Roswell Daily Record
Assad will remain pres. until ’14
Vol. 122, No. 129 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Any deal reached in such talks would have to be put to a referendum, Foreign Minister Walid alMoallem added in a TV interview, introducing a new condition that could complicate efforts by the U.S.
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian president has told advisers that as the U.S. tries to restart Mideast peace talks, he is under intense international pressure to return to negotiations with Israel and drop demands for a Jewish ... - PAGE A6
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and Russia to bring both sides together at an international conference in Geneva, possibly next month. Drawing a tough line of its own, the main exile-based political group, the Syrian National Coalition, reiterated that any negotiations require “the head of the regime, security and military leadership to step down and be excluded from the political process.” While the Assad regime has agreed in principle to attend peace talks, the opposition has not, insist-
ing it first get international guarantees on the agenda and timetable. The coalition has been meeting for the past week in Turkey but spent most of that time arguing about membership issues, rather than making a decision about Geneva.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said Wednesday that while Russia and the United States have asked him to convene a meeting as soon as possible, “there are still many elements that we have to clear.” He said there is still no agreement on a date, on who will partici-
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TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Della Lopez • Larry Quiroz Sr. • Juan Salinas Jr. - PAGE A6
HIGH ...97˚ LOW ....65˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................A4 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A6
INDEX
pate, and on the membership of a united opposition delegation. In his wide-ranging comments, alMoallem, an Assad stalwart with decades in top positions, reflected a new confidence by the government. The regime had seemed near collapse during a rebel offensive last summer but has scored a number of battlefield successes in recent weeks. “Our armed forces have regained the momentum,” he told the
Mega solar project nears completion
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER A massive new solar project may power up in south Roswell by the end of June, providing enough energy to power some 780 homes. Independent power producer Green States Energy, of New Jersey has plans to complete the final stage this summer of a 5.4-megawatt solar photovoltaic project in and around Roswell. “We’re hoping to get it energized by the end of June,” said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Clevett. “But quite frankly, you’re not going to know when it starts up. There will be no noise.” Green States Energy acquired the solar project portfolio from Sunrise Energy Ventures, of Minnesota. The first phase was to build several smaller solar sites on farms and ranches in and around Roswell to provide energy to agricultural properties, Clevett said. The second phase is to complete a 2.5-megawatt array on a 20-acre city-owned site the company has leased for 20 years. S&C Electric Company is constructing this site, which will begin feeding power directly into the City of Roswell’s power grid. See SOLAR, Page A3
Fire at Farley’s
Construction crews are close to completing the Roswell 2.5 megawatt solar project on W. Brasher, Wednesday.
Judge De Los Santos retiring
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Courtesy Photo
After more than 14 years of dedicated service, Judge Eugene M. De Los Santos is retiring from the Chaves County Magistrate Court. A retirement reception is scheduled on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m in the rotunda lobby of the Magistrate Court located in the Chaves County Courthouse on the lower level. The public is invited to attend and say goodbye.
Like your health care policy? You may be losing it WASHINGTON (AP) — Many people who buy their own health insurance could get surprises in the mail this fall: cancellation notices because their current policies aren’t up to the basic standards of President Barack Obama’s health care law. They, and some small businesses, will have to find replacement plans — and that has some state insurance officials worried about consumer confusion. Rollout of the Affordable Care Act is going full speed ahead, despite repeal efforts by congressional Republicans. New insurance markets called exchanges are to open in every state this fall. Middle-class consumers who don’t get coverage on the job will be able to pick private health plans, while low-income people will be steered to an expanded version of Medicaid in states that accept it. The goal is to cover most of the nation’s nearly 50 million uninsured, See LOSING, Page A2
See SYRIA, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
FEDERER ADVANCES AT FRENCH PARIS (AP) — Roger Federer walked onto Court Suzanne Lenglen, smiled when greeted with applause and looked up into the stands, where three youngsters waved a banner ...
THURSDAY
www.rdrnews.com
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s foreign minister laid out a hard line Wednesday, saying Bashar Assad will remain president at least until elections in 2014 and might seek another term, conditions that will make it difficult for the opposition to agree to U.N.-sponsored talks on ending the civil war.
PRESSURE TO RESTART TALKS
May 30, 2013
Customers were evacuated from Farley’s Bar and Grill, 1315 N. Main St., around 6 p.m. Tuesday when a fire started on a stack of wood behind the restaurant. “The fire was located in the southeast corner of the building where they receive deliveries. We found wooden pallets and the firewood that they use for barbecues.” said Roswell Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Mann. He said the evacuation was a precautionary measure and people were not in immediate danger. “I could not say how many (were evacuated). It was a week night, and the fire was not located near any of the exits.” The damage, according to Mann, was superficial. “The flames marked the wall 10 feet up the building. It damaged a light fixture. It was located near the main electrical panel. The plastic conduit melted, but it didn’t melt through to the wires.” Fire Department Investigator John Miller said “We called utility company. They came to check the wiring and said it was all right for people to enter the building again.” Firefighters had to make a cut in the stucco to ensure the interior wiring and the interior walls
Soldier to admit Afghan massacre
SEATTLE (AP) — The Army staff sergeant charged with slaughtering 16 villagers in one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war will plead guilty to avoid the death penalty in a deal that requires him to recount the horrific attack for the first time, his attorney told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was “crazed” and “broken” when he slipped away from his remote southern Afghanistan outpost and attacked mud-walled compounds in two slumbering villages nearby, lawyer John Henry Browne said. But his client’s mental state didn’t rise to the level of a legal insanity defense, Browne said, and Bales will plead guilty next week. The outcome of the case carries high stakes. The Army had been trying to have Bales executed, and Afghan villagers have demanded it. In interviews with the AP in Kandahar last month, relatives of the victims became outraged at the notion Bales might escape the death penalty. “For this one thing, we would kill 100 American soldiers,” vowed Mohammed Wazir, who had 11 family members killed
See FIRE, Page A3
AP Photo
In this Aug. 23, 2011, file photo provided by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales participates in an exercise at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Bales, charged with slaughtering 16 villagers during one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war, has agreed to plead guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty, his attorney told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
that night, including his mother and 2-year-old daughter. “A prison sentence doesn’t mean anything,” said Said Jan, whose wife and three other relatives died. “I know we have no power now. But I will become stronger, and if he does not hang,
I will have my revenge.” Any plea deal must be approved by the judge as well as the commanding general at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where Bales is being held. A plea hearSee MASSACRE, Page A3