Roswell Daily Record
Adair: Senate Dems stalling THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 33 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
LONDON (AP) — He wrote about life in the modern city, with its lawyers and criminals, bankers and urchins, dreamers and clerks. He created characters still known to millions — Ebeneezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, Pip and Miss Havisham, Fagin and Oliver Twist. And it made him a star, mobbed by fans ... - PAGE A9
WEDNESDAY
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JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
DICKENS AT 200
February 8, 2012
Democratic Senate members are avoiding voting on legislation pertaining to Gov. Susana Martinez’s agenda for the current legislative session, according to Sen. Rod Adair, RRoswell. “It looks like we’re deliberately not getting to very much substantive legislation,” he said. “The Senate majority does not want to
consider Gov. Martinez’s legislation — education reform, driver’s licenses for illegals and so on. The claim has already been made that there is not enough time in a 30-day session. The reality is that we meet only two or three hours a day and we do memorials.” Specifically, Adair said the Senate majority is stalling voting on driver’s license legislation. The general opinion being that
Democratic senators don’t want to repeal the current driver’s license law, put into place by then-Gov. Bill Richardson.
“Even a federal judge has weighed in and said that our (current driver’s license) law is unreasonable. Three-fourths of New Mexicans also want to repeal it (from) the overwhelming majorities of both parties and of all ethnic See ADAIR, Page A3
COURT HEARS REDISTRICTING APPEAL SANTA FE (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday waded into a political dispute over legislative redistricting that could influence elections for the coming decade and may help determine whether Republicans can win a majority in the state House of Representatives for the first time in a half century.
After hearing arguments from lawyers for about two hours, the court took the case under consideration and said it will issue an order “expeditiously.” The court didn’t announce a deadline for its decision, however. House candidates typically file for office next
RFC: Cut back 50%
A face only a mother could love
See COURT, Page A3
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Budgets and driver’s licenses in focus ... • Dog park and renovations discussed • Boomer Expo groovy affair; Cool! • Aviation Museum to host May 12 golf ... • Olesinski signs with Air Force
INSIDE SPORTS A turkey vulture that resides at the Spring River Zoo, soaks up sunshine Tuesday morning.
Mark Wilson Photo
Among desires to scale back the city’s financial involvement in the event, Roswell’s Finance Committee formed a recommendation which will be sent to the City Council, to reduce the funds allocated for this year’s UFO Festival by 50 percent. Members of the committee include chair man Steve Henderson and councilors Jimmy Craig and Art Sandoval. Sandoval was absent from the meeting. The city allocated $150,000 in Lodger’s Tax funds in its 2012 budget for the festival, without a specific identification of how that would be accomplished. Henderson and Craig voted to allot $75,000 for the festival. This amount would include the $25, 304.18 left over from last year’s event. The festival was allotted $150,000 last year. Total expendi-
Medipot seminar set Santorum easily takes Minn for Roswell, March 3 VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
BIG EAST MAY ADD TIGERS
A person familiar with the talks says the Big East is in discussions with Memphis about the Tigers joining the conference in all sports. The Tigers likely would join in 2013 when Houston, Central Florida and SMU from Conference USA already are set to join the Big East. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday because talks were ongoing between Memphis and the Big East. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Charles Miller Harold Seay Gary A. Martinez John Yule Vicente Gallegos - PAGE A8
HIGH ...53˚ LOW ....31˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
Established about four years ago and nearly 7,000 patients strong, the state of New Mexico Medical Cannabis program is reaching out to Roswell. The program, which helps those with serious ailments who may benefit from prescription cannabis, will have a certification and enrollment seminar March 3, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Candlewood Suites, 4 Military Heights Drive. Ed Gifford, president of Zia Health and Wellness, said the seminar will have a pain specialist and primary care physicians on hand to help verify and certify potential local medical marijuana patients. Should a person request medical marijuana for post-trau-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A resurgent Rick Santorum won Minnesota’s Republican caucuses with ease Tuesday night, relegating front-runner Mitt Romney to a distant third-place finish that raised fresh questions about his ability to attract ardent conservatives at the core of the GOP political base. Santorum was victorious, as well, in a nonbinding Missouri primary that was worth bragging rights but no delegates. A jubilant Santorum declared to cheering supporters in St. Joseph, Mo., “Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota!” Colorado held caucuses, too. The first few hundred votes tallied trended Santorum’s way, but the count lagged well behind Minnesota’s. Returns from 42 per-
matic stress disorder — one of the most common reasons why medical marijuana is sought — the person will be referred to a psychiatrist in Albuquerque for evaluation. Gifford said those who attend the seminar should bring their medical records as well as a valid New Mexico identification card. Once approved, a future patient will receive a card in the mail identifying him or her as part of the medical cannabis program.
With a patient identification card, an individual is allowed to carry up to six ounces of medical cannabis, Gif ford said. Only medical cannabis patients are allowed to grow marijuana, and only with a personal production
See RFC, Page A3
AP Photo
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum speaks in Colorado Springs, Colo., Tuesday.
cent of Minnesota’s precincts showed Santorum with 46 percent support, Paul with 27 percent and Romney — who won the state in his first try for the nomination four years ago — with 16 percent. For mer House
Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 11 percent. Romney prevailed in both Minnesota and Colorado in 2008, the first time he ran for the nomination, but the GOP has
Daredevil plans 23-mile plunge Court tosses Prop 8 See SEMINAR, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ......A10 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ............A10 WORLD .................A9
INDEX
Felix Baumgartner
Courtesy Photo
Roswell might soon be the site of a historic space-diving event. According to the official website of Red Bull, Daredevil adventurer Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos team are headed to Roswell for the final preparational phases of a daring mission: a 23mile plunge from outer space — to Roswell. The stunt, sponsored by Red Bull, would be the world’s highest freefall ever attempted by a human being. Baumgartner, an Austrian pilot, will also aim for the world’s longest freefall duration, and hopes to become the first person to break the sound barrier without being in an aircraft. Before the plunge, Baumgartner will enter a capsule lifted by a balloon that See DAREDEVIL, Page A2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Same-sex marriage moved one step closer to the Supreme Court on Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled California’s ban unconstitutional, saying it serves no purpose other than to “lessen the status and human dignity” of gays. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave gay marriage opponents time to appeal the 2-1 decision before ordering the state to allow same-sex weddings to resume.
The ban known as Proposition 8 was approved by voters in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote. The court said it was unconstitutional because it singled out a
See GOP, Page A2
minority group for disparate treatment for no compelling reason. The justices concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners. The lone dissenting judge insisted that the ban could help ensure that children are raised by married, opposite-sex parents. The appeals court focused its decision exclusively on California’s ban, not the bigger debate, even though the court has jurisdiction in nine Wester n See PROP 8, Page A2