Albuquerque Journal du lieu suivant : Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 27

I tj, Albuquerque journal AIDS FUNDING $50,000 for AIDS approved in special session Section 1 C3 JIM BELSHAW Sfadlys APD Overtime Abesed Metros New Mexico i Overrun Hits $1.5 Million Trimming the fat Councilor suggests ways to keep school, safety programs C2 IS' Qf the Journal A majority of the overtime costs can be attributed to tactical plans, he told councilors. Tactical plans, such as the Safe Streets program, use additional staff to target specific problems, such as speeding or burglary. APD racked up about $550,000 in tactical-plan overtime costs during the first three months of the current fiscal year, he said. The department cut some of the programs in the second quarter and reduced tactical-plan overtime costs to about $180,000. By the third quarter, Padilla said, it dropped to $75,000.

Padilla said it's possible that there were some abuses of the tactical-plan overtime but didn't give any details. See STUDY on PAGE C2 where APD could cut costs, he said. "We've got some issues to address, and we've identified some areas of concern. We need to tighten our belt," Padilla said. Padilla and department heads from the Fire Department, Bernalillo County Detention Center, Public Works and the Office of Economic Development gave councilors presentations on their proposed budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Thursday's meeting the second in a series of three hearings dealing with Mayor Jim Baca's proposed $294 million general fund budget focused on public safety issues and economic development. Public safety, including APD, accounts for nearly 43 percent of the proposed general fund budget. A majority of Thursday's Single Digit Measurement meeting was devoted to APD, which has a proposed fiscal 1999 operating budget of about $76.4 million, around $300,000 less than its current budget. APD has been under fire recently for busting its overtime budget. Padilla estimates the department will end the fiscal year June 30 with a $1.5 million overrun in overtime costs.

"It actually could've been a lot worse," he said. By Sherri Chunn Journal Staff Writer A study of the Albuquerque Police Department's hefty overtime costs found some internal problems and abuses, Acting Chief Chris Padilla told the City Council Thursday. Padilla asked APD's internal auditing division to look into overtime costs in mid-March. The audit revealed some areas crime statistic, a single digit 1 sits on the page inert and passive, another dry number among all the others. But let it come up PREACHER SON: Franklin Graham delivers his message to a crowd of more than 14,000 people at the Pit on Catholics Playing Role in Festival With the archbishop 's blessing, Roman Catholic parishioners are joining fellow Christians to hear the Grahams preach JAKE SCHOELLKOPF FOR THE JOURNAt in ponversation with certain people Trumbull neighborhood anti-drug marchers, landlords who screen tenants and evict drug dealers, cops who patrol the, streets and the number elicits an interesting response.

People knock on wood when they say it. And if no wood is available, they knock on Formica or metal filing cabinets or plaster walls or anything that might help the luck to hold. It's as if somebody applied the Sports Illustrated cover jinx to the homicide game. In 1996, 63 homicides were reported in Albuquerque; 34 in the Southeast area; 11 in the Trumbull neighborhood. In 1997, 55 homicides were reported in the city; 18 in the Southeast; eight in Trumbull.

So far in 1998, there have been nine homicides in the city; three in the Southeast; one in Trumbull. Cautious optimism "I've never seen anything this dramatic," said APD Capt. Nick Bakas, Southeast Area commander. "In 25 years of law enforcement, I've never seen anything like it. I say it with cautious optimism, because this is an inexact science.

Who knows how 4' By Paul Logan Journal Staff Writer About a half dozen Catholic churches are "quite heavily involved" in this week's Albuquerque crusade with Billy and Franklin Graham, an Archdiocese of Santa Fe official said. The Rev. Ernest Falardeau, who attended New Mexico Festival '98 Thursday night at the Pit, said many Roman Catholics in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are active in the five-night festival in such jobs as choir singers and I 'It 1 ushers. Falardeau has represented Archbishop Michael Sheehan during the months leading up to the festival, which began Wednesday. He is director of the archdiocese's office of ecumenical and interreligious affairs.

He said Sheehan mm, iltllUMi i human behavior will change? But I'm delighted this community has come together. They're dictating the character of this neighborhood." The Trumbull neighborhood in the Southeast Heights, along with La Mesa, its sister neighborhood on the north side of Central, is known as the "War Zone," a label that raises the hackles of those who live there and have worked so hard to change the neighborhoods' image. Two years ago, drugs were dealt openly day and night, so much so that a newspaper reporter once drove through Trumbull and saw a homemade sign scrawled on a cardboard box, the kind you might see advertising a yard sale around town. The sign said: "Crack For Sale," and gave an address. The reporter went to the address.

The crack salesmen stood at the curb, waiting on drive-up customers. "What changed?" asked landlord organizer Liz Thomson. "Lots of things all kinds of agencies, the police, the people who live in the neighborhoods, the antidrug marchers, the landlord groups, crime-free housing, the traffic diverters all that stuff. What amazes me is the spirit of these places and the people who live, there. They have this tremendous spirit.

It's astounding what they've done. You can drive down streets that, frankly, used to be scary and you don't see anything now. When I talk to people out in the community, they don't believe it. They don't want to believe it." 'They have power' When Pat and Pia Herring bought the Los Arcos Apartments in 1996, beer bottles and garbage littered the parking lot; drug dealers lounged in front of apartment doors, waiting for customers to pull in off the street and into the apartment's parking lot. The Herrings knew they had a problem but didn't realize the extent of it until the day they saw children acting as lookouts, keeping an eye peeled for cops.

