Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Regulators scrap emissions rules
Vol. 121, No. 66 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
MEMORIAL DEATH MARCH PREP
LAS CRUCES (AP) — Tios Pepe and Jose were supposed to get spruced up on a recent Saturday before the wet weather interfered. They’re expecting company. They are two of the three faces on the Bataan Memorial Monument, at Veterans Memorial Park, and were among the 1,800 ... - PAGE A6
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March 17, 2012
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ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico regulators pulled the plug Friday on the state’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions among coal-fired power plants, refineries and other large polluters. Environmental The Improvement Board adopted a repeal petition filed last year by utilities and industry groups that were concer ned about rising costs and New Mexico’s economic viability. The vote marks the sec-
Karzai at ‘end of rope’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he’s at “the end of the rope,” and a majority of Americans feel the same way. Of all the past decade’s setbacks in the endeavor to form a solid alliance with Afghanistan and defeat the Taliban, the war effort has been driven to a new low by the slaughter of nine Afghan children and seven adults allegedly by a U.S. soldier whose identity had been kept secret until late Friday. He is Ar my Staf f Sgt. Robert Bales, 38, of Lake Tapps, Wash., his attorney confirmed. The soldier was on his way Friday from a U.S. military detention facility in
ond time in two months that the board has undone regulations passed in the waning weeks of for mer Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration that were aimed at curbing carbon emissions.
Mariel Nanasi, executive director of New Energy Economy, the Santa Febased group that sought the emissions reductions, argued that only politics had changed since the rules were first adopted. Republican Gov. Susana
The regulations repealed Friday would have required electric utilities and oil and gas developers to trim emissions by 3 percent a year starting in 2013.
Martinez, a vocal critic of the rules, took of fice in 2011 and appointed a new board. Nanasi said Friday’s decision was expected. “Industry has spent so much money tying this up in legal knots and they finally succeeded in orches-
trating this sham process,” she said. “The truth is we’re talking about the future of our air, our water and our children. It’s not something where we can choose to just give up and look the other way.” Despite the board’s decision, the factions that have
NMMI gets new rappelling tower
been wrangling over the pollution rules since 2009 are expected to continue the fight in court. Various appeals have been pending since last year. The regulations repealed Friday would have required electric utilities and oil and gas developers to trim emissions by 3 percent a year starting in 2013. Critics of the rules argued that forcing utilities and developers to meet the See EMISSIONS, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Albert Gonzales of Waide Construction welds a corner of the new rappelling tower on the New Mexico Military Institute campus between Main Street and the obstacle course, Friday. The tower consists of metal shipping containers stacked five high.
Hey, NM Mag! One of our cities is missing! See KARZAI, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
BRACKET BUSTERS!
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kyle O’Quinn’s booming voice echoed through the halls, the jovial center for Norfolk State riding the euphoria of a monumental upset of Missouri as the words spilled out of his mouth faster than he could think. “We messed up some brackets! We messed up some brackets!” he bellowed, before turning a corner and seeing a pack of reporters. “We even messed up my bracket,” he said sheepishly. O’Quinn put together the finest game of his career at the biggest moment ... - PAGE B1
Roswell’s minimal presence in New Mexico Magazine’s 2012 Vacation Guide, released in February, has left many people in the community wondering what happened. Councilman Dusty Huckabee said several puzzling differences exist between issues printed in previous
years and the 2012 edition, and that the most impactful is the exclusion of the city’s popular events. “The Chile Cheese Festival is not in there, our Electric Light Parade is not in there, the Piñata Festival, the Dragonfly Festival, on and on and on,” Huckabee said. “When you come into New Mexico, if you don’t know your way, you’re going to stop at a visitor center. And you go
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INDEX
SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico’s new tourism ad isn’t done yet, but it’s already creating quite a buzz.
First, the Tourism Department touched some local nerves by hiring a Texas firm to produce its new branding campaign. That firm chose a Califor-
nia producer rather than someone in New Mexico’s film industry to shoot the spot. And on Friday, traditional and social media was abuzz over the ad’s “real people” casting notice, which called for Caucasian or “light-
See NM MAG, Page A3
See TOURISM, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
OBITUARIES
TODAY’S FORECAST
Roswell Visitors Bureau
TOURISM IN MORE HOT WATER OF ITS OWN BOILING
Road to Roswell a bumpy one for Suzy Wood
TODAY’S There are no obituaries today, March 17, 2012.
into the center and ask, ‘What’s there to do in New Mexico?’ They hand you the guide, and it’ll tell you about the Raspberry Festival in Lincoln — all these little events that really make up what we are. ... But (this year) they left out Chaves County and Lincoln County.”
Mark Wilson Photo
Suzy Wood in her domain.
Anyone who has ever gone into the Roswell Convention and Civic Center during the day will recognize Susan (Suzy) Wood, from the Visitors Center. “We are,” she says, “the face of Roswell.” Wood may be one of the first faces tourists see when they arrive in the city, but the Visitors Center does more than just greet the tourists. It also maintains Roswell’s Community Calendar. “We’re a ticket outlet for things like the Jazz Festival,” Wood said. However, the road that led Wood
to Roswell from her native Fort Wayne, Ind., was not without its bumps. It began indirectly when she learned she had cancer. “My doctor asked me after a while if I needed therapy,” she said. An offer Wood declined. She did not believe cancer was a death sentence. She refers to it as one of the best experiences of her life. “The whole thing turned my life around.
It was a gift and a teacher, and it opened my life up to new experiences.” Wood said. She became the Allen County coordinator for the American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery Program where she stayed for eight years. As coordinator, Wood acted See SPOTLIGHT, Page A3
Prez to visit Carlsbad area De Los Santos Amaro declares for clerk WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House official says President Barack Obama will make a fourstate swing next week to tout his administration’s “all of the above” energy policies. The of ficial says Obama will travel to Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Ohio from March 21-22. The president’s trip includes a stop in Cushing, Okla., site of an oil
storage hub with a glut of supply. The administration has suggested developing an Oklahoma-to-Texas pipeline to alleviate the oil bottleneck in Cushing. Obama will also visit a solar facility in Nevada and an oil and gas field on public land in Carlsbad. He will wrap up his trip with remarks on energy at Ohio State See OBAMA, Page A3
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Chaves County Bureau of Elections chief Stephanie De Los Santos Amaro has announced her candidacy for Chaves County clerk in 2012. The position is currently held by Rhoda Coakley, who has served as clerk for 24 years and is retiring at the end of this year. De Los Santos Amaro is backed by many prominent members of the communi-
ty, including Phelps Anderson, finance chairman of her campaign, chief deputy clerk Doug Shaw, Reps. Candy Ezzell, R-Roswell, and Nora Espinoza, RRoswell, in addition to Roswell Police Chief Al Solis, among many others. Additionally, she has the support of Coakley, who is heading up her campaign team. “As a former Republican Party chair man and our See CLERK, Page A2
Stephanie De Los Santos Amaro