This summer’s fatal shooting of an El Rito teenager was justified. That’s the finding of a Santa Fe County grand jury regarding the shooting of 16-year-old Victor Villalpando June eighth. An Espanola police officer shot Villalpando after the youth called 911 and said there was a suspicious person who needed help. Authorities have said the youth was shot after he pointed a toy cap gun at officers who responded. District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco announced the grand jury's finding during a news conference Wednesday in Santa Fe. New Mexico State Police concluded its investigation into the shooting of Villalpando last month. Pacheco then forwarded the evidence to the grand jury.
A majority of Santa Fe City Councilors on Wednesday reaffirmed their support for decriminalizing possession of small amounts marijuana. The Council, under city code, adopted administrative procedures needed to implement a decriminalization ordinance that the council approved in a 5-4 vote in August. Three councilors – Bill Dimas, Ron Trujillo and Chris Rivera – also expressed their opposition to making possession of an ounce or less of pot merely a civil infraction punishable by a fine of 25-dollars or less.
Wednesday was the day when a former campaign manager for Governor Susana Martinez heard his sentence in an Albuquerque Federal Courtroom. Jamie Estrada will serve nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for stealing the governor's email and lying about it. U-S District judge William Johnson handed down the sentence. Estrada had pleaded guilty in June to charges of unlawful interception of electronic communication and lying to FBI agents. Estrada's family cried when the sentence was read. Prosecutors say Estrada provided the hijacked email to the governor's political opponents. Messages sent by Martinez, her aides and supporters never went to intended recipients on 2010 gubernatorial campaign email accounts. Instead they were directed to a computer account controlled by Estrada. The sentencing comes as Martinez, a Republican, is running for re-election against Democratic challenger and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King.
A Navajo presidential candidate will be back in court today to find out whether he can continue on the campaign trail. Richie Nez of the tribe's Office of Hearings and Appeals is expected to rule in a case challenging Chris Deschene's (des-CHEE'-nee) ability to speak Navajo. Tribal law requires that presidential hopefuls speak fluent Navajo and understand the language said to have been handed down by deities. Deschene has made learning Navajo a focus of his campaign. But his critics want him disqualified, saying he lied when he attested to speaking the language fluently. Deschene submitted to a deposition in Navajo earlier this week but declined to take a fluency test designed by the tribe's education department. The hearing comes less than a month before the Nov. 4 general election.
Taos Ski Valley plans to open its season on Thanksgiving Day, November 27th. The ski says it expects to initially operate on a limited schedule, with lifts open Thursdays through Sundays. Seven-day-a-week operations are scheduled to start on December 11th New this season will be a chairlift to provide skiers with access to Kachina Peak at about 12,450 feet. Also opening is new hike-to terrain that will provide 35 acres of tree skiing that can be reached from the West Basin Ridge. The ski area, which is about 19 miles from the community of Taos, also is renovating its base area and will have a new location where skiers are dropped off from parking lot shuttles.
Those who rely on bicycles for transportation needs in Santa Fe—or those who want to— are invited to a bicycle commuter gathering tomorrow from five until eight-pm at the Railyard. The gathering is sponsored by the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization. MPO Planner Erick Aune says there are a couple of major reasons why more Santa Feans don’t use bicycles to get around *****100914-Aune-3A :35***** Aune says attendees at tomorrow’s meeting will include those who are seeking to establish a bicycle-commuter movement in Santa Fe and have expanding bike-to-work week beyond an event as one of their goals.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy today with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely this afternoon, today’s high, 69. Tonight: Cloudy with showers likely and the overnight low, 47. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms and the high, 64. There’s a 60-percent chance for precipitation today and tonight, it’s at 40-percent tomorrow.