1,000 National Guard members to increase security amid immigrant surge. PAGE A-12
Center served the hospital with a strike notice on Monday, advising that a work stoppage is possible if a new contract isn’t ratified before July 31. The employees soundly rejected a proposal on Sunday night that
the hospital’s administration had described as its last, best offer. Union members said ambiguous language about staffing standards topped their list of objections. Both the hospital and leaders of District 1999 New Mexico of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees confirmed Monday that negotiations are set to
Man takes plea deal in Pojoaque boy’s death
N.M. moves up in Kids Count rankings State ranks 49th in annual child well-being report. LOCAL NEWS, A-7
24-year-old gets 17 years for fatally abusing 3-year-old Leland Valdez
Zozobra Parody on Twitter irks Kiwanis
The Associated Press
The New Mexican
Zozobra is a foul-mouthed curmudgeon on Twitter. In 140 characters or less, an unofficial account, @Old_Man_Gloom, offers anything but the familyfriendly image that the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe wants on display. Here are some examples that don’t require asterisks: “I’m sorry that when they finish junior high, your daughters are mothers and your sons have DUIs.” “I have no sympathy for the poor.” “There are two kinds of people in New Mexico: tourists and schlubs.” The tweets have been deemed inappropriate by the Kiwanis Club, which has contacted Twitter — a social networking site with millions of users — and requested that the
Steven Gallegos enters Judge Francis Mathew's courtroom Monday in District Court. Gallegos pleaded guilty to the 2011 beating death of 3-year-old Leland Valdez. PHOTOS BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Phaedra Haywood The New Mexican
24-year-old Pojoaque man charged in the childabuse death of his former girlfriend’s 3-year-old son pleaded guilty Monday in state District Court in Santa Fe, nearly four years after the boy, Leland Valdez, died. According to the terms of his plea deal, Steven Gallegos, 24, will be sentenced to 17 years in prison. Gallegos faced a basic sentence of 21 years for the charges to which he pleaded guilty — 18 years for intentional child abuse resulting in death and three years for intentional child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. But the District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce that total by four years as part of the deal. Also, two other child abuse charges against Gallegos were dropped under the agreement. Gallegos’ defense attorney, Dan Marlowe, said Gallegos also will get credit for time served and will be eligible to have his time behind bars shortened by exhibiting good behavior in prison. Given those considerations, Marlowe said, Gal-
A
Please see TWITTER, Page A-4
The unofficial Twitter account, @Old_Man_Gloom, offers anything but the family-friendly image that the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe wants on display. SCREENSHOT TAKEN FROM TWITTER
Andrew Valdez, father of Leland Valdez, cries Monday as Gallegos enters a guilty plea in District Court.
legos could potentially be released from prison in just over seven years. The child’s father Andrew Valdez, who wept alongside his mother and wife during the plea hearing Monday, said afterward he didn’t think the sentence was harsh enough. “He took something away from me that I am never going to get
Deaths mounting for Israelis, Gazans
The New York Times
JERUSALEM — Israeli leaders have stressed two points in selling their Gaza Strip ground invasion internationally and at home: that they embraced all cease-fire pro-
Index
Calendar A-2
Police: Trio in homeless killings terrorized transients By Jeri Clausing
By Daniel J. Chacón
By Jodi Rudoren
Please see STRIKE, Page A-6
$5M bond set for teens; Albuquerque officers probing other attacks
Club calls foul-mouthed tweets from unofficial account inappropriate
As casualty count rises, world leaders urge quick halt to hostilities
resume Thursday, and neither side relishes the possibility of a strike. “You worry about the economic impact on the hospital. You worry about the economic impact on your membership, the disruption to the community,” said Fonda Osborn, union president. “You worry that
posals and that troops are targeting tunnels Palestinian militants use to infiltrate their territory. Now, with the lopsided casualty count mounting on both sides — more than 550 Gazans, 25 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians — world leaders are demanding an immediate halt to the hostilities. But the operation has uncovered more tunnels than expected, officials said, and there were two more deadly incursions Monday, making many
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Israelis say they were reluctant to leave a job half-finished. That has Israeli officials struggling with a more distilled version of the dilemma it has faced in repeated rounds against Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates Gaza. If it stops now, it faces the prospect of a newly embittered enemy retaining the capacity to attack. But if it stays the course, it is liable to kill many more civilians and face international
back,” Valdez said, adding that he felt life in prison would have been more appropriate. “I’m just happy it’s all coming to an end.” The child’s mother, Tabetha Van Holtz, 25, in March pleaded guilty to abuse of a child and abandonment of a child resulting in great bodily harm. Van Holtz had been
Please see LELAND, Page A-5
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Santa Fe Desert Chorale A Romantic Evening With Brahms, with pianist Debra Ayers, 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, 208 Grant Ave., $20$55, desertchorale.org, 988-2282, season schedule available online. Free preconcert lecture by Philip H. Knight at 6:30 p.m.
Please see DEATHS, Page A-5
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-10
Sports B-1
ALBUQUERQUE — Three teenagers accused of fatally beating two homeless men beyond recognition with cinder blocks, bricks and a metal fence pole may have been terrorizing transients around Albuquerque for months, police said Monday. A man who identified himself as the Alex Rios father of two of the boys said they were once homeless themselves and said he had no idea what prompted the beatings. One of the boys told police they had attacked about 50 homeless people over the past few months, but had never gone that far. But on Friday night, he was angry about breaking up with his girlfriend, he said. Alex Rios, 18, and two boys ages 16 and 15 were ordered held on $5 million bond each during initial court appearances Monday. They face murder charges stemming from the brutal attack in an Albuquerque lot where neighbors say transients regularly camped at night. Following their arrest, the 15-yearold also told police that the trio had been targeting homeless people for the past year, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors requested bonds of just $1 million, but Metropolitan Court Judge Linda Rogers set it higher, citing the gravity of the alleged crimes and the suspects’ potential to flee. The District Attorney’s Office said the younger suspects were charged as serious youthful offenders, meaning they could be tried in adult court. The two younger defendants, one wiping away tears, sat in the courtroom while Rios made his appearance by closed circuit video from the
Please see KILLINGS, Page A-4
Obituaries Patty Anaya, 53, Santa Fe, July 10 Jacqueline Theo Joens Canzone Jose Luis Coriz, 79, July 18 Elbert E. Earnest, July 19 Benerita P. Naranjo, June 19 PAGE A-8
Today Partly sunny, warm and a p.m. thunderstorm. High 91, low 62. PAGE A-12
Time Out B-11
Local Business A-9
BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM
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