Northern stars break state, personal records at track finals Sports, B-1
Locally owned and independent
Saturday, May 17, 2014
www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢
Weak job rate may impact gov.’s race N.M. one of two states to report employment losses over the past 12 months By Bruce Krasnow
The New Mexican
Job losses in New Mexico accelerated during the past 12 months, making it just one of two states to lose jobs while the rest of the United States was growing, according to data
released Friday. For the 12 months ending in April 2014, the state reported a net loss of 4,400 jobs, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. Nationally, nonfarm payrolls increased in 48 other states over the 12-month period, with only New Mexico and Virginia seeing percentage declines in employment, according to a measure from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs have been front and center in the cam-
S.F. joins ‘Food Revolution’ Chefs and students at the Santa Fe Indian School participate in a global event started by English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. LOCAL NewS, A-6
paign for governor, as the Democrats have pointed to the fact that the state is 50th in job growth since Gov. Susana Martinez took office. That statistic is not likely to change before the November election. “Anytime job growth is flat, it presents an opportunity to opponents of elected public officials to hold [the incumbents] responsible,” said Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff. “I think you will see Democratic gubernatorial candidates making this an issue.
Police chief search narrows Three native New Mexico officers make short list for Santa Fe’s next police chief. LOCAL NewS, A-6
N.M. foundations mull merger
Please see JOB, Page A-4
3 ELECTIONS 2014
Damaged drum ties LANL to wIPP leak
Three vying to replace outgoing probate judge Two attorneys, probate clerk seek to succeed Mark Basham By Phaedra Haywood The New Mexican
Three Democrats are competing in the June 3 primary election to succeed term-limited Santa Fe County Probate Judge Mark Basham, including his wife, attorney Katherine Basham. The other candidates are Santa Fe attorney Shannon Broderick Bulman and county Probate Clerk Frank Fischer. The probate judge handles informal cases involving uncontested estates, helping settle the estates with decedents’ next of kin or designated representatives. Contested estates are handled in state District Court. The county probate judge also can perform marriage ceremonies. The salary for the part-time position will increase to $33,000 from about $29,000 when the next judge takes office. As with other Santa Fe County offices, no Republican is seeking the job, so only registered Democrats will determine who gets it. Katherine Basham said she’d like to assume the post being vacated by her husband because she sees it as a good opportunity to enter the public sector, something she’s been thinking about since the death of her mother-in-law in 2009. Basham said she’s “good at analyzing issues, looking at facts and coming up with solutions,” and she enjoys working with the public. She said the post is “perfect” for her because it will allow her to remain in private practice and still have time for her family. A Judicial Nominating Commission vetted Basham for a District Court judgeship in 2010. The commission considered five applicants for the vacant position that year and recommended Basham and Mary Marlowe Sommer to Gov. Bill
Discovery of cracked barrel from Los Alamos seen as a step forward, but does not solve closure mystery By Milan Simonich The New Mexican
A
team working deep underground to determine the cause of a radioactive leak at New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has pinpointed a damaged waste container from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy said Friday. “In the new pictures, the LANL container has a cracked lid and shows evidence of heat damage. Workers will continue investigating to determine what caused the container breach and if any other containers were involved or damaged,” the Department of Energy said in a statement. The crew that descended 2,150 feet through mining hoists Thursday photographed the damaged container. Locating it was a step toward determining what forced the shutdown three months ago of the plant
Please see LANL, Page A-4
‹‹ CRACKED CONTAINER: The Department of Energy said Friday that a container from Los Alamos National Laboratory that was stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad “has a cracked lid and shows evidence of heat damage.” Officials believe the container may be the cause of the WIPP radiation leak. COURTESY LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Please see PROBATe, Page A-4
GM fined $35M over ignition-switch defect Automaker also agrees to change internal review process after a car glitch was linked to 13 deaths By Matthew L. Wald and Danielle Ivory The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Saying that safety practices at General Motors were “broken,” federal regulators on Friday imposed the biggest punishment they could on the automaker and condemned it over its failure to promptly report a defect that GM has linked to 13 deaths. GM will pay a $35 million penalty
Index
Calendar A-2
— the maximum allowed, and the largest ever imposed on an automaker — and will be required to make wide-ranging changes to its safety practices that will be supervised by the government, another first for an automaker. “What GM did was break the law,” Anthony Foxx, the secretary of transportation, said at a news conference. The investigation found “deeply
Classifieds B-6
Groups say goal is to better leverage their combined $185 million in assets. LOCAL NewS, A-6
Comics B-12
Crosswords B-7, B-11
disturbing” evidence over how GM treated safety concerns, said David Friedman, who works under Foxx as the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Friedman cited an internal presentation from 2008 that was used to train employees to obscure some problems. Workers writing reports were encouraged to avoid using certain words and phrases with negative overtones, including apocalyptic, dangerous, death trap, potentially disfiguring, rolling sarcophagus and
Please see gM, Page A-4
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-11
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 983-3035
Sports B-1
Tale of lost treasure
Pasapick
Story behind Cochiti Pueblo gold recedes into past. LOCAL NewS, A-6
www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Today
Seventh annual Crawdaddy Blues Fest Partizani Brass Band, Desert Southwest Blues Band, Felix y los Gatos, Imperial Rooster and others, noon-7 p.m., outside Madrid Old Coal Town Mine Museum, 2846 N.M. 14, $15 daily, kids under 12 no charge 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org., continues Sunday.
Time Out B-11
Mostly sunny. High 83, low 48. PAge A-12
Obituaries Gloria H. (C De Baca) Gonzales, May 8 Teri Gonzales, May 13 Susan Roberta Horne, May 11 PAge A-10
Two sections, 24 pages TV Book, 32 pages 165th year, No. 138 Publication No. 596-440
Family A-9
BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM
Congratulate your graduate with a
• Not to scale;
in The New Mexican’s special keepsake publication for local grads!
Actual size is 3. 791”x2” •
Alejandro Men SANTA FE HIG
dez
H
Deadline: May 28, 5pm • Publishes: June 8th
Congratulatio We are so prou ns Ale! d of yo We love you! u!
$25 includes one color photo of your grad plus your personal message (75 characters max).
Mom, Kat, Nin Tito and Jasmina, e
You turn to us.
Visit santafenewmexican.com/gradgrams or fill out a form at The Santa Fe New Mexican, 202 E. Marcy St., to create your custom
GRADGram!✮ !