The Albuquerque Tribune (Albuquerque, NM) articles from February 1999

The Albuquerque Tribune (Albuquerque, NM) archives from February 1999

Megan's Law closer to Johnson.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Kate Nash TRIBUNE REPORTER Legislature 1999 SANTA FE Convicted sex offenders would have fewer places to live and the public would know more about them under two measures overwhelmingly passed by the House. The House on...

Options on where our kids learn.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos TRIBUNE REPORTER Voucher debate stretches nationwide across all social and economic classes SANTA FE Private school Principal Humaira Bokhari will not get sucked into a debate about school vouchers. Nor will...

BIA's Gover shoulders responsibility.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Rachel Smolkin SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON Kevin Gover, who heads the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said he accepts responsibility for a judge's decision to hold two Cabinet secretaries and himself in contempt of court. ...

State high court tosses DWI testimony.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports LOCAL/REGIONAL ROUNDUP SANTA FE It's unclear what impact a state Supreme Court decision throwing out a police officer's testimony about a field sobriety test will have on DWI law. The court, in...

GOP vouches for 'student alternatives' bill.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos TRIBUNE REPORTER SANTA FE Senate Republicans gleefully slapped the word "voucher" on a Democrat-backed "student alternatives" bill, and then helped pass it on to the House. The Senate voted 35-3 Friday to...

Hate-crimes legislation again goes to Johnson.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Steve Rabourn TRIBUNE REPORTER SANTA FE It's now up to Gov. Gary Johnson to decide if New Mexico will have a law that would recognize crimes motivated by hostility toward certain groups of people. The House passed SB 16,...

Senate OKs electric deregulation.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Tim Archuleta TRIBUNE POLITICAL EDITOR SANTA FE For now, Sens. Michael Sanchez and Bill Payne can stop worrying about their electric bill. The Senate approved the duo's electric-deregulation legislation by a large margin,...

House passes billon ignition interlocks.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP SANTA FE Some convicted drunken drivers could have to blow into breath-testing devices in order to start their engines, if a bill passed by the House becomes law. The House voted...

Wilson, colleagues talk re-election.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Jessica Wehrman TRIBUNE REPORTER WASHINGTON Four months after winning her first full term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Heather Wilson finds herself thinking about her next run for Congress. Wilson, a Republican...

House passes 'red or green' as official state question.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SANTA FE New Mexico has a state flower, bird, tree, fish, animal, gem, grass, fossil, cookie, insect and two vegetables. Now the House proposes an official state question: "Red or green?" It refers,...

Lobos anxious for extreme road test at Utah.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Edgar Thompson TRIBUNE REPORTER One way for the Lobos to show they're an NCAA Tournament team is to actually beat a tournament-caliber opponent on the road before March. So, with one game left in the regular season, a visit...

Lobos' warrior point guard ready to rumble.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Michael J. Garcia TRIBUNE REPORTER Nikki Heckroth prepares for a basketball game as if she were getting ready for a rumble. Once the buzzer sounds, she comes out swinging. And if you ask Lobo coach Don Flanagan, Heckroth...

State-bound.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Brian Davis TRIBUNE REPORTER Girls team makes history for 2-year-old high school and could make more tonight in district-title game RIO RANCHO Maybe it was nerves or the pressure of playing in the District 5AAAA tournament...

Come-from-behind Scorpions still in the playoff hunt.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Rick A. Maese TRIBUNE REPORTER After a pair of huge come-from-behind wins, the New Mexico Scorpions are traveling like champions. Unfortunately for the Scorps, the reality is they sit in last-place in the Western Division...

UPDATE.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports AT A GLANCE Lobo baseball team loses to BYU: Brigham Young scored three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 13-13 tie as the Cougars outlasted the University of New Mexico baseball...

St. Pius X rains on drought with district win.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: James Barron TRIBUNE REPORTER The last date on the St. Pius X boys basketball banner described the dormant state of Sartan hoops: 1985. That was the last time St. Pius X won a district title, and also the last time it had advanced...

Vivian ready to roll up wrestling mat for good.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: HIGH SCHOOL SCENE By Brian Davis After 35 years in the business, wrestling coach Joe Vivian has racked up lots of memories and several state championships. But Vivian still considers his first to be his best. "One of the...

