Cullen Neal’s 18 points, seven assists help Lobos defeat Grand Canyon Sports, B-1
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Tribes’ battle with government rattles federal contracting world By Kimberly Kindy
The Washington Post
OWYHEE, Nev. — When the federal government reneged on its agreement to fully compensate the Shoshone-Paiute tribes for running a hospital on the Duck Valley reservation, the Washington contracting world barely noticed.
But after similar contracts were broken with hundreds of other Native American tribes and the debts they were owed snowballed to an estimated $2 billion, federal contractors joined their court battle, alarmed that the practice might eventually ensnare them as well. Now, more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for a sec-
Uninsured get extra time The government gives consumers one more day to sign up for health insurance on the federal exchange, fueling new criticism. PAgE A-3
ond time in favor of the tribes and ordered the government to pay up, the two federal agencies that are on the hook — the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs — have settled fewer than 1 percent of the claims, agency records show. The Obama administration, meanwhile,
MADD turns down Blue Corn proceeds Group says it can’t accept money from bar that over-served driver before fatal DWI crash. PAgE A-6
Please see BATTLE, Page A-4
Knitter’s gifts warm community
Canyon set to shine Annual Christmas Eve Farolito Walk tonight. Details inside. PAgE A-6
Market’s move to Duke City praised Organizers cite jump in attendance among reasons to keep event in Albuquerque next year By Tom Sharpe The New Mexican
This year’s Winter Spanish Market, held for the first time in Albuquerque rather than Santa Fe, is being hailed as a success, with plans to do it again in Duke City next year. Maggie Magalnick, market director for the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, said the Nov. 29 and 30 event at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town drew some 5,000 people — more than twice the number of visitors in Santa Fe in recent years. “One of the reasons we went to Albuquerque [was] to open the venue there to a new audience,” she said. “You know, our artists come from all over the state and we have many of them in Albuquerque. We were just welcomed with open arms.”
Please see SUCCESS, Page A-5 Sammy Perea, 7, sits with friend and neighbor Bernice Pearl as the 82-year-old knits her 1,012th hat of the year at her home on Dec. 17. Pearl, who has been knitting since she was 8, usually makes between three and four hats a day and then gives them away. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
In 2013, Santa Fean Bernice Pearl made more than 1,000 caps for those in need By Staci Matlock
The New Mexican
T
he front door to Bernice Pearl’s modest south side Santa Fe apartment is festooned with artwork by children in the complex who hang out at her place many afternoons and call her “grandma.” Inside, a smartly dressed Pearl leans back on her comfortable couch, her knitting needles flying. She talks as fast as she knits, and as constantly, never dropping a stitch and barely taking a breath. A warm Brooklyn accent weaves through her words. Beneath her 82-year-old nimble
fingers, a colorful cap grows row by row. “I can’t sit around and do nothing,” Pearl says. A few thousand New Mexicans owe their toasty, warm heads to Pearl and her knitting needles. Pearl knits lots and lots and lots of caps. She keeps track of the number in a calendar. She knitted 854 last year. Her goal, a challenge suggested by her son-in-law, was to knit 1,000 hats by the end of the year. She hit that mark on Friday, Dec. 13, and is now well beyond it. He recently told her she should try for 2,000 this year. “That’s too
Please see gIFTS, Page A-4
Today Abundant sunshine. High 43, low 20. PAgE A-12
Obituaries Kyle Eugene Morrow, 26, Dec. 18 Samuel Luera Parra, 82, Dec. 11 PAgE A-7
Bernice Pearl donates her colorful knitted hats to hospitals, schools and anyone in need.
Ex-Homeland Security chief alleges workplace retaliation Former bureau leader claims in lawsuit that he was punished for sticking up for fellow state employee By Staci Matlock The New Mexican
The former chief of the state Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management’s Intelligence and Security Bureau is the latest person to file a complaint about workplace issues. Richard A. Clark said his bosses
Index
Calendar A-2
retaliated against him for defending another state employee. A retired New Mexico National Guardsman, Clark is suing under laws protecting whistle-blowers and members of the armed services. The agency leads the state’s response to emergencies and disasters — natural or human-made events — while providing for the
Classifieds B-6
Comics B-12
Lotteries A-2
safety and welfare of its citizens. Clark, who was hired as the bureau’s chief in 2011 and demoted earlier this year, filed the lawsuit last week in First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe against Cabinet Secretary Gregory A. Myers and Assistant Secretary Anita Tallarico Statman. Department spokesman Estevan Lujan said in an email that Clark could have appealed his demotion through the state personnel process but has “instead chosen to litigate.” Because the case is in court, Lujan
Opinions A-10
Police notes A-8
Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
said there is little the department can discuss, “except to note that we obviously disagree with many of his assertions and stand by [steps] we’ve taken to improve the operations of the Intelligence and Security Bureau.” In his lawsuit, Clark claims that Statman and Myers retaliated against him and demoted him after he tried to help one of his staff, National Guardsman Victor Marquez. Clark
Sports B-1
Please see HOMELAND, Page A-4
Time Out B-11
Local Business A-9
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Santa Fe Concert Association Family Concert Series SFCA Orchestra dress rehearsal; 2 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., $10, 984-8759 or 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org.
Christmas Eve with the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra Caroline Goulding, violinist, music of Beethoven, 5 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., $25-$95, 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org.
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 358 Publication No. 596-440