Florida State captures final BCS title Sports, B-1
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Tuesday, January 7, 2014
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Martinez proposes $6.07B budget
Senate confirms Yellen to lead Fed Janet Yellen wins confirmation to become first woman to chair the central bank. Page a-3
Frigid weather sweeps U.S. Blast of polar air grips the Midwest and pushes toward the East and South. Page a-3
Horse slaughterhouse suit Lawyer for meat plant plans to file defamation suit against attorney general. LOCaL neWs, a-5
Speed SUVs temporarily pulled from city streets
No across-the-board raises for state workers under governor’s plan By Steve Terrell and Robert Nott The New Mexican
Unlike the budget New Mexico legislators proposed last week, the spending plan unveiled Monday by Gov. Susana Martinez wouldn’t fund across-the-board raises for state employees.
Instead, the governor’s $6.07 billion budget would boost pay for slightly less than a third of the state workforce, including state police, corrections officers, health care workers, social workers, engineers and computer staff. New teachers also would get higher pay under the budget Martinez will advocate during the legislative session that convenes Jan. 21 in Santa Fe. “Small, across-the-board increases do nothing to reform our broken salary compensation sys-
InsIde u Sen. John Arthur Smith seeks to postpone Skandera’s confirmation. u Governor won’t seek amendment to ban gay marriage. Page a-5
tem,” Martinez said at a news conference Monday. “They just shift the broken system upward a little bit. By reforming our pay classifications, we make ourselves more competitive by providing employ-
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Small, acrossthe-board increases do nothing to reform our broken salary compensation system. They just shift the broken system upward a little bit.” Gov. Susana Martinez
Mayoral contenders clash
Police say vehicles will be back by month’s end after officials, company reach new deal By Chris Quintana The New Mexican
The city’s unmanned speed-enforcement SUVs have become a common sight on Santa Fe streets in recent years, but drivers will get a reprieve from the watchful camera lenses until the end of January. Police Department spokeswoman Celina Westervelt said the city’s contract with Redflex Traffic Systems for the equipment and ticket processing has expired, and the vehicles won’t be on the streets until both parties reach a new deal. She said the negotiation process could take up to a month. City officials have repeatedly asserted that the SUVs represent a safety program, not a money-making operation. The New Mexican has reported that a speeding ticket issued as a result of the unmanned surveillance costs $100 but only nets the city between $12 and $18. Half of the ticket revenue goes to the state, another portion goes to Redflex and the city receives the remainder. The Arizona-based company operates the SUVs and pays for all costs.
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City Councilor Patti Bushee listens while Javier Gonzales speaks during a mayoral candidate forum Monday night at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Bushee grills Gonzales over role in ‘hold harmless’ phase-out in first candidate forum By Daniel J. Chacón The New Mexican
M A speed-enforcement SUV sits on Galisteo Street near E.J. Martinez Elementary School on Sept. 15, 2010. NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO
ayoral hopeful and longtime City Councilor Patti Bushee won’t let opponent Javier Gonzales be held harmless over his support of a legislative tax deal that she says hurts Santa Fe and other governments across New Mexico. While the two candidates were cordial and generally agreed on most issues raised during the first mayoral forum of the campaign Monday, Bushee repeatedly pounded Gonzales, former state Democratic Party chairman, over
his role in the Legislature’s decision to phase out the so-called “hold harmless” distributions. In 2004, the Legislature eliminated grossreceipts taxes on food and medicine. Initially, the state reimbursed local governments under a “hold harmless” provision. But last year, state lawmakers decided to phase out those payments through 2030, starting in 2015. The city of Santa Fe expects to take a $750,000 hit next year, Bushee said. “I raised the issue of this hold harmless because it’s important. It’s important to the cities and counties in New Mexico,” Bushee
Hospital reports spike in flu patients 19 test positive for virus in Santa Fe as H1N1 strain spreads across state By Patrick Malone
The New Mexican
Ten people were hospitalized in Santa Fe over the weekend with confirmed cases of influenza as the disease continues to spread across New Mexico and worry public health officials. In the 72 hours leading up to Monday afternoon, 19 patients treated at Christus St. Vincent Medical Center in Santa Fe tested positive for influenza, including the 10 who were admitted, according to hospital
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spokesman Arturo Delgado. “There are people getting hospitalized, including some in the [intensive care units] being ventilated,” said Dr. Chad Smelser, a medical epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health. Smelser said the impact is statewide, but he did not have a specific number Monday of hospitalizations in New Mexico. No fatalities from the flu have been reported so far in 2014, but flu deaths are likely, if not inevitable, Smelser said. A national resurgence in the spread of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly known as swine flu, has taken hold in New Mexico and other states. While the greatest concern in any flu epidemic remains its
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WheRe TO geT a FLu shOT To find the nearest flu shot clinic, call the Nurse Advice Line at 866-6815872 or visit flushot.healthmap.org.
potential health consequences for infants, senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses, populations typically less affected by the flu have been hit hardest by this year’s prevailing strain. More than half of the known flu hospitalizations statewide during the current outbreak have been of patients between the ages of 18 and 64, according to Smelser. “Typically, that population doesn’t
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Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Carlos A. López, clopez@sfnewmexican.com
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told an estimated crowd of 130. “If we’re going to deliver services, really the compromise that was created with this last-minute corporate tax giveaway really harmed our ability to deliver those services.” Gonzales told the crowd gathered at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center that Bushee mischaracterized his actions. “I was not an advocate for the city losing their hold harmless clause. What I supported was Peter Wirth and Brian Egolf’s efforts to close the corporate loophole against Wal-Mart,
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Bridal shop to close
Today
After 26 years of dedicated service, Christine’s Bridal and Formal Wear plans to close its doors this month. LOCaL BusIness, C-1
Partly sunny and milder. High 45, low 22.
Obituaries Steven Ray Hollis, Dec. 22 Ernest Gonzales, Santa Fe, Jan. 4 Dr. Richard Kenneth Money Jr., Dec. 2 Gerald L. Trujillo Sr., Albuquerque, Jan. 2
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Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
IaIa Writers Festival Joan Kane and Chip Livingston read from and sign copies of their works, 6 p.m., CLE Commons, second floor, Institute of American Indian Arts, 83 Avan Nu Po Road, no charge series continues daily through Friday. More events in Calendar, Page A-2 and in Pasatiempo
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