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N.M. senator faces questions over sale
S.F. group rallies against ongoing Gaza bloodshed u Demonstrators protest U.S. resolution to support Israel against Hamas attacks. PAGE A-5
Justices to hear fight for jobless benefits
Sen. Phil Griego denies a conflict of interest in his role in brokering the sale of a state building. LOCAL NEWS, A-6
u Israel faces increasing political and economic pressures to halt conflict with Gaza. PAGE A-5
Trial opens for alleged Glove at murder mastermind center of new leak theory Lead-laden mitt, residue may have led to radiation release, investigators say
By Milan Simonich The New Mexican
Please see BENEFITS, Page A-5
By Patrick Malone The New Mexican
Defense argues women beat Chimayó man to death after burglary gone awry, conspired against niece
By Uriel J. Garcia The New Mexican
he trial of an Española woman accused of masterminding her uncle’s death almost two years ago got underway Wednesday in Santa Fe. Authorities say 64-year-old Rudy Montoya was beaten with a bat and stabbed more than 40 times by Angel Baldonado, now 24, of Ohkay Owingeh and Sheanne Martinez, now 20, of Chimayó, who also burglarized
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Family, friends remember lives lost on downed Malaysia jet By Kristen Gelineau The Associated Press
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From left, Miguel Panduwinata, Mika Panduwinata, Samira Calehr and Shaka Panduwinata. Brothers Miguel and Shaka were killed aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine. COURTESY THE CALEHR FAMILY
refused to release his mother from his grasp. He’s just going to miss me, Calehr told herself. So she stretched out beside him and held him all night. It was 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 16. Miguel, Shaka and the 296 other people aboard Flight MH17 had about 15 hours left to live.
Please see VICTIMS, Page A-4
INSIDE: 2 Ukrainian fighter jets shot down near Russian border as clashes intensify. PAGE A-4
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds B-6
his Chimayó home. Both women have taken plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against Montoya’s niece, 36-year-old Rhiannon Montoya. Assistant District Attorney Peter Valencia said during opening arguments Wednesday in state District Judge Mary Marlowe’s courtroom that the Oct. 10, 2012, slaying was orchestrated by Rhiannon Montoya, who is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and tampering with evidence.
LOS ALAMOS — A glove used to process nuclear waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory and metallic residue from that process have grabbed the attention of investigators probing the cause of a radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a lab official told lawmakers Wednesday. A drum of waste that burst Feb. 14 at WIPP is suspected of releasing the radiation that shut down WIPP and halted shipments of waste from LANL — generated during decades of nuclear weapons development — to the underground storage site near Carlsbad. That container held a volatile mix: a leadladen glove, highly acidic waste, organic kitty litter and trace metal residue, according to Nan Sauer, associate director for chemistry, life and earth sciences at LANL. After the waste had been stored at LANL for nearly three decades, a chemical reaction ripped open a drum, releasing radiation at WIPP just weeks after the drum had been processed at LANL in mid-December. That trained investigators’ attention on what went wrong at the
Please see TRIAL, Page A-7
Please see LEAK, Page A-5
From left, Rhiannon Montoya speaks with assistant public defender Megan Dorsey during the opening arguments of her murder trial Wednesday in District Court. Montoya is accused of masterminding the murder of her 64-year-old uncle at the hands of two acquaintances in October 2012. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
THE FINAL MOMENTS OF MH17’S VICTIMS n a bedroom in a townhouse near Amsterdam, Miguel Panduwinata reached out for his mother. “Mama, may I hug you?” Samira Calehr wrapped her arms around her 11-year-old son, who’d been oddly agitated for days, peppering her with questions about death, about his soul, about God. The next morning, she would drop Miguel and his big brother, Shaka, at the airport so they could catch Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the first leg of their journey to Bali to visit their grandmother. Her normally cheerful, well-traveled boy should have been excited. His silver suitcase sat in the living room, ready to go. Jetskiing and surfing in paradise awaited. But something was off. A day earlier, while playing soccer, Miguel had burst out: “How would you choose to die? What would happen to my body if I was buried? Would I not feel anything because our souls go back to God?” And now, the night before his big trip, Miguel
Condemned inmate gasps for nearly two hours before dying in an execution that should have taken 10 minutes. PAGE A-2
WIPP SHUTDOWN
Case centers on suit by ex-state director fired by Martinez administration
New Mexico’s highest court will decide whether a former state management employee, fired after Gov. Susana Martinez took office more than three years ago, is entitled to unemployment compensation. The case centers on a lawsuit by Sandra K. Perez, who was state personnel director for more than six years under Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson. A month after taking office in 2011, Republican Martinez fired Perez, who was exempt from the state personnel system and could be terminated without cause. Court records show that Perez sought unemployment benefits and initially received $3,860 before the state Department of Workforce Solutions cut off her payments and said the money she had received must be repaid. As an exempt employee, she was not entitled to unemployment benefits, the Martinez administration said. Perez, 55, appealed the decision. She lost the administrative rounds, but a state district judge ruled that she qualified for unemployment benefits. Then the state Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in a 2-1 split decision. Next the New Mexico Supreme Court will hear arguments Aug. 13 in
Ariz. execution rekindles debate over lethal drug
Comics B-11
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Crosswords A-8, B-7
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Today
Religious leaders in U.S. embrace child immigrants
Partly sunny. High 89, low 61.
By Michael Paulson
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Noon concert, music of Mendelssohn and Brett Dean, $10-$25; 6 p.m. concert, music of Ruders, Shostakovich and Beethoven, $10-$70; performers include flutist Bart Feller, clarinetist Todd Levy, pianist Jon Nakamatsu and violinist Jennifer Frautschi; St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., 982-1890, santafechambermusic.com. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
PAGE A-12
Obituaries Patty Anaya, 53, Santa Fe, July 10 Jeffry Merrill Braucht, July 15 Leroy Trujillo, 62, Rio en Medio, July 16 PAGE A-10
A Ghost Ranch getaway O’Keeffe’s beloved home proves a haven for those who wish to discover, learn and play. OUTDOORS, B-5
Opinions A-11
Sports B-1
Time Out A-8
Outdoors B-5
BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM
The New York Times
After protesters shouting “go home” turned back busloads of immigrant mothers and children in Murrieta, Calif., a furious Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, sat down at his notepad and drafted a blog post detailing his shame at the episode, writing, “It was un-American; it was un-biblical; it was inhumane.” When the governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, said he did not want the migrants in his state, declaring, “We can’t accept every child in the world who has problems,” clergy in Des Moines held a prayer vigil at a United Methodist Church to demonstrate their desire to make room for the refugees.
Please see REFUGEES, Page A-4
INSIDE u GOP migrant plan calls for less cash than Dems, Obama seek. PAGE A-4
Two sections, 24 pages 165th year, No. 205 Publication No. 596-440