Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 152 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
June 26, 2012
TUESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Key parts of Ariz. immigration law rejected
TROPICAL STORM HITS FLORIDA
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Practically parked off Florida’s Gulf Coast since the weekend, Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding. At least one person ... - PAGE A6
TOP 5
WEB For The Past 24 Hours
• A whole ‘nother culture • Hispano Chamber honors Burrolas ... • City gives OK for veterans cemetery • Need mortage help? Be wary on the Net ... • Astros win city title
INSIDE SPORTS
A CELEBRATION IN THE STREETS
MIAMI (AP) — The NBA championship trophy was center stage, bathed in white light and sitting on a pedestal. And each Miami Heat player offered it a different greeting. Mike Miller bowed. Udonis Haslem kissed it three times. Chris Bosh hugged it, and LeBron James strolled past before waving at the crowd. Dwyane Wade did something different. In a nod to his preferred postgame fashion style throughout the playoffs, he emerged with a pair of faux eyeglasses and slipped the frames ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
•Michell Pollock - PAGE A6
AP Photo
Ana Maria Archila from Make the Road New York speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Monday. The Supreme Court threw out key provisions of Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants Monday but said a much-debated portion could go forward — that police must check the status of people stopped for various reasons who might appear to be in the U.S. illegally.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court threw out major parts of Arizona’s tough crackdown on illegal immigrants Monday in a ruling sure to reverberate through the November
elections. The justices unanimously approved the law’s most-discussed provision — requiring police to check the immigration status of those they stop for other reasons — but limited the consequences.
police to arrest people for federal immigration violations. And they warned against detaining people for any prolonged period merely for not having immigration proper papers.
Martinez: state’s anti-prostitution RPD arrests suspect of laws outdated, need to be mended multiple copper thefts
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico state laws aimed at fighting prostitution are outdated and need to be fixed to help authorities go after online sites that promote prostitution, Gov. Susan Martinez said Monday. Martinez told The Associated Press that she will ask state lawmakers during the next session to pass new legislation making online sites linked to prostitution illegal. “They’re outdated and they’re old,” Martinez said. “We need to start looking at those laws and make them more responsive to the technology today.” Martinez said the update would be similar to recent changes state lawmakers approved that included adding text mes-
saging to child predator laws. She said changes regulating online prostitution are long overdue. “Unfortunately, the Legislature hasn’t kept up with the 21st century,” said Martinez Her comments came just days after a state judge ruled that a website linked to a former University of New Mexico president accused of helping run an online prostitution ring was legal. The ruling complicated the case for prosecutors, who were scheduled last week to present to a grand jury their case against F. Chris Garcia. The aging college administrator was accused of helping oversee a prostitution website called “Southwest Companions.” See LAWS, Page A3
Home invasion suspects on the loose
A Roswell man found himself the subject of a home invasion around 10 p.m. Sunday, when he opened his door to find a suspect, which he described as a young Hispanic man, who thrust a gun in his face. The incident took place in the 400 block of North Atkinson Avenue. As the victim was held at gun–
point, a female accomplice went through his residence searching for things of value. The couple left with several undisclosed items. The woman was described as Hispanic, in her mid-twenties, 5 feet, 3 inches to 5 feet, 5 inches tall and heavy-set. She has shoulder length hair. The male was described
as 5 feet, 5 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall, of thin build, with short dark hair and visible tattoos on both arms.
Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call the Roswell Police Department at 624-6770 or Crime Stoppers, 888-594-TIPS (8477).
Chad Charney
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Copper theft has become a widespread problem in the region, with at least nine incidents reported in the month of June alone. On Thursday, police arrested a suspect they believe
See ARIZONA, Page A3
committed several thefts at the old New Mexico Rehabilitation Center, 31 Gail Harris St. Chad Char ney, 32, was charged with burglary in connection with the thefts. According to the criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court on June 18, the investigating of ficer, detective Robert Scribner, was at a local recycling center when the owner brought out some pieces of copper. Each piece was of a size and marked in a way that indicated they may have come from the old rehab center. The court records state that an officer went to the Gail Harris Street location and matched the copper pipe to the pipe in the facility. In addition, an employee at the old rehabilitation building said that he was checking the building when he observed a white male coming out of the crawl space. The employee believed he recognized the man. See COPPER, Page A3
USDA Under Secretary Ed Avalos makes Gov Martinez urges NM stop in Roswell, discusses plans for future admins to fix state’s colleges
HIGH .102˚ LOW ....70˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
Although upholding the “show me your papers” requirement, which some critics say could lead to ethnic profiling, the justices struck down provisions that created state crimes allowing local
The mixed outcome vindicated the Obama administration’s aggressive challenge to laws passed by Arizona and the five states — Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah — that followed its lead in attempting to deal with illegal immigration in the face of federal inaction on comprehensive reform. The administration had assailed the Arizona law as an unconstitutional intrusion into an area under federal control. Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined in his majority opinion by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts as well as three liberal justices, said the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion. “Arizona may have understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration while that process continues, but the state may not pursue policies that under mine federal law,” Kennedy said. That part of the ruling drew a caustic dissent from Justice Antonin Scalia, who said the Obama administration doesn’t want to enforce existing immigration law.
INDEX
Courtesy Photo
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the USDA, Edward Avalos, makes a stop in Roswell, Monday.
JESSICA PALMER
RECORD STAFF WRITER Ed Avalos, under secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the
United States Department of Agriculture, made a stop in Roswell to visit the Sales Barn Livestock Auction on Monday. Avalos is visiting south-
ern New Mexico as part of a whirlwind tour. He gave the keynote address to the New Mexico Wool Growers in Ruidoso to, “let them know what we are doing in Washington to help them.” He said the USDA has made tough choices the past few years with budget cuts. “We’re doing more with less money. We’ve reduced our workforce by 7,000,”he said. Avalos also hopes to have a dialogue with a number of specialty crop producers and businesses on June 26 and 27 to highlight the importance of these crops to the rural economy and rural communities. Specialty crops include onions, green chiles and pecans. Additionally, Avalos will visit area farms and See AVALOS, Page A3
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Gov. Susan Martinez challenged leaders of the state’s colleges and universities Monday to develop a plan to fix schools’ remedial programs amid a scathing report faulting the state’s high education institutions for failing to graduate students. Speaking to college administrators and board of regents from around the state at the Central New Mexico Community CollegeWorkforce Training Center, Martinez asked them to develop a plan by the end of the year aimed at creating stronger remedial programs to prevent students from dropping out of college. She said the programs and some
state high schools were failing to adequately prepare students for collegelevel courses. If that doesn’t change, Martinez said state colleges and the state’s economy could suffer long-term damage. “Taxpayers are paying double for the same thing to be taught twice,” Martinez told administrators. Martinez said students get discouraged by struggling to keep up with college-level courses and eventually drop out after going through financial aid. A report released last week said New Mexico colleges were some of the most underperforming See COLLEGES, Page A3