Pat began to confront the dealers. Then he evicted them. He and his wife JAKE SCHOELLKOPFFOR THE JOURNAL CATHOLIC REPRESENTATIVE: The Rev. Ernest Falardeau, right, claps to the music as Christian pop star Michael W. Smith performs at Thursday night's festival at the Pit.

With Falardeau, representing the Archdiocese of Santa Fe at the event, is Daniel Mlschler, a friend from Switzerland. sent letters to Albuquerque area churches after Billy Graham was added to the festival in January, encouraging pastors to let their members know they were free to come to the festival. "I'm really impressed," said Falardeau of his first crusade. "It's a wonderful turnout. I looked down an aisle and saw a couple of people from my parish (St.

Charles). "People come here not just for the entertainment but for religious input and participation. Also, for some soul-searching." In the background, as Falardeau spoke, the audience of 14,200 cut loose with roars and applause for Michael W. Smith, a Christian pop star, a two-time Grammy award winner and the night's featured singer. Billy Graham had been expected to be among the special guests on stage, but he didn't feel well after dinner and decided TODAY Youth night at 5 p.m., south of the Pit next to the baseball and Softball fields, will include free food and games for students, grades seven through 12, and an appearance by youth evangelist David Nasser and entertainer Steven Curtis Chapman.

The festival will begin at 7 p.m., featuring Franklin Graham with entertainers Chapman and Brent Smith. adopted a more ecumenical spirit as the result of Pope John XXIII's second Vatican Council in the 1960s, which Falardeau called a "watershed" event. He said the archbishop supports the Grahams' efforts because the festival represents basic religious values in a secularized world. He said evangelical Christians and Catholics share common ground on moral issues, such as respect See CATHOLICS on PAGE C2 to stay in his hotel. A festival spokesman said Graham's illness wasn't serious.

Franklin Graham's preaching theme was "Do you have a right standing before Almighty God?" About 560 people came to the floor and accepted Christ as their savior. In 1956, when Falardeau became a priest, he said the church wasn't ecumenical. And Billy Graham has admitted he wasn't into Christian unity as he is today. But the Catholic Church Students Relax Before Gavel Opens Mock Trials High School aw a.s Aaska I The Guam team flew I mt0 Albuquerque I mim Sunday and has been taking in the sights before today's first iMinrl jr I While students are jfy eager to begin com-wjymm petition, they found nlentv of time to itfmnii Trials schedule WHEN: Today and Saturday WHERE: U.S. District Court, 2nd judicial District Court, Albuquerque TIME: First and second round, 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

today. Third, fourth and championship rounds, 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m. Saturday IP 'I' I' I National refurbished the apartment building. Anyone who knew it two years ago would hardly recognize it today. "We still have a problem with landlords who insist on putting criminals in their units," he said.

"We need to address that. What we're doing is getting the word out that we just won't stand for landlords renting to criminals and becoming drug dealers by default. The effort here has been enormously successful. We have so much more to do, but I think people here are looking forward to the challenge." So they knock on wood or whatever is handy, afraid to jinx the good luck, though luck had little to do with what has happened in the neighborhood. "People got involved," anti-drug march organizer Don Gould said.

"Rather than letting the problem slide, they decided to take it on. It's as simple as that. We have people who were hiding behind locked doors who are now very active about reporting things they see on the streets. They're active because they've seen success. They understand they have, power, they can do things." unwind Thursday.

Two students from Championships By Barbara Chavez Journal Staff Writer More than 400 students got rid of their pretrial jitters by throwing Frisbees, tossing down sodas and munching on nachos Thursday at the 15th Annual National High School Mock Trial championship in Albuquerque. It was the first day of the three-day event, but the courtrooms of the 2nd Judicial District Court and U.S. District Court where the trials will be held today and Saturday were empty. Thursday's action was at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque hotel Downtown. An event organizer joked about the opening reception, saying, "This is the last time these teams will be friendly to each other." Starting today, 42 high school teams from 41 states will be vying for the chance to win the title of the best mock trial team in the country.

Fierce competition is expected from the first round through the finals Saturday. The finals will begin at 4:15 p.m. in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James A. Parker.

Teams representing New Mexico are from Albuquerque Academy and Santa Fe Capital. Other teams have come from as 05 Kauai High School in Hawaii entertained guests and visitors in the Hyatt hotel lobby with an impromptu jazz duet on the lobby piano. "Hey, we had a four-hour layover in Los Angeles and we're all kind of nervous about (Friday), so we decided to play a little," said Max Matthews, a sophomore at Kauai. "If there had been a piano at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), we would have played there," said Aaron Wilson, a junior and student of classical piano in Hawaii. Their team's attorney-coach said if the See STUDENTS on PAGE C2 AARON WILSONJOURNAL PRETRIAL PLAY: Mock trial team members Aaron Wilson, left, and Max Matthews, of Kauai High School In Hawaii, relax with some piano time Thursday In the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque.

The National Mock Trial Championship competition starts today. Write to Jim Belshaw at The Albuquerque Journal, P.O. Drawer Albuquerque, NM 87103; e-mail JbalshaweabqJoumal.com; telephone.