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Thursday, July 02, 2009
Around New Mexico
Journal Staff and Wire Reports
Man Accused of Molesting Girl
A 73-year-old man who lives with his daughter — owner of a baby-sitting service she runs out of her West Side home — was arrested this week for allegedly molesting one of the children she cares for.
Miguel Ortega was charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor, criminal sexual contact of a minor and kidnapping, according to a criminal complaint.
The alleged abuse was first reported to police in May after the 4-year-old victim told her mother she didn't want to go back to the baby sitter's house. The child then told her mother what happened, according to a criminal complaint.
Ortega, who asked the children at the house to call him "grandpa," allegedly molested the victim while his daughter was in another room doing laundry.
His daughter, who lives on the 9800 block of Second Street NW, has not been charged.
Unions Launch Petition on 'Tax'
New Mexico labor unions on Wednesday launched a petition drive against the 1.5 percent salary hit to state employee paychecks.
Union representatives met at the Albuquerque Teachers Federation headquarters to say they are organizing a petition drive to pressure a special legislative session to repeal the so-called tax, which they argue is unconstitutional.
Last month, a coalition of public employee unions filed a lawsuit trying to block the two-year pension contribution increase from going into effect July 1.
Roswell UFO Fest Starts Today
ROSWELL — An out-of-this world event begins today as the city welcomes flying saucer skeptics and enthusiasts to its annual UFO festival.
The Roswell UFO Festival runs today through Sunday. It features guest speakers, authors, live entertainment, a parade and other family-friendly activities.
It marks the annual celebration of the Roswell Incident.
In early July 1947, a mysterious object crashed on a ranch 30 miles north of Roswell.
The Roswell Army Air Field issued a statement claiming to have recovered a crashed "flying disk."
Later, military officials changed the statement to say that the object was a weather balloon, not a flying disk as they previously reported.
The revised statement sparked immediate controversy and has been debated for more than 60 years.
Stimulus Funds Water Project
WASHINGTON — Federal stimulus money is heading to New Mexico for a water treatment plant in the Albuquerque area.
Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall said Wednesday that the federal government is releasing $2.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the construction of the first phase of a water reclamation project turning wastewater into reusable effluent.
The treated water will be used for irrigation and industrial demands in the Southeast Heights and South Valley in Albuquerque.
The project is expected to reclaim and reuse approximately 2,500 acre-feet per year when construction is completed in 2010.
Los Alamos Ends Records Hunt
LOS ALAMOS — Los Alamos National Laboratory is winding down a decades-long project to find historical records dealing with chemical and radioactive releases from the lab and health-related issues.
The issue of releases from Los Alamos has long been an important one to people around the facility, where scientists have researched and developed nuclear projects dating back to World War II. The Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Assessment Project was an attempt to review the lab's historical operations and identify documents that shed light on releases of chemicals and radioactivity since 1943.
A draft report expresses confidence there's enough information to reconstruct public exposures from the most significant releases, which would allow health professionals to judge if significant impacts on health should be expected.
Beacon Helps Rescue Tourist
DEMING — U.S. Border Patrol agents tracked an emergency rescue beacon Tuesday to find a California tourist lost in the southern New Mexico desert.
Agents in Deming were notified someone had set off a beacon, and found the tourist within minutes. The Border Patrol says the man identified himself as a U.S. citizen from California who became confused while traveling through the area.
He told agents he spotted the beacon and went to it to get help. The Border Patrol put in beacons a year ago to aid people who might become lost or injured in the desert.
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