Santa Fe police say a man is jailed after he choked a woman who had given him a ride from a downtown bar to his vehicle. An SF-PD news release says the 26-year-old woman agreed early Sunday to give 21-year-old Ryan Catron of Eldorado a ride to his vehicle. Once delivered, he allegedly began choking the woman before she was able to break away and notify authorities. Police say Catron was later arrested at his home. He’s charged with suspicion of kidnapping, battery and assault with intent to commit a violent felony and is being held on a 100-thousand dollar cash bond.
Albuquerque State Senator Tim Keller is urging Governor Susana Martinez to place education- reform on her legislative call for the upcoming 2014 60-day legislative session. Keller tells KSFR the move was prompted by what he terms the Governor’s “unilateral implementation of additional testing” in New Mexico’s public schools. The Democrat wants a say on such decisions: *****Dec. 2 Keller-1 :17**** Keller says he has received much critical feedback on the move to more testing. State voters in 2003 approved a constitutional amendment placing education under the governor’s purview.
(Meantime) Governor Martinez has appointed Corrales architect Tyson Parker to the state Public Education Commission. Parker fills a commission vacancy in a district that contains New Mexico’s most populous counties, including Santa Fe and Bernalillo. Members of the Commission are elected, but the governor fills vacancies. The Commission can approve creation of charter schools, which are freed from some traditional state education requirements through alternative curricula.
A report from the state's Tourism Department shows New Mexico is drawing more visitors. Tourism officials say figures from 2012 show a nearly three-percent boost in the number of overnight and day tourists, who the report notes spent close to six-billion dollars in the state that year. Tourism Department officials credit the two-million dollar “New Mexico True” advertising campaign for the uptick.
Santa Fe County wants to know resident’s thoughts on the future of the Old First Judicial Courthouse on Catron Street downtown. The County’s Kristine Mihelcic: *****Dec. 2 Mihelcic-1 :12***** Mihelcic says questions will quickly cover whether citizens want to keep County services downtown with provided parking or if they’d prefer a county campus elsewhere. She says input will be taken over the next several weeks, with results to be presented to the Santa Fe County Board of Commissioners early in 2014.
There’s one less candidate for Mayor of Santa Fe after Roman Abeyta withdrew from the race Saturday. In a statement, Abeyta, the former Santa Fe County Manager, gave his mayoral endorsement to Javier Gonzales, the former State Democratic Party Chair. That leaves the race between Gonzales and City Councilors Patti Bushee, Bill Dimas and Rebecca Wurzburger seeking the city’s top post in the March municipal elections.
Santa Fe Weather: Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.