To Paris with love: Artist Alfred Morang and friends Pasatiempo, inside The New Mexic
an’s Weekly Magaz ine of Arts, Entert ainment & Cultur e
Locally owned and independent
Friday, December 12, 2014
December 12,
2014
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Talk on shelter lease may violate state law Council’s closed-door discussion draws heat By Daniel J. Chacón The New Mexican
After a lease-extension request for a Cerrillos Road homeless shelter brought a wave of public pressure on the Santa Fe City Council last month, councilors went behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss the deal in a move that some people are calling a violation of the state Open Meetings Act. The agenda for the closed session stated that councilors would discuss “the purchase, acquisition or disposal of real property.” But at least two city councilors said Thursday that there were discussions about the lease with the Interfaith Community Shelter at 2801 Cerrillos Road, a city-owned building. The issue generated criti-
cism from the chairman of the shelter’s board of directors. “We need transparency in this,” Guy Gronquist said Thursday. “Certainly, the volunteers, our donors and our supporters need the city to be fully transparent in approaching this, and the executive session last night failed that standard. We believe that it is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.” Susan Boe, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, agreed. She said the agenda notice of the executive session was insufficient and that discussions about policy matters need to be held in public. “I’m troubled by it,” she said. “The Open Meetings Act requires that there is some reasonable specificity in the agenda, and I think that it failed that test. As for what went on in the meetings, I don’t know the
Skandera: Invest in reading incentives, teacher training
U.N. expert: U.S. has hurt global fight against torture
Education Secretarydesignate Hanna Skandera outlines her agency’s budget request before lawmakers. It includes about $68 million in new spending. LOCAL NEWS, B-1
Google News shuts down in Spain over copyright law
Official says America “must rise to meet the standards it has set” for the world. PAGE A-6
Firm responds to requirement that aggregators pay by blocking content. PAGE A-3
New plans in works for growing Railyard District Talks about apartment project underway as cinema starts to take shape
Please see SHELTER, Page A-4
Pojoaque Pueblo, lenders reach casino agreement Restructuring strikes over $80M in debt By Bruce Krasnow The New Mexican
The Pueblo of Pojoaque has completed a massive debt restructuring that wipes away more than one-third of the $240 million originally borrowed to build the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino north of Santa Fe. “The restructuring took almost five years to negotiate and is the first agreement of its kind in the nation and Indian gaming industry,” Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera said in a statement.
The agreement is an official acknowledgement that the pueblo defaulted on its initial borrowing obligation. The $240 million in bonds were issued in 2006 at an interest rate of more than 9 percent and due in 2014. Pojoaque Pueblo failed to make interest payments of $11.2 million starting in June 2009 and has missed 10 subsequent payments. “The original financing for construction of the Resort was negotiated in 2006 when interest rates were at their peak,” Rivera said in a statement released Thursday. “By the time the Resort opened on August 8, 2008, the recession had
Construction on the Violet Crown Cinema project moves forward Tuesday at a prominent Railyard site. The project is expected to be complete in the first half of 2015. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
Please see PUEBLO, Page A-4
By Chris Quintana The New Mexican
A deal reached between Pojoaque Pueblo and lenders ‘ensures the Authority will continue to provide jobs and other economic benefits for New Mexico as well as supporting important governmental programs through the Pueblo,’ says pueblo Gov. George Rivera.
he Santa Fe Railyard Community Corp. says it is negotiating with a Dallas developer interested in building apartment housing in the district. Early plans for the development call for a combination of 40 studios and one-bedroom units. That would be a huge boon for an area where housing
T
Obituaries
House OKs spending measure
PAGE A-3
Index
Calendar A-2
The news comes as a major anchor tenant for the Railyard, the Violet Crown Cinema, is moving forward with construction and is expected to open in the first half of 2015. The project is rising up from what was a high-profile empty hole in the middle of the Railyard development. The construction is expected to be complete in April, with an opening
Please see RAILYARD, Page A-4
Scantily clad ‘Guadalupe’ angers local Catholic activist
CLYDE MUELLER NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO
Swapping crisis for compromise, the House narrowly approves $1.1 trillion in governmentwide spending.
is in short supply and where stores and businesses are trying to cater to a more urban and pedestrian-friendly clientele that enjoys nightlife. Railyard Community Corp. Executive Director Richard Czoski said the organization, which oversees development in the Railyard District, has been negotiating with the housing developer, but he did not provide the Dallas man’s name. Czoski said the man has knowledge of the Santa Fe market.
Sunny to partly cloudy. High 56, low 31.
Priscilla McGill Carr, 94, Dec. 3 Caroline Ann Friedman, Dec. 3 JoAnn (JoJo) Q. Gonzales, 75, Dec. 8 Filia Lucero, 79, Dec. 7 Darlene Janet McKnight, 52, Santa Fe, Dec. 9 Eileen E. Sandoval, 76, Santa Fe, Dec. 9
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Today
Classifieds C-2
Comics C-8
L.A. artist’s painting part of exhibition in Santa Fe By Anne Constable The New Mexican
A provocative new image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a gallery show opening Friday, the Feast of Guadalupe, shows Mary wearing only a blue cloak decorated with gold stars and a necklace of skulls. Underneath, she is naked, with her hands held over her chest in a prayer position.
Crosswords A-10, C-3
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Opinions A-7
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Please see GUADALUPE, Page A-4
Time Out A-10
Generation Next C-1
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Guadalupe is by a 30-year-old Los Angeles artist who goes by the name Paz. The piece is one of a dozen or so depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a new exhibition at Eye of the Mountain Gallery on Agua Fría Street. The show also includes work by the gallery’s owner, Rachel Houseman, as well as pieces by Steven Lucero, El Moises, Rob Yancey and Jane Cassidy. The painting is already raising the specter of a decade-old controversy that deeply divided the Santa Fe community.
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Guadalupe, a painting by 30-yearold Los Angeles artist Paz, is one of a dozen or so depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a new exhibition at Eye of the Mountain Gallery on Agua Fría Street in Santa Fe. COURTESY IMAGE
Three sections, 28 pages Pasatiempo, 64 pages 165th year, No. 346 Publication No. 596-440