Romero's boxing odyssey could take him to Idaho.(Sports)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Rick A. Maese TRIBUNE REPORTER From the neon lights of Atlantic City, N.J., to the potato fields of Idaho? That could be the next stage in the career of Albuquerque boxer Danny Romero Jr. In his first fight since losing...

5 Republicans show they have a heart and vote with it.(Insight and Opinion)
February 27, 1999... Byline: Kate Nelson SANTA FE Just when you think national Republicans might shake off their hard-hearted attitude, New Mexico Republicans decide to indulge that very persuasion. During a House debate this week over "Education Works"...

CRIME STOPPERS.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports Local/Regional Roundup Fugitive of the week: Kelly Mirabal, 35, is wanted on parole and probation violations and a charge of forgery, police say. Mirabal is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and...

AT A GLANCE.
February 27, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports LOCAL/REGIONAL ROUNDUP Albertson's moving: Albertson's Inc., which has stores in New Mexico, said Friday it will move its corporate-pharmacy headquarters to Scottsdale, Ariz., from Boise, Idaho. The new...

CORRECTIONS.
February 27, 1999... A headline on a brief in Friday's evening edition should have said that a Texas teen-ager was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a Portales merchant. See story 02/26/99 Pg. A2 "TEXAS TEEN SENTENCED IN MERCHANT'S DEATH"

Johnson's office criticizes Rep. Miera.(Local News)
February 27, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP Gov. Gary Johnson's office has taken House Education Committee Chairman Rick Miera to task for calling him a no-show at a committee hearing on school vouchers. The Republican...

Consolidation of city, county has supportof key leaders.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos and Frank Zoretich TRIBUNE REPORTERS The state Legislature and, ultimately, the voters may be asked to approve a proposed merger of the Albuquerque city and Bernalillo County governments. Mayor Jim Baca said...

House wants to switch over to Central time.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Tim Archuleta TRIBUNE POLITICAL EDITOR SANTA FE The time-honored phrase "Spring forward, fall back" could become meaningless to New Mexicans, and their clocks. By a single vote, House members approved a memorial, or...

Making the midnight special.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Trilby Davis and Lisa Bornstein TRIBUNE REPORTERS From near and far, musicians gather to celebrate local legends, railroad hobos, older women and, most of all, the art of folk music It was clear this would be a different kind...

Tense families hear of the terror, trend of gang rape.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Andy Lenderman TRIBUNE REPORTER Gang rapes do happen. There's a teen girl somewhere in Albuquerque who knows from experience, her father says. "It changed her. She's not a 15-year-old anymore," said the father, who asked...

Bill doubles penalty for deadly drunken drivers.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Deborah Baker The Associated Press SANTA FE The House voted to double the prison time for drivers who kill while drunk or drugged. The measure has been sought for several years by Nadine Milford the activist whose daughter...

New Mexico ranks sixth nationally in per capita gun deaths.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Scott Sonner The Associated Press New Mexico has the sixth-highest firearm fatality rate in the nation, an anti-gun group said in a new report. Louisiana ranks No. 1 on the list, which is dominated at the top by largely rural...

Police ID man killed on Gibson Boulevard.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... IN BRIEF Police have identified a man shot to death in a traffic incident as Manuel Montano, 45. Montano was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident that began about 9:30 a.m. Thursday in the west lanes of Gibson Boulevard at...

Longtime sport show promoter sells sizzle.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Ollie Reed Jr. TRIBUNE REPORTER Frank Crosby remembers the year movie-Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller's hair-raising apeman yell had people stampeding to the New Mexico Sport Show like elephants in a jungle flick. And then there...

Johnson will take voucher campaign to public.(Legislature)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Barry Massey The Associated Press Legislature '99 The Republican governor hopes to elicit people's support for his agenda. SANTA FE Gov. Gary Johnson plans to step up his lobbying campaign for taxpayer-financed school...

Bill prohibiting smoking bans is stamped out.(Legislature)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Kate Nash TRIBUNE REPORTER Legislature '99 SANTA FE Senators narrowly rejected a bill that would have prohibited New Mexico cities from banning smoking in restaurants and businesses. The bill failed by one vote during a...

A visit to the Roundhouse.(Legislature)
February 26, 1999... Legislature '99 CAPTION(S): PHOTO CAPTION PHOTO: b/w PHOTO BY: Sarah Martone/The Associated Press Friends (from left) Rachel Prewitt, 11; Andrea Chavez, 10; and Stefanie Bolivar, 11, check out a painting titled "Plaza...

