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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Around New Mexico
Surgeon's DWI Trial Delayed Till January
The trial for a local physician who may be facing his third DWI conviction has been postponed to next year.
Claude Gelinas, 45, an orthopedic surgeon, was scheduled to go on trial this week. His trial has been moved to Jan. 10 because of a scheduling conflict with his attorney, according to court records.
Before being arrested in May, Gelinas had two other DWI convictions — one in 1985 and another in 2002.
According to police reports, Gelinas, 45, was arrested in May after police pulled over his Porsche because it was swerving on Interstate 25 in north Albuquerque near San Mateo.
His blood alcohol concentration was 0.18 percent, more than twice the state's presumed level of intoxication, according to police reports, which means the charge is aggravated DWI.
Gelinas, who has pleaded not guilty, told police he had nothing to drink.
High Court Rejects Pension Challenge
The state can continue collecting higher pension contributions from part-time government workers earning less than $20,000 a year, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court unanimously rejected a legal challenge to part of a pension contribution change that's helping the state save more than $40 million a year to plug a budget shortfall.
At issue before the court was an exemption from the higher contributions, which the Legislature provided for workers earning less than $20,000 a year.
But a budget provision states that workers will be considered to have a salary of more than $20,000 if "the employee's base hourly wage" is greater than $9.579. The state's payroll system is administered using hourly wages, and $9.579 translates into a yearly salary of $20,000 or more for full-time employees.
Holloman Airman Slain in Juárez
A Holloman Air Force Base airman is among six victims shot to death early Wednesday morning in a Ciudad Juárez strip club.
Holloman officials confirmed the death of Staff Sgt. David Booher on Wednesday.
Unidentified gunmen entered the Amadeus club in the border city just after midnight and fatally shot six men, Chihuahua state Attorney General's Office spokesman Arturo Sandoval told CNN. One other person was injured.
Sandoval said two of the victims — a waiter and a security guard — were employees of the strip club.
Identities of the other three victims had not been released late Wednesday.
The gunmen appeared to have targeted the victims, Sandoval said.
"Everything indicates that these people were looking for these men," he said.
Gary King Recovers From Neck Surgery
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King was recovering from neck surgery Wednesday at an Albuquerque hospital.
A news release said doctors replaced discs and fused vertebrae in King's neck to alleviate long-standing pain and immobility.
King was listed in stable condition at an undisclosed Albuquerque hospital.
Mescalero Apaches Elect Former Leader
LAS CRUCES — Mark Chino, son of the late longtime Mescalero Apache leader Wendell Chino, will again serve as president of the 4,000-member tribe.
Mark Chino, who served as the tribe's president for two terms ending in 2007, defeated former Vice President Frederick Chino with 54 percent of the vote Tuesda. Incumbent President Carleton Naiche-Palmer sought re-election but failed to emerge from the primary as one of the top two vote-getters.
Sandra Platero defeated Vincent Hubbard Sr. for the tribe's vice presidency.
The four winners from the field of eight candidates seeking seats on the Tribal Council are Kenny Blazer and incumbents Gregory Mendez, Pamela Cordova and Randy Bell.
Progressives Control Las Cruces Council
LAS CRUCES — Three progressive candidates, including one incumbent, won races for the Las Cruces City Council on Tuesday in an election they said sent a message endorsing a smart-growth agenda.
Incumbent Sharon Thomas, who first won office in an early 2008 special election, held off challenger James Harbison, a retiree and Vietnam vet, with 54 percent of the vote in District 6.
In District 5, which covers the city's fast-growing East Mesa, Gill Sorg, a 63-year-old biologist and farming consultant, garnered 65 percent of the vote to defeat one-term incumbent Gil Jones, a commercial real estate broker.
And in District 3, 67-year-old Olga Pedroza, the retired longtime managing attorney of the farmworkers unit of New Mexico Legal Aid, unseated two-term Councilor Dolores Archuleta, the mayor pro-tem.
With Tuesday's unofficial results, five of the City Council's six seats and the Mayor's Office are now occupied by candidates backed by local progressives.
NMSO, Musicians May Restart Talks
The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and its musicians will probably be back at the negotiating table today to try to iron out a few remaining sticking points.
A federal mediator involved in the negotiations for several weeks was attempting to get both parties to the table, David Sherry, the NMSO director of marketing, said Wednesday.
A Tuesday e-mail from musicians' spokeswoman Carla Lehmeier-Tatum said the players decided Monday night that it is in everyone's best interest to negotiate language on the topic of a bonus initiative.
Sherry said the NMSO returned the musicians' latest proposal as being unacceptable on a few points, such as paying bonuses based on anticipated pledges of money.
Lehmeier-Tatum said in her e-mail that in its proposal the "musicians are offering to give an incredible gift of sacrifice to the institution in exchange for what they believe to be the key to their future."
That sacrifice, she said, translates to 23 percent in wage and benefit cuts from the $20,951 base salary of core musicians, compared with management taking a 14 percent cut.
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