Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 86 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
Ruling that substantial compliance was met and there was no evidence of fraud or misconduct, Judge Teddy Hartley, of the 9th District Court in Clovis, ordered that Senate President Pro Tem T im Jennings’, D-Roswell, name remain on the June 5 primary ballot. Hartley presided over the case in
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the 5th Judicial Court in Chaves County.
Roswell farmer Cliff Pirtle, one of Jennings’ opponents for his District 32 Senate seat, filed a lawsuit against the Senate leader for failing to write the district he is seeking on his nominating petitions. Jennings is one of at least a dozen hopefuls who failed to include this information, which was required for the first time this year per Sen-
NM governor’s PAC raised $336K since October
SANTA FE (AP) — A new campaign finance report shows a leading source of money for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s political action committee is a Texas billionaire who’s a major donor to conservative groups seeking to defeat President Barack Obama. The governor’s political organization, called Susana PAC, raised about $336,000 in the past six months as an election-year fight looms over control of the Legislature. Texas businessman Harold Simmons contributed $10,000 to the PAC and four companies affiliated with him gave $40,000. Monday was the deadline for political committees and candidates to file campaign finance disclosures with the secretary of state’s office. The governor’s PAC spent nearly $342,000 from October through April 2, including contributing $17,500 to four GOP House and Senate candidates. The PAC reported cash-on-hand of about $295,000 as of last week.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Less than a week after its women’s basketball team won the national championship, Baylor said Monday it has been involved in a three-year investigation with the NCAA into what are believed to be hundreds... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Krystle Stephenson • Ann Allensworth • Ramon Herrera • John Yule • Rachel S. Melvin • Austin Reischman - PAGE A7
HIGH ...89˚ LOW ....58˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders Monday, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a cease-fire plan that seems all but certain to fail. Across Syria, activists reported particularly heavy violence with more than 125 people killed in the past two days. The Obama administration expressed outrage at the violence spilling over the frontiers, saying the Syrian government appeared to have little commitment to the peace plan that was negotiated by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. The latest bloodshed was a sign of how easily Syria’s neighbors could be drawn into a regional conflagration as President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on a year-old uprising becomes increasingly militarized, despite desperate diplo-
ate Bill 403. The bill was passed during the 2011 regular legislative session.
Secretary of State Dianna Duran deemed Jennings, and the others, eligible candidates after seeking advice from Attorney General Gary King’s office. King’s office advised Duran that court rulings in New Mexico and other states indicate that “substantial compliance” with the candidate filing form is ade-
quate and it’s unlikely a court would reject a candidate solely because a district number was omitted from a nominating petition. Duran, in her capacity as secretary of state, was also listed in Pirtle’s suit as a defendant.
Fred Van Soelen, filling in for Pirtle’s attorney Luke Ragsdale, argued that Jennings didn’t comply with state statute thus rendering his petition and candi-
dacy invalid. He emphasized that the law should apply equally to everyone. Van Soelen made the point that Jennings, a member of the Senate Rules Committee, was present when the SRC heard testimony on the bill and voted in favor of it. Van Soelen and Pirtle, in his testimony, said the recent redistricting was further example of See JENNINGS, Page A3
GEAR UP educating students on college funding JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Goddard High School seniors gathered in the school’s cafeteria Monday evening to lear n of the unique opportunity to receive funding for higher education tuition and other expenses through the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, scholarships. GEAR UP is federally funded by the United States Department of Education and sponsored by Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell. Those eligible for this year’s funding must receive a high school diploma or GED in 2012, and be enrolled in an accredited degree-granting institution of higher education for a minimum of three credit hours, among other requirements. The money
Julia Bergman photo
Goddard High School seniors Christian Salazar, 18, and Rachael Chaves, 18, review GEAR UP pamphlets after a presentation about the grant in the school’s cafeteria See GEAR UP, Page A3 Monday evening.
Syria fires over borders with Lebanon, Turkey
BAYLOR EXCEEDS LIMITS ON CALLS, TEXTS
TUESDAY
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Jennings’ name to remain on primary ballot JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
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April 10, 2012
matic efforts. Annan brokered a deal that was supposed to begin with Syria pulling its troops out of population centers by Tuesday mor ning, with a full cease-fire by both sides within 48 hours. But hopes for the plan collapsed after a fresh wave of violence and new demands by the regime for written guarantees that the opposition will lay down arms first. Naci Koru, Turkey’s deputy foreign minister, said Tuesday’s deadline for the withdrawal has become “void at this stage,” state-run TRT television reported. The U.N. estimates some 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011, when the uprising began with mostly peaceful protests against Assad. But a government crackdown led many Syrians to take up weapons, transforming the conflict into an
Iran proposal joins jockeying before nuclear talks
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is signaling a possible compromise offer heading into critical talks with world powers deeply suspicious of its nuclear program: offering to scale back uranium enrichment but not abandon the ability to make nuclear fuel. The proposal — floated by the country’s nuclear chief as part of the early parrying in various capitals before negotiations get under way Friday — suggested that sanctions-battered Iran is ready to bargain. But this gambit, at least, appeared to fall short of Western demands that Iran hand over its most potent nuclear material and ease a standoff that has rattled nerves and spooked markets with seesaw oil prices and threats of Israeli military strikes. The talks involving Iran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council nations plus Germany, to be held in Istanbul, are the first direct negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program since a swift collapse more
AP Photo
A file satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, provided by DigitalGlobe, shows a suspected nuclear enrichment facility under construction inside a mountain located north of Qom, Iran.
than 14 months ago. Despite far -reaching complexities, the dispute effectively boils down to one issue: Iran’s stated refusal to close down its uranium enrichment labs. For Iran, uranium enrichment is a proud symbol of its scientific advances and technological self-sufficiency. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called
the nuclear program on Sunday “a locomotive” for other showcase projects such as Iran’s space effort. The U.S. and its allies contend that the same sites that make fuel for reactors could also eventually churn out weapons-grade material. Iran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear
1,382.20. The Nasdaq composite closed down 33.42 at 3,047.08. The Dow and S&P had four consecutive trading days of declines at the end of January, but the losses then were smaller. The Dow lost 124 points over that stretch. It has lost about 330 this time. Stocks had their best first quarter since 1998 but have stumbled in April. Last week, the Federal Reserve suggested that it is disinclined to take further steps to help the economy, and the European debt crisis flared in Spain. Then on Friday, with the
stock market closed for Good Friday, the government said the country added just 120,000 jobs in March, half the pace from December through February. After a long weekend to think it over, investors sold stocks broadly. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 fell on Monday, with financial stocks the worst performers. Bank of America fell 3.2 percent, and Citigroup was off 2.4 percent. Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, only two, McDonald’s and
Dow closes below 13,000 for first time in a month See SYRIA, Page A3
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors had a three-day weekend to brood over disappointing job growth in March. When they got back to work Monday and delivered their verdict, it wasn’t good.
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Stocks closed sharply lower, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to only their second four-day losing streak this year.
AP Photo
Traders Thomas Kay, left, and Steven Kaplan work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday.
The Dow finished down 130.55 points at 12,929.59, its first close below 13,000 since March 12. The S&P ended the day of f 15.88 points at
See IRAN, Page A3
See DOW, Page A3