Bill would put gun locks, warnings in dealers' shops.(Legislature)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Steve Rabourn TRIBUNE REPORTER Legislature '99 SANTA FE "So shoot me, then," he said. And then a friend of 16-year-old Jason Woods' did just that, with her parents' sawed-off shotgun. Last August, an evening of...

Governor isn't sure he likes any of the deregulation bills.(Legislature)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Tim Archuleta TRIBUNE POLITICAL EDITOR Legislature '99 Johnson said his staff is warninghim that true telephone competition would not result. SANTA FE Gov. Gary Johnson says he is concerned that the telecommunications...

Technical problems cause launch scrub.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE / REGIONAL ROUNDUP FORT WINGATE Unspecified technical problems caused the Army today to scrub its launch again of a missile used as a target for testing the latest model of the Patriot interceptor...

Hot-streak Lobos hit stride at BYU, clinch 2-spot on way to Utah.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Edgar Thompson TRIBUNE REPORTER PROVO, Utah Sometimes, settling for second best just has to do. These days, second place suits the 21st-ranked Lobos just fine. Things, after all, could be a lot worse. Just three weeks...

Women of steal.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Michael J. Garcia TRIBUNE REPORTER Lobos' impressive defense shuts down BYU, sets up showdown with Utah For the Lobos, this game wasn't as much about X's and O's as it was about D's. Determination. Doggedness. Defense....

Eagles shred Cougars on the way to Rio Rancho.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Brian Davis TRIBUNE REPORTER Cibola's Monique Hernandez may go down as one of the greatest players never to reach a girls state basketball tournament. Eldorado made certain of that and in the process, got one step closer to a...

Scorpions skate harder under interim coach.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Rick A. Maese TRIBUNE REPORTER Before his first game as head coach, Mark Ciaccio strolled across the ice and found a welcome-aboard present awaiting him on the New Mexico Scorpions' bench. So that their new coach might better...

Saturday promises to be Thanksgiving with all the trimmings.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Richard Stevens The gleam in Don Flanagan's eyes when he talks about Saturday's Pit war between his New Mexico Lobos and the Utah Utes dissects the Lobo coach into at least two parts. There is the combative coach ready,...

Thomas putting exclamation point on Lobo career.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Edgar Thompson TRIBUNE REPORTER PROVO, Utah Time may be running out on Kenny Thomas, but he's making the most of his final days as a Lobo. Teammates and statistics both say Thomas is playing the best basketball of his career...

Aggies' Henson notches No. 700.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Pete Herrera THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS CRUCES Lou Henson's 700th career win didn't come any easier than his first. The 67-year-old Henson, who lost his first three games in his college coaching debut at Hardin-Simmons in 1962,...

Trib, sportswriters receive honors.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports UPDATE For the sixth time in eight years, The Albuquerque Tribune rates among the nation's top 10 sports sections in its circulation class. The Tribune was honored in contest judging announced this...

Softball team defies projections to go 17-1.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: LOBO SCENE By Michael J. Garcia TRIBUNE REPORTER The University of New Mexico softball team continues to prove its naysayers wrong. Picked to tie for last place in the Western Athletic Conference, UNM is off to a...

Santa Ana Hyatt resort now a done deal.(Business)
February 26, 1999... Byline: STAFF REPORT Albuquerque's efforts to attract tourists and conventions may get a boost when the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort opens in 2001. Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels and Santa Ana Pueblo announced...

Simon Property acquires 14 malls in New England.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports WORLD & NATION Simon Property Group Inc., the largest shopping-mall owner in the United States and owner of Cottonwood Mall, said it has agreed to buy 14 malls from New England Development Co. for...

Women in the Roundhouse.(Insight and Opinion)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Kate Nelson There's a new era of power in Santa Fe as women take big strides. But the road ahead remains long. SANTA FE Seeking shelter in a tempest of a building, Danice Picraux aims to flee the Roundhouse's third floor for...

182 New Mexicans donate to Clinton defense.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Richard Benke The Associated Press Ben Alexander doesn't regret the $1,000 contribution he made to President Clinton's legal-defense fund last year, but he's disappointed in Clinton. "He doesn't measure up to my standards,"...

