Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
NM finance secretary: Don’t panic
Vol. 120, No. 179 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
SANTA FE (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez’s top budget of ficial says no worker furloughs or cutbacks in state services are expected if federal revenues are disrupted because of a failure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Finance and Administration Secretary Rick May said New Mexico has balances of $1.4 billion in the state treasury that can pro-
July 27, 2011
WEDNESDAY
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To help protect the state from potential fallout from a federal debt ceiling impasse, state officials decided last week to authorize up to $500 million in short-term securities, which will be repaid with anticipated state revenues later in the year.
vide cash flow to cover expenses for about 22 days if federal revenues are temporarily disrupted. On an average business day, the state spends about
$65 million for all government programs, including workers’ salaries. “No one should be panicked about this because we do have some flexibility
and we’re trying to maximize that flexibility,” May said. “It’s not the governor’s intent to let any disruption affect services and people’s livelihoods.” Federal revenues account for about a third of the $15 billion in total annual spending by state government. Almost $3 billion in federal money last year went for Medicaid, which provides health care for a
Witness a no-show for psych evaluation
NEWPORT STAYS CURRENT
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The folk music band The David Wax Museum entered a contest last year — along with 150 other bands — for a chance to play the Newport Folk Festival. As unbelievable at it was to members of the Boston-based band, they won. And then they rocked. ... - PAGE A8
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INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Hale suggests more local approach New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services Cabinet Secretary Tim Hale meets with veterans during a meetand-greet, Tuesday, at the Elks Lodge.
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A do-it-yourself approach may be the solution to many issues faced by local veterans, including
NFL’S FREE AGENCY FRENZY
The free agency free-forall has begun, mostly with obscure names from the college ranks. It will get wilder. Contract negotiations for free agents and draft picks started Tuesday, with draftees able to sign right away. The big names among veterans — Nnamdi Asomugha, Santonio Holmes, Matt Hasselbeck — can’t sign until Thursday ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Michael J. Gibson • Eudelia Linares • David Smith • Mary D. Shaver • Clemente Villescas • Leroy Shaver - PAGE A6
HIGH .102˚ LOW ....73˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................A6 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
health care, homelessness and the isolating distance between local vets and care facilities in northern New Mexico; at least according to New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services Cabi-
fourth of the state’s population. The federal government pays for nearly $3 of every $4 that’s spent on Medicaid in New Mexico. The program covers uninsured children, the poor and disabled. However, the state typically pays expenses for programs and services, such as Medicaid, and the
net Secretary Tim Hale. Veterans got a chance to meet Hale face-to-face at the Elks Lodge, Tuesday. Many vets took
See FINANCE, Page A3
Christopher Glenn, witness for the prosecution in the case State of New Mexico vs Jesus Carranza, did not show up for evaluation in Judge Charles C. Currier’s court, Tuesday. On July 13, defense attorney Michael Gomez presented a motion to have Glenn evaluated for psychological disorders. Assistant district attorney said, “I don’t think he was served.” However, Gomez told the judge that he talked to Glenn and he knew about the hearing. Carranza, 26, is facing charges of first-degree murder for the slaying of Zachary Perez, 16. Perez’s body was found in a vacant lot near East Fifth Street on Feb. 13, 2010. Autopsy reports indicated that Perez had been stabbed 22 times. Carranza was arrested on Feb. 26, 2010. James Gomez, 20, who was also charged with the crime, fled the country, successfully
Debris fouls water GOP, Dems tell each other: ‘Compromise; do it my way’
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Crews were closer Tuesday to containing the largest fire in the state’s history after having spent a solid month toiling in some of the steepest and most rugged areas of northern New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains. But now that summer rains are hitting the burn scar of the fire, ash and debris are starting to wash off mountainsides, down canyons and into the Rio Grande. That has forced utilities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque to halt their drinking water diversions and rely on groundwater until the river clears up. In Albuquerque, the water authority stopped pulling water from the river Friday afternoon after it became murky.
“Just from a mechanical and maintenance standpoint, we didn’t want all this ash and crud to get into our system that we then would have to clean out,” said David Morris, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, which serves about 540,000 people. “We’re not so worried that we can’t treat it,” he said. “We just don’t want to deal with the after effects of having all of this ash in the filtration system.” The Buckman Direct Diversion project that supplies water to the city of Santa Fe stopped its diversions nearly two weeks ago. Las Conchas fire charred more than 244 square
See VETERANS, Page A3
See WITNESS, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stung by revelations that his plan would cut spending less than advertised, House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday postponed a vote on a debt-ceiling measure that was already running into opposition from tea party conservatives. The move came just a week before an Aug. 2 deadline for staving off the potential financial chaos of the nation’s first-ever default. With time running short, the speaker promised to quickly rewrite his AP Photo debt-ceiling legislation House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio during a press con- after budget officials said ference at The Republican National Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday. See DEBT, Page A3
Wilson tours Roswell Regional; talks health care, jobs See WATER, Page A3
EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Former Rep. Heather Wilson visits with Roswell Regional Hospital CEO Rod Schumacher during her Courage to Create Jobs tour of Southeastern New Mexico, Tuesday morning.
U.S. Senate hopeful Heather Wilson kicked off a weeklong Courage to Create Jobs tour through southeast New Mexico in Roswell, Tuesday morning, by touring Roswell Regional Hospital. The for mer congresswoman said she wanted to meet hospital employees and administrators to learn more about “what we need to do to get back to strong economic growth and job creation in America.” “I want to make sure I am constantly learning and understanding,” she said, noting that she has held a long-term interest in health
care. She currently sits on the board of directors of Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque and formerly served on the Subcommittee on Health when she was in the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2009. She added that she also wanted to see firsthand how hospitals are affected by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the GOP calls “Obamacare.” “The estimates are that 20 percent of America’s hospitals are going to close when Obamacare is fully implemented,” she said, perhaps referring to warnings from Medicare’s chief actuary that the new law
would cut provider payment rates across the board, causing 15 percent of hospitals to become unprofitable by 2019. “And one in four employers is going to drop health insurance for their employees.” Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company released a study last month that found 30 percent of employers will “definitely” or “probably” stop providing health insurance once provisions in the Patient Protection and Af fordable Care Act become effective in 2014. McKinsey later clarified that the statement reflected current opinions of employSee WILSON, Page A3