Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 31 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
BEER TO POWER BREWERY IN ALASKA
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaskan Brewing Co. is going green, but instead of looking to solar and wind energy, it has turned to a very familiar source: beer. The Juneau-based beer maker has installed a unique boiler system in order to cut its fuel costs. It ... - PAGE B5
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
February 5, 2013
TUESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Dems propose NM minimum wage boost
SANTA FE (AP) — Democratic lawmakers are pushing to increase New Mexico’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, one of the highest rates in the country, and allow voters to decide whether the rate should be adjusted annually for inflation. The proposals are part of the Democratic agenda for the 60-day legislative session, but the measures face strong opposition from business groups. “For too long, the debate seems to have been we either have social justice or you have economic development,” said Rep. Brian
Egolf, D-Santa Fe. “You can have both. You can have social justice and a strong economy.” The state’s minimum wage went to $7.50 an hour in 2009. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Employers must pay the higher rate when there is a difference between the federal rate and requirements imposed by a state or local government, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. A proposal by Sens. Richard Martinez, of Espanola, and William Soules, of Las Cruces, would increase the mini-
mum wage to $8.50 an hour, which would provide an annual salary of $17,680 for a full-time job.
GOP opposes increase
“This would increase the amount of money in a family budget by about $40 a week to buy groceries,” Soules said of his proposal. ““This is a bill that supports families. It helps raise peo-
Democratic leaders of the state House of Representatives and Senate announced Monday a proposal that would increase minimum wage statewide, from $7.50 to $8.50. Speaking at a press conference, Sens. William Soules, of Las Cruces, and Richard Martinez, of Espanola, said the legislation would benefit families. “We know that the majority of people who are on minimum wage are adults and the majority of them have children and they are trying to support their families,” Soules said. “This is a bill that supports
Only three states — Washington, Oregon and Vermont — have higher minimum wages. Washington tops the nation at $9.19 an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
See GOP, Page A3
Man dies in RPD custody
See WAGE, Page A3
Globetrotters have a ball in Roswell
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• All Saints celebrates Mardi Gras • Veteran transport resumes Monday • School elections Tuesday; polls ... • ‘Geeks’ Miramontes, Gourley turn hobby ... • Still a globetrotter
INSIDE SPORTS Kevin J. Keller Photo
Harlem Globetrotters star and dribbling extraordinaire Ant, fourth from left, entertains the near-capacity crowd with his dribbling skills between all five members of the Global Select team at Monday’s Globetrotters event at the Coyote Den at Roswell High School. For more coverage and photos of the Globetrotters’ invasion of Roswell, see Page B1 of today’s issue of the Daily Record.
RAVENS WIN LOMBARDI
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens were turning the Super Bowl into a rout when, without even a flicker of warning, the power went off. When the game resumed 34 minutes later, the San Francisco 49ers were the ones playing lights out. Instead of a blowout, the blackout turned the big ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Polly Ann Porter • Ralph David Analla • Ruth Hulse - PAGE A6
HIGH ...68˚ LOW ....35˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
The Roswell Police Department reported an incustody death that occurred early Monday morning. Officers were dispatched to the 1600 block South Union Avenue around 2 a.m. following a call reporting a disorderly subject. to RPD According spokeswoman Sabrina Morales, when of ficials arrived the scene, they confronted Cody Towler, 38, in the alley. He was beating on a trash can with a baton. She said the officers asked the subject to put down the stick. Towler resisted attempts to arrest him. “The officers managed to detain him and
Authorities storm Supersonic skydiver reached bunker, rescue boy 844 mph in record jump MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) — Authorities stormed an underground bunker Monday in Alabama, freeing a 5-year-old boy who had been held hostage for nearly a week in the tiny underground shelter and leaving the boy’s abductor dead. After days of fruitless negotiations, talks had deteriorated with an increasingly agitated Jimmy Lee Dykes, who had kidnapped the child from a school bus after fatally shooting the driver. Dykes had been seen with a gun, and officers concluded the boy was in imminent danger, said Steve Richardson of the FBI’s office in Mobile. Officials refused to say how the 65-year-old died. “Ever since this started, there’s never been a moment that (the boy) wasn’t on my mind,” said Michael Senn, pastor of a church near where reporters had been camped out since the standoff
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner was faster than he or anyone else thought during his record-setting jump last October from 24 miles up. The Austrian parachutist known as “Fearless Felix” reached 843.6 mph, according to official numbers released Monday. That’s equivalent to Mach 1.25, or 1.25 times the speed of sound. His top speed initially was estimated at 10 mph slower at 834 mph, or Mach 1.24.
See RESCUE, Page A3
See SKYDIVER, Page A3
Weston wins contest
INDEX
Kevin J. Keller Photo
Daily Record Publisher Charles Fischer, right, presents Susan Weston with $100 and a copy of the New Mexico Centennial book after she won the Record’s Super Sunday Prediction Contest. Weston, a Green Bay Packers fan, correctly predicted that Baltimore would beat San Francisco 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII. Weston was the lone entrant out of 253 entries to predict the exact score.
See RPD, Page A3
Noah Vernau Photo
Felix Baumgartner greets reporters at Roswell International Air Center following his historic leap from 127,852 feet, Oct. 14, 2012.
Obama stands firm on gun control
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Barack Obama declared Monday on his first trip outside Washington to promote gun control that a consensus is emerging for universal background checks for purchasers, though he conceded a tough road lay ahead to pass an assault weapons ban over formidable opposition in Congress. “We should restore the ban on militarystyle assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines,” Obama said in a brief speech, standing firm on his full package on gun-control measures despite long odds. Such a ban “deserves a vote in Congress because weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers.” The president spoke from a special police operations center in a city once known to some as “Murderapolis” but where gun violence has dropped amid a push to address it from city leaders. Officers stood behind him, dressed in crisp uniforms of blue, white and brown. The site conveyed Obama’s message
that a reduction in violence can be achieved nationally, even if Americans have sharp disagreements over gun control. That includes among members of his own party in Washington. Suggesting he won’t get all he’s proposing, he said, “We don’t have to agree on everything to agree it’s time to do something.” The president unveiled his gun-control plans last month after the shootings at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. But many of the proposals face tough opposition from some in Congress and from the National Rifle Association. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he wants to give the bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines a vote. But he will not say whether he will support either, and advocates and opponents alike predict they are unlikely to pass. Putting the controversial measures up See GUNS, Page A3