A year of Insight & Opinion.(Insight and Opinion)
February 26, 1999... These complete the listings, begun Thursday,of cover pieces written by our non-staff contributors during Insight & Opinion's first year. The biographies are taken from the articles at the date of publication and refer to the writers' status...

The art of yo.(The Arts & Entertainment)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Portraits by KayLynn Deveney Story by T.D. Mobley-Martinez of the TRIBUNE Albuquerque playground dwellers have discovered the fun, the sport and the obsession of spinning gravity on a string An unseasonably warm February day...

'Affliction' falls short, characters notwithstanding.(The Arts & Entertainment)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Lisa Bornstein TRIBUNE A & E EDITOR From the first images that crawl across the screen, it's clear this is another film adaptation of a Russell Banks novel. You scrunch a little closer in your seat, pull your coat a little...

Duo shares love for music, writing, each other.(The Arts & Entertainment)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Trilby Davis TRIBUNE REPORTER Pete and Maura Kennedy traveled 500 miles each for their first date at Buddy Holly's grave. Enjoying a rare day off from performing with Austin's Delta Rays, Maura first heard Pete perform in...

Support is sought for city-county consolidation.
February 26, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos TRIBUNE REPORTER SANTA FE A possible deal that would lead to the merging of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County into one government still needs the OK from the Legislature and voters. Mayor Jim Baca said city...

Open houses to focus on Big-I reconstruction.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff reports IN BRIEF The public is invited to two open houses that will focus on plans for moving traffic through the Big-I during reconstruction, which is scheduled to begin early next year and last through 2002. The...

West Side credit union site of city's 3rd holdup.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff reports IN BRIEF A robber calmly told a bank teller to "wait 15 minutes or die" after fleeing a West Side credit union in the city's third bank robbery of the year. The incident occurred at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at...

AT A GLANCE.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff reports IN BRIEF APD promotions: Officer Luis Santiago was to be promoted to the rank of sergeant in a ceremony today at police headquarters Downtown, Albuquerque Police Chief Gerald Galvin announced.

AT A GLANCE.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff reports IN BRIEF DWI crackdown: Drunken drivers and traffic-law violators will be targeted Friday nights in March by deputies with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, the department announced. The crackdowns...

AT A GLANCE.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff reports IN BRIEF Carlisle/I-40 rebuild: Construction crews have completed demolition of the west side of the Carlisle Boulevard bridge over I-40 a day ahead of schedule. As a result, the complete overnight closure of...

CORRECTIONS.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... * A House bill requiring insurance companies to provide the state with the names of those whose liability insurance was terminated does not include extra spending or staff for the Motor Vehicle Division. A Page One story Wednesday was...

CORRECTIONS.(Local News)
February 26, 1999... * A story in Thursday's ABQ Biz section should have said the Pavilions shopping center is at I-40 and San Mateo Boulevard. See story 02/25/99 Pg. B4 "ITALIAN ICE CREAM STORE TO OPEN IN PAVILIONS IN APRIL"

Water officials seek reversal of order.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE /REGIONAL ROUNDUP SANTA FE State water officials are asking a judge to reconsider an order that would probably require more water to be released down the Rio Grande to sustain an endangered fish....

Girl pleads guilty in teen's killing.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE / REGIONAL ROUNDUP CLOVIS A 15-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to being an accessory to aggravated battery in the death of a 13-year-old girl last year. State District Judge Stephen Quinn...

Texas teen sentenced in merchant's death.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE / REGIONAL ROUNDUP PORTALES A Texas teen-ager has been sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a merchant who was shot to death at a marketplace on the Texas-New Mexico border. Everett...

AT A GLANCE.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE / REGIONAL ROUNDUP Doo line: Beginning next week, Santa Fe crews will begin installing dispensers with biodegradable poop scoopers on popular dog-walking parks and trails. City officials hope the...

AT A GLANCE.
February 26, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press STATE / REGIONAL ROUNDUP Mexico levies cover charge: Mexico plans to charge tourists traveling to the interior of the country a $15 entry fee beginning July 1, a move critics say could reduce tourism....

AT A GLANCE.(Sports)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports Albuquerque bowler is 24th: Bowler Mike Miller of Albuquerque finished 24th at the PBA National Championship in Toledo, Ohio. Miller scored 8,486 pins and went 2-5-1 in match play.

