Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 1

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNA 108th Year No. 348 48 Pages In 4 Sections Tuesday Morning, December 13, 1988 Copyright 1988, Journal Publishing Co. Daily 350 Sunday $1 4 i 1 v- Tax Hike Legality Questioned City Urged To Wait For Court Challenge 4 Carmtliers Feels Heat On Budget 'Poor Stewardship' Blamed for Shortfalls By Bill Feather THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SANTA FE Gov. Garrey Car-ruthers' administration came under fire from legislators Monday after state finance officials said $30 million or more of this year's anticipated $62.6 million surplus may be needed to cover budget deficiencies occurring before June 30. State Finance Secretary Willard Lewis told the Legislative Finance Committee that New Mexico's revenue situation has improved slightly over the past two months about $4 million more than was projected in early October.

But Lewis said that supplemental or deficiency appropriations may be required "to maintain current service levels for Medicaid, corrections and public schools." One lawmaker criticized the administration's "extremely bad stewardship." The governor said later Monday that if the Legislature rejects the request for supplemental MORE: See CARRUTHERS on PAGE A3 By Jim Martin JOURNAL STAFF WRITER 7. vv; 4 nN GREG SORBER JOURNAL A Christmas Trick Six-year-old Jessie Campos was fair game for Nipsy projects throughout Albuquerque attended the party, the clown's trick during the mayor's annual Christ- While Nipsy's box promised to reveal a live turkey, mas Party for youngsters and senior citizens Jessie peeked inside to find a mirror instead. Story Monday. About 400 children from public housing on D1. Albuquerque police and firefighters' attempts to force a public vote on raising the city's sales tax probably violate state law, City Attorney Jim Foley said in a written opinion Monday.

In the wake of Foley's opinion, Councilor Pat Baca is urging the City Council not to schedule a tax election, but wait for the police and fire unions to take the issue to court. The unions are proposing a quarter-cent sales tax increase to give their members a 30 percent pay boost, which they call a "market adjustment," and to add manpower and buy new equipment. They submitted enough signatures last month to comply with the City Charter's provision for initiating a public vote by petition. According to the charter, the City Council must approve the unions' proposed tax ordinance or schedule an election that would probably be held March 21. However, the charter runs afoul of the state's Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Act, Foley said in the opinion requested by Baca.

The state law only allows cities to raise the sales tax by an ordinance adopted by the governing body, which in Albuquerque's case would be the City Council, Foley's opinion said. "No mention is made of imposing such a tax by initiative," says the opinion signed by Foley and researched by Assistant City Attorney Pat McDonald. The state law would probably apply even though Albuquerque is a home rule city, the opinion says. The state Supreme Court ruled in a 1969 case that "municipal governments may tax only insofar as the state permits," according to the opinion. Albuquerque was granted home rule status, which exempts it from following some state laws, since that DA To Review Facts in Overtime Probe By Art Geiselman JOURNAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER trative officer, said his separate investigation found clear evidence of mismanagement on the part of his agency and the Sheriff's Department, but no evidence of criminal misconduct.

He said, however, the Forest Service won't reimburse the county for as much as $9,000 of the overtime claims. Stover said he turned the results of the three-week investigation over to Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Schwartz last Thursday. Schwartz, who has been elected district attorney MORE: See DA on PAGE A3 "I'll leave it up to the DA to see what he thinks," Stover said. Sheriff Alvin Campbell ordered the probe last month after it was disclosed that at least 37 deputies put in for nearly $20,000 in overtime for patrols in the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest last July, August and September. Under a cooperative agreement, the Forest Service was to reimburse the county at $16 an hour for forest duty overtime, but withheld some payments after it was disclosed that many of the claims lacked documentation required under the contract.

In an interview Friday, Ken Knarr, forest adminis Results of an internal investigation into overtime claims filed by Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies for patrols on Forest Service land have been turned over to the District Attorney's Office. Undersheriff Bob Stover said Monday the internal probe found problems of mismanagement in the handling of the claims and possible violations involving falsification of records. The District Attorney's Office will review the investigation for possible criminal misconduct. MORE: See TAX on PAGE A3 Siffiial Fault Skeleton Might Be Nurse's Jt Nit 'J SusDected Officials Seek Dental Identification By Arley Sanchez 1 And Ed Pierce I 4 'J JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS In Collision Of Trains tV i I A preliminary check showed that the skeleton found Dec. 4 has its four wisdom teeth missing, as is true of Lansdell, Flores said.

In addition, the general physical descriptions of the skeleton and Lansdell match, as well as the time of death, Flores said. Bow hunters found the partially buried skeleton near Sandia Crest on Dec. 4. An anthropologist from the Office of the Medical Investigator reported earlier that the skeleton was that of a woman in her early 30s and had been dead between two and four years, said Bernalillo County sheriff's spokeswoman Ronni Crago. The skeleton was that of a woman MORE: See DETECTIVES on PAGE A8 LOS LUNAS A preliminary dental comparison indicates that a skeleton found recently in the Sandia Mountains may be that of Debra Lee Lansdell, a Belen nurse who disappeared three years ago, Valencia County Sheriffs Detective Ray Flores said Monday.

