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Council OKs measure backing gay marriage Resolution passes by a 5-3 vote but has no effect on state rules and practices
By Julie Ann Grimm
There was a standing room-only crowd for the vote. The Santa Fe Fire Department had to bar the doors before the meeting started, leaving many to watch the proceedings from the hallway. Many in attendance wore red to symbolize their support for marriage equality. Others sported yellow stickers, representing the Equality New Mexico organization, or pink felt hearts that said “All Families Matter.” A
The New Mexican
The Santa Fe City Council chambers erupted into applause and cheers Wednesday night after the council passed a resolution supporting marriage equality for gays in New Mexico. A couple of dozen opponents of the measure remained in their seats.
Opera gets new chief conductor
ON OUR WEBSITE u Watch video of the council debate and vote at www.santafenewmexican.com
smaller group held pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe or wore stickers that said “Life and Family are Sacred.” No public testimony was permitted before the vote. The resolution, which passed by a 5-3
vote (including two abstentions), doesn’t have any effect on state rules and practices. Earlier this year, the Doña Ana County clerk and a Mesilla Park state representative asked state Attorney General Gary King to issue a ruling on whether county clerks in the state can legally issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. King’s
Please see MARRIAGE, Page A-5
THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY
EARTH WEEK
Protecting the night
By Anne Constable The New Mexican
Liverpool-born and Oxford-educated Harry Bicket will be The Santa Fe Opera’s next chief conductor, general director Charles MacKay announced Wednesday. MacKay also announced the repertoire for 2014, the 58th season, which will include five new productions for the SFO. Frédéric Chaslin, who was named chief conductor in 2010, resigned suddenly last summer. The chief conductor maintains orchestral standards and conducts some productions. Bicket, 52, was named artistic director of the English Concert, a baroque orchestra, in 2007 and has appeared in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, including Covent Garden, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. A Handel specialist, he conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in this season’s Giulio Cesare, which
STATE AND LOCAL LAWS, TECHNOLOGY HELPING TO SAVE DARK SKIES
Please see OPERA, Page A-4
Harry Bicket, 52 The Santa Fe Opera’s next chief conductor Opera career highlights: Stepped in at last minute to conduct Peter Sellars’ production of Handel’s Theodora at Glyndebourne in 1996. u Made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2004 in Rodelinda with Renée Fleming and David Daniels. u Upcoming engagements include Carmen at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rusalka at
the Houston Grand Opera and the continuation of a threeyear cycle of Handel operas at Carnegie Hall. u Discography includes a collection of Handel operas with Renée Fleming and other recordings of arias by Gluck, Handel and Mozaart with David Daniels and arias by Mozart and Gluck with Susan Graham.
Pasapick
The New Mexican
Today
55th anniversary tour with Dee Dee Bridgewater joined by Christian McBride, Ambrose Akinmusire, Benny Green, Lewis Nash and Chris Potter, 7:30 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St., $25-$55, ticketssantafe.org, 988-1234.
Partly cloudy. High 69, low 40. PAGE A-12
Obituaries
More than 600 are expected to take off Saturday at the annual Panther Run.
Michael Fleming Culbert, 47, Monte Sereno, Calif., April 19 Margie S. Jaramillo, April 24 Gilbert “Gil” Mier, 80, Santa Fe, April 22
LOCAL NEWS, A-6
PAGE A-10
Ready to run at Wood Gormley
Preserve offers glimpse of once-healthy ecosystem By Staci Matlock
www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Monterey Jazz Festival
A meteor flashes through the night sky above Lamy on Oct. 18, 2012. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
A walk in the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve east of the city is a step back in time. The 525-acre preserve looks the way most of the Santa Fe River, upstream of St. Francis Drive, probably appeared a couple of centuries ago — a vibrant riparian area thick with cottonwoods and willows, pools of water, beavers, deer and more than 100 species of birds and amphibians. “The fact that we can now experience a small remnant of that ecosystem only two miles from the Plaza is pretty extraordinary,” said Robert Findling, director of conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico and the preserve’s historian. “It is habitat that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the city, except below the sewage-treatment plant, where there is sufficient return flow to the river to
LEARN ABOUT DARK SKIES u To tag along on the Capital City Astronomy Club’s next outing, or for more information, email capcityastro@ gmail.com. u Visit Clayton Lake State Park in the northeastern corner of the state for some of the best dark skies in the country. In 2009, the park, along with Star Point Observatory, was designated as a Dark Sky Park (one of only a handful worldwide) by the International Dark-Sky Association. Or head south to the Leasburg Dam State Park near Las Cruces to experience its new Astronomical Observatory. u The Santa Fe Conservation Trust’s next star party isn’t scheduled until October, but for updates and a ton of resources (including links to articles about light pollution, interactive online star maps and things you can do to support dark skies), visit www.sfct.org u Interested in finding a dark sky near you? iPhone and iPad users can download the Dark Sky Finder application for 99 cents. The app shows varying levels of light pollution on a satellite or traditional map, while virtual pins represent “dark sites” suitable for star gazing. Each dark site entry offers detailed information about the site, including ownership, whether or not there’s a bathroom and a place to sleep and the evening’s forecast. After visiting a dark site, app users can add their review.
The New Mexican
G
aze into the sky on a moonless night in April in the Northern Hemisphere, and pick out Hydra, the sea serpent, Regulus, the “heart of the lion” star in the Leo constellation, and Crater, which represents the goblet of the Greek god Apollo. Of course, depending on where you are — standing under a streetlight, say, or in many urban and suburban environments — the stars can be hard to see. Light pollution (light emitted at night that extends beyond the horizontal plane, shining up instead of down) affects not only our ability to stargaze, but also the environment and safety: Certain lights throw off glares that can actually make it harder to see at night, and many lights left on at night waste energy and can confuse wildlife. “Awareness of dark skies is at an all-time high, but so is the problem [of light pollution],” said Scott Kardel, managing director of the International Dark-Skies Association, a nonprofit headquartered in Tucson, Ariz. “Twothirds of the people who live in the United States can no longer see the Milky Way. But [dark skies-friendly] technology is easier to produce than ever. The right kinds of fixtures are far more available now than they were 10 years ag0, which has a profound ability to lessen our impact on the night.” In 1999, the New Mexico Legislature passed the Night Sky Protection Act, which regulates outdoor lighting fixtures, with an aim of keep-
Please see PRESERVE, Page A-4
Please see SKIES, Page A-4
State faces tough choices amid drought
A trickle of water left in the Rio Grande is pushed downstream by the wind near the chile growing community of Hatch.
Dry Rio Grande could be disastrous for Southern New Mexico farmers By Susan Montoya Bryan The Associated Press
HATCH — In Southern New Mexico, the mighty Rio Grande has gone dry — reduced to a sandy wash
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Index
By Adele Oliveira
Calendar A-2
Classifieds B-6
Comics B-12
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-11
Police notes A-10
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-1
winding from this chile farming community to the nation’s leading pecan-producing county. Only puddles remain, leaving gangs of carp to huddle together in a desperate effort to avoid the fate of thousands of freshwater clams, their shells empty and broken on the river bottom. Across the state’s eastern plains, wells stand empty and ranchers are selling their cattle. In the north, urban-
Time Out B-11
Scoop A-9
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
ites face watering restrictions while rural residents see the levels of their springs dropping more every day. Going on three years, drought has had a hold on nearly every square mile of New Mexico. Now, with forecasts predicting hotter, drier weather ahead, farmers and small and large communities alike are questioning whether dwindling supplies can be
Please see DROUGHT, Page A-5
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 115 Publication No. 596-440