New bank expands to Rio Rancho, Jefferson corridor.(Business)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports New Mexico Bank and Trust has broken ground on its first Rio Rancho branch, 4001 Southern Blvd. S.E. It's one of several location changes and expansions the community bank plans to make this year. ...

Advanced Optics files another light-valve patent.(Business)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports Advanced Optics Electronics Inc. has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent Office for an electro-optic light-valve array. The Albuquerque company, which develops electronic display technology, expects to...

MFA spurs Habitat programs with $1.7 million.(Business)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority will invest an additional $1.7 million in Habitat for Humanity New Mexico, raising MFA's total investment to $2.7 million. The investment allows Habitat affiliates...

DOE, SBA join to help small oil producers in downturn.(Business)
February 26, 1999... Byline: Staff and wire reports Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Aida Alvarez, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, have created the Domestic Crude Oil Producers Workgroup, a collaborative project of the U.S....

House gets bill to abolish executions.
February 25, 1999... Byline: Kate Nash TRIBUNE REPORTER Committee approves repeal of death penalty on 6-5 vote after emotional debate on both sides.SANTA FE A bill to repeal the state's death penalty narrowly escaped a committee hearing and is headed to the...

Gang rape of girls mobilizes task force.
February 25, 1999... Byline: Gutierrez Krueger TRIBUNE REPORTER Top law-enforcement officials joined forces today against gang members who are preying on girls in a string of gang rapes across the Albuquerque area. "There's no punishment that's good...

House backs school plan for welfare.
February 25, 1999... Byline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SANTA FE The state House has endorsed a $2 million education program for welfare recipients over the objections of Republicans who said it would extend the time the recipients could get cash assistance. ...

Support-beam struggle delays work, stalls I-40.(Local News)
February 25, 1999... IN BRIEF Traffic on westbound I-40 backed up for a short time this morning as construction crews struggled to remove the final support beam in the section of the Carlisle Boulevard bridge scheduled for demolition overnight. "The...

Albuquerque Downs plans slots by June.(Local News)
February 25, 1999... Byline: Ollie Reed Jr. TRIBUNE REPORTER The Downs at Albuquerque plans to have its slot-machine operation off and running by June even though it has yet to apply for its gaming license. "We plan to be filing within the next 15 to 20...

Students describe their science projects.(Local News)
February 25, 1999... CAPTION(S): PHOTO CAPTION PHOTO: b/w PHOTO BY: Michael J. Gallegos/Tribune Third-grader Julie Timmis, 8, thinks before answering a question from retired educator Catherine Loughlin about Timmis' science project, "What Is...

Air Force plan to cut jobs could affect Kirtland labs.(Local News)
February 25, 1999... Byline: Lawrence Spohn TRIBUNE REPORTER Two Air Force Research Laboratory divisions in Albuquerque are bracing for possible job cuts this fall as the Air Force prepares to slash its long-treasured research budget. "The chances are,...

Committee endorses lottery system for school transfers.(Legislature)
February 25, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos and Kate Nash TRIBUNE REPORTER Legislature '99 SANTA FE Some parents who are skeptical of the way kids are chosen for school transfers might have their concerns alleviated under proposed changes to the...

Senate expert suggests killing all deregulation bills.(Legislature)
February 25, 1999... Byline: Tim Archuleta TRIBUNE POLITICAL EDITOR Legislature '99 SANTA FE Frustration, brinksmanship and hatred have consumed the Legislature's efforts to deregulate the state's telecommunications industry. Sen. Michael Sanchez,...

How does it do that?(Legislature)
February 25, 1999... Legislature '99 CAPTION(S): PHOTO CAPTION PHOTO: b/w PHOTO BY: Sarah Martone/The Associated Press Nickolas Gordon, 6, plays with the "Bernoulli Blower," an exhibit at the Capitol Rotunda in Santa Fe that shows how air...

House passes measure on animal cruelty.(Legislature)
February 25, 1999... Byline: The Associated Press Legislature '99 SANTA FE The House has voted to stiffen the penalties for cruelty to animals. Opponents objected that the legislation approved Wednesday was too broad and could get innocent animal...

Alternative voucher plan supported.(Legislature)
February 25, 1999... Byline: Gilbert Gallegos TRIBUNE REPORTER Legislature '99 SANTA FE Sen. Richard Romero is continuing his assault on the education establishment, which he used to be a part of, as he lobbies for an "alternative" way to keep kids from...