Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 69 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
NEW OPEN SPACE TRAIL
SANTA FE (AP) — Six hundred years ago, Native Americans made their homes along the banks of what would later be called the Hondo River southeast of Santa Fe. About 100 years ago, a Chicago banker unsuccessfully tried to dam that river and create a lake. In 2002, Santa Fe ... - PAGE A6
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 21, 2013
THURSDAY
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Obama, Netanyahu show solidarity on Iran
JERUSALEM (AP) — Seeking a fresh start to a strained relationship, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday demonstrated solidarity on the key issues that have stirred tensions between them. The U.S. president vowed he would do “what is necessary” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while Netanyahu reaffirmed that his newly formed government seeks a two-state solution to Israel’s decadeslong dispute with the Palestinians. Obama, in Israel for the
first time in his presidency, also pledged to investigate reports that Syria had used chemical weapons for the first time in its two-year civil war. And he sternly war ned Syrian leader Bashar Assad that use of such weapons would be a “game-changer,” one that could potentially draw the U.S. military into the conflict for the first time.
“The Assad regime must understand that they will be held accountable for the use of chemical weapons or their transfer to terrorists,” Obama said, standing alongside Netanyahu at a nighttime press conference.
Expectations were low for a breakthrough during Obama’s visit on any of the major issues roiling the region. Instead, the president was focused on reassuring anxious Israelis that he is committed to their security, and on resetting his rocky relationship with Netanyahu. The two leaders have been at odds over Israeli settlements and Iran’s disputed nuclear programs, and Netanyahu famously lectured Obama in front of the media in the Oval Office on Israel’s right to defend himself.
Puppy, people perambulate
See OBAMA, Page A3
AP Photo
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their joint press conference in Jerusalem, Wednesday.
Industry hopes bill returns NM’s edge
TOP 5 WEB
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — As the TV series that helped cement Albuquerque’s reputation as a film center draws to a close, New Mexico officials are optimistic that a so-called “Breaking Bad” bill to sweeten incentives for television productions will help the state maintain its competitive edge.
For The Past 24 Hours
• RPD searching for Barela • ENMU-R dedicates new Student Center • Roswell may be site for Aerial system test • Gov passes $5.9B budget • NMMI legend Hardman dies
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Wendy Deichman, right, and Natasha Yates walk their puppy Kaia along West Third Street next to the Spring River Golf Course on the first day of spring, Wednesday morning.
10-YEAR CONTRACT
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Steve Alford loves New Mexico and New Mexico loves Steve Alford. Those simple facts made Wednesday, the eve of the second round of the NCAA tournament, as good a time as any for the Lobos to announce they’ve given their coach a new, 10-year contract that could be worth up to $2 million a year counting base salary and bonuses. The deal calls for Alford to be in Albuquerque through 2023. With the third-seeded Lobos getting ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • •
OBITUARIES
Wilma Goebel Dr.Francisco Herz Carl Gene Branscum William Bumbarger - PAGE A6
HIGH ...90˚ LOW ....52˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 STATE ...................A6 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Lawmakers as part of a lastminute business tax package on Saturday passed a bill to increase from 25 percent to 30 percent the rebates allowed for television shows, reviving a plan that had been vetoed by the governor a day earlier. The proposal also ef fectively increases the $50 million annual cap on payouts to the industry by letting unused
And things that go Senate OKs cuts, averts shutdown BOOM in the night JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Area residents were startled Tuesday night as the ground trembled beneath their feet and the waves of sonic booms erupted in Roswell’s usually quiet night sky. Some city of ficials remained in the dark about the military operations Thursday afternoon. “I do not know what happened last night,” said Roswell Police Department spokeswoman Sabrina Morales. “We’ve gotten a lot of reports here. I heard it about 9 p.m. It felt like a tremor.” What may have sounded similar to thunder or felt like a small earthquake, actually was the result of planned flight training of Holloman Air Force Base’s F-22 Raptures, the hottest new stealth supercruisers
in the Air Force’s fleet. Holloman’s 49th Wing will be conducting night training flights until March 31 from 4 to 10:30 p.m. “The latest you would hear anything would be a little after 10 (p.m.),” said 1st Lt. Stephanie Schonberger of the 49th Wing Public Affairs Office. “During that time, there is a possibility of supersonic flight or supersonic booms that could be heard in the Roswell area and really along that whole region.” The sound could carry depending on many factors, including atmospheric conditions, direction of flight and other reasons, Schonberger said. The F-22s are in the Mach 22 class, with a supercruise capacity. They have a range of more than 1,850 miles. At a cost of See BOOM, Page A2
AP Photo
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, RWis., Monday. The Senate pressed ahead Wednesday on a bipartisan spending bill. The developments in the Senate come as the House resumed debate on the budget for next year and beyond.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved legislation Wednesday to lock in $85 billion in widely decried spending cuts aimed at restraining
soaring federal deficits — and to avoid a gover nment shutdown just a week away. President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats rejected a call
See FILM, Page A3
to reopen White House tours scrapped because of the tightened spending. Federal meat inspectors were spared furloughs, but more than 100 small and medium air traffic facilities were left exposed to possible closure as the two parties alternately clashed and cooperated over proposals to take the edge off across-the-board spending cuts that took effect on March 1. Final House approval of the measure is likely as early as today. Obama’s signature is a certainty, meaning the cuts will remain in place at least through the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 — even though he and lawmakers in both parties have criticized them as random rather than targeted. Obama argued strongly against them in campaign-style appearSee BUDGET, Page A3
Marines killed in training were young Both sides agree on tough new fracking standards CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — They’re called “leathernecks” or “Devil Dogs,” but some of the Marines killed in a desert training accident this week were just a year or so out of high school, their boyish faces not yet weathered by life’s hardships.
Just 19, Pfc. Josh Martino of Dubois, Pa., had already spent nearly half AP Photo his young life dreaming of becoming one of “the few, The flag flies at half mast in Marine, Ill., for Marine Aaron the proud.” He had joined Ripperda of Highland, Ill. Ripperda was killed with six in July and was hoping to other Marines in an explosion during a Nevada training exercise on Monday.
See MARINES, Page A3
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Some of the nation’s biggest oil and gas companies have made peace with environmentalists, agreeing to a voluntary set of tough new standards for fracking in the Northeast that could lead to a major expansion of drilling. The program announced Wednesday will work a lot like Underwriters Laboratories, which puts its familiar UL seal of approval on electrical appliances that meet its standards. In this case, drilling and pipeline companies will be
encouraged to submit to an independent review of their operations. If they are found to be abiding by a list of stringent measures to protect the air and water from pollution, they will receive the blessing of the new Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development, created by environmentalists and the energy industry. Many of the new standards appear to be stricter than state and federal regulations. See FRACKING, Page A2