Flores said a Bernalillo County sheriff's detective would pick up Lansdell's dental records from him today to make a more detailed comparison. The Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque will do the work, he said. "This is the closest we've gotten (to solving the case)," Flores said. ft Debra Lansdell Disappeared 3 years ago State Shares Capitol's Worry KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS LONDON At least 36 commuters died Monday morning when three rush-hour trains collided near the country's busiest junction. British officials suspect a signal failure in an area where the 50-year-old system is being replaced.

The 6:14 express from Poole, England, crashed at about 50 mph into the rear of the stopped 7:18 from Basingstoke. An empty train traveling in the opposite direction plowed into the wreckage, twisting and trapping the lead cars of the express. "Sheer bloody hell, that's what it is," said Jim McMillan, the fire chief leading the rescue effort near Clapham Junction. Blow torches blazed into the night to pry apart the wreckage and reach trapped bodies. Two battered cars lay on their sides as rescuers passed briefcases up the embankment.

The crushed passenger sections barely resembled a train. Ripped and torn, they resembled a mobile home ripped apart by a tornado. The last of the living were freed MORE: See COLLISION on PAGE A8 lit Asbestos Problem Plagues 396 Other N.M. Owned Buildings 4 By Jackie Jadrnak 1 fy i 1 I against the proposed changes at the Capitol. "I think the state Capitol is pretty important.

People want to visit it," said Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon, D-Bernalillo, adding that public perception might be unfavorable. "It still seems we're taking care of ourselves first." The Capitol asbestos removal may be proposed as part of a total MORE: See HOST on PAGE A5 Zis the potentially dangerous substance from the 26 buildings highest on the priority list, including some that house developmentally disabled, psychiatric and nursing home patients. Legislative leaders contacted by the Journal said they were unaware of the extent of the asbestos problem at other state buildings, which do not include public elementary or secondary schools. Those needs, they said, would have to be weighed OF THE JOURNAL'S CAPITOL BUREAU SANTA FE While state legislators are talking about possibly spending $14 million to remove asbestos from the Capitol, 396 other state-owned buildings await that same work. Only about $2.5 million is available so far for that cleanup, which could last decades.

The first steps are scheduled next month to purge ASSOCIATED PRESS Rescuers search through the wrecked carriages of a passenger train at London's Clapham Junction after three trains collided during Monday morning rush hour, killing at least 36 commuters. TUESDAY Liability Forces Caution on Liquor Retailers By Colleen Heild JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Good Morning Officials are debating what to do with asbestos. If the debate heats up asbestos would come in handy. Weather Mostly sunny, warmer; southest winds 5 to 15 mph. High near 60, low tonight in the upper 20s.

D11. hesitated to declare the cap unconstitutional. However, attorneys from around the state say the ruling effectively eliminates the $50,000 limit in all such cases. Under a 1983 state law, people who dispense liquor are liable in civil suits if they knew or should have known that they were serving alcohol to a person who was already intoxicated and that patron later hurts or causes the death of someone else. Davenport's 600-member group lobbied strongly for the cap during the 1985 state Legislature.

He said MORE: See LOSS on PAGE A2 of damages a bar owner would have to pay if successfully sued for serving liquor to an intoxicated person. "We're going to have to tighten up the way we operate our places of business," Davenport said, "and beyond that I do not see any judicial or legislative remedies at this time." A three-member panel of the court on Oct. 18 ruled the cap unconstitutional in a suit brought by the parents of a 24-year-old Artesia man who was killed in an accident with a drunk driver in 1985. The decision became final Nov. 21 when the court denied motions asking for a rehearing on the case.

One of the three justices, Justice Richard Ransom, 1 Patrons who order one too many drinks at bars and restaurants in New Mexico may find it harder to get served as a result of a recent court decision that increases liability for businesses that sell liquor. Bars and restaurant owners who sell liquor in New Mexico have no choice but to become more careful about serving intoxicated patrons in light of the court decision, said Ray Davenport, executive director of the New Mexico Retail Liquor Dealers Association. Davenport said his group won't fight a state Supreme Court ruling that abolished a $50,000 cap on the amount ACTION LINE B2 CROSSWORD B2 MOVIES C7 ARNHOLZ B1 DAILY RECORD B12 NEW MEXICO D3 BRIDGE B2 DEAR ABBY B2 SPORTS CI -7 BUSINESS C8-12 DEATHS D11 TRENDS B1-11 CLASSIFIED D4-10 EDITORIALS AIO-11 TV B11 COMICS D12 METROPOLITAN D1 WEATHER D11 i.