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Feds contest WIPP penalties Energy Department questions state’s authority, wants $54M in fines stemming from leak reduced or forgiven questioning the state’s oversight authority of its nuclear waste handling operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. In response to unprecedented fines announced last month stemming from a February truck fire and a radiation leak
By Patrick Malone The New Mexicans
The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday challenged more than $54 million in fines proposed by the New Mexico Environment Department,
Police: Pedestrian killed in alcohol-related crash Police say the driver admitted he had consumed four beers before the accident that took the life of 22-year-old Michael Soto, left, who worked in the restaurant and food industry. PAGE A-6
days later at WIPP, the Energy Department and the private contractors it pays to operate LANL and WIPP asked the Environment Department to forgive or reduce the penalties and requested hearings to contest the violations. Gov. Susana Martinez and her Cabinet secretary for the Environment Department, Ryan Flynn, handdelivered notice of the violations and
Please see PENALTIES, Page A-4
Recent job gains boost confidence
Albuquerque cop shot during sting
Nearly 3 million jobs were created in 2014. PAGE A-3
The detective was shot by another officer. PAGE A-6
Lawmakers pitch $6.3B budget Suspects in Paris rampage killed in standoff
Despite revenue uncertainty due to falling oil prices, proposal provides for increased spending By Patrick Malone The New Mexican
ew Mexico’s legislative budget office on Friday announced a $6.3 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. It includes $141 million in new spending and a great deal of uncertainty about whether the state will collect enough tax revenue to support that figure. “In all my years here, this has been the most obscure future of what the revenues hold for us,” said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, vice chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, who has spent 25 years in the Legislature. With oil prices in free fall, economists with the Legislative Finance Committee already have slashed revenue expectations for fiscal year 2015-16 in half since August, when state budget makers anticipated the Legislature would have $285 million in new money to spend. At the unveiling of their budget request Friday, Finance Committee staff reported that every $1 change in the price of a barrel of oil affects the state budget by $7.5 million. When the August revenue projection was released, the price of oil stood at more than $100 per barrel. By December, it had slid to $66 per barrel, and now it is down to less than $50 per barrel. Despite the shrinking revenue projections, the state will still have more money to spend next fiscal year than it does in the current funding cycle, Smith said. With the modest windfall, the Legislative Finance Committee’s budget prioritizes education, economic development, child protection and early childhood development, council member Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, said. The Legislative Finance Committee’s budget proposes to spend an additional $71 million on public schools. Of that, $30 million would be
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Please see BUDGET, Page A-4
Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, speaks Friday as the Legislative Finance Committee unveils its budget proposal for the next fiscal year. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Yemeni al-Qaida branch says it was behind attack By Lori Hinnant and Elaine Ganley The Associated Press
Young children attended The United Way of Santa Fe County’s Early Learning Center in January 2011. The Legislative Finance Committee on Friday proposed allocating $260.6 million for early childhood education in the next fiscal year. But some advocates say that figure is deceptive because it includes money for older kids in established programs. CLYDE MUELLER/NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO
Proposal allocates more for early childhood education By Milan Simonich The New Mexican
State revenue forecasts are not as robust as they were only three months ago, but the Legislative Finance Committee proposed Friday to increase funding for one of New Mexico’s most hotly debated initiatives, early childhood education. The committee’s budget recommendation is for $260.6 million for a wide range of childhood education programs, some extending to kids as old as the third grade. That would be an increase of more than $24 million from this year. A portion of the money would go toward helping the smallest children and, in some cases, their parents. The proposal includes $15.8 million for homevisiting programs to help preg-
nant women and families raise healthy, curious kids who are ready to learn. That would be an increase of about 30 percent from this year. Other money would go toward pre-K programs, early literacy initiatives and extra help for kids in kindergarten through third grade that would enable them to compete academically. The committee’s vice chairman, state Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said the amount was the most the state reasonably expects it can afford. An advocacy group quickly said the committee’s funding figures for early childhood education are deceptive because they include money for older kids in established school programs. “There’s already a dedicated stream of funding for K-through-12 education. There’s
not dedicated funding for prenatal through age 5,” said Miguel Gomez, director of public policy for St. Joseph’s Children, the leading organization of early childhood education in the state. Gomez said this is why many groups in New Mexico have been trying to establish a new and direct means of paying for early childhood programs that can do the most good. President Barack Obama is among those who advocate putting money into early education. “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children … studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own,” Obama has said.
Please see EARLY, Page A-4
PARIS — With explosions and gunfire, security forces Friday ended three days of terror around Paris, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage at a satirical newspaper and an accomplice who seized hostages at a kosher supermarket to try to help the brothers escape. The worst terrorist violence France has seen in decades killed at least 20 people, including the three gunmen. A fourth suspect — the common law wife of the market attacker — was still at large and believed to be armed. Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen said it directed the attack against the publication Charlie Hebdo to avenge the honor of the Prophet Muhammad, a frequent target of the weekly’s satire. The brothers were not unknown to authorities: One had a terrorismrelated conviction for ties to a network sending fighters to battle American forces in Iraq, and both were on the U.S. no-fly list, according to a U.S. official. President François Hollande urged his nation to remain united and
Please see KILLED, Page A-5
Today Mostly sunny. High 46, low 26. PAGE A-10
Obituaries Richard J. Deubel, 65, Jan. 4 Christa U. Gentry, Jan. 7 PAGE A-8
FBI, DOJ look to bring felony charges against Petraeus Attorney General could seek indictment based on allegations former CIA chief shared classified info By Michael S. Schmidt and Matt Apuzzo The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The FBI and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against David H. Petraeus, contending he provided classified information to a lover while he was director of the CIA, officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H.
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Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison. The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his CIA email account and other highly classified information.
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FBI agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Petraeus resigned from the CIA in 2012 when the affair became public. Petraeus, a retired four-star general who served as commander of U.S. forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has said he never provided classified information to Broadwell and has indicated to the Justice Department he has no interest in a plea deal that would spare him an embarrassing trial. A lawyer for Petraeus, Robert B. Barnett, said Friday he had no comment. The officials who said that charges had been recommended were briefed
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on the investigation but asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. Holder was expected to decide by the end of last year whether to bring charges against Petraeus, but he has not indicated how he plans to proceed. The delay has frustrated some Justice Department and FBI officials and investigators who have questioned whether Petraeus has received special treatment at a time Holder has led a crackdown on government officials who reveal secrets to journalists.
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ Santa Fe Playhouse presents Jean Giraudoux’s 1943 satire, 7:30 p.m., Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 E. De Vargas St., 988-4262, $20, discounts available, brownpapertickets.com, runs Thursdays-Sundays through Feb. 1.
Please see PETRAEUS, Page A-4
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Two sections, 20 pages TV Book, 32 pages 166th year, No. 10 Publication No. 596-440