Local News

In June, the City Council voted to dismiss six city directors. More than four months later, none of the positions have been filled.

City Manager Sharon Caballero said the city is purposely “dragging our feet” because the open positions have created vacancy savings in a tight budget year.

She said that hasn’t affected morale because “most of the people like the interim directors we have. They have worked with them for a long time.”

The housing authority has started paying city police officers to patrol public housing subdivisions.

The officers are being paid from authority funds, and the patrols are separate from their regular duties.

At last week’s City Council meeting, Lori Gonzales, the authority’s interim director, reported that the security program began Oct. 3 and the officers have patrolled a total of 69 hours. They have responded to 45 calls and have submitted five reports to the Police Department, she said.

As expected, San Miguel County Democrats performed well in Tuesday’s general election.

Some thought state Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, who has served for a decade, was vulnerable because he faced two opponents in the Democratic primary and didn’t get past 50 percent.

But Vigil proved his detractors wrong. In his District 70, which is made up of San Miguel and Torrance counties, he pulled in 70 percent of the vote against his Las Vegas Republican opponent, Mel Root, a retired educator who got 30 percent.

Lily Moser had been smelling smoke for a little while Saturday night at her apartment on Douglas Avenue, but she didn’t think much of it.

But then she noticed a “bright light” in one of her window. She looked out and saw flames catching from a next-door house to her apartment on the second floor of her building.

She knew she had to act quickly.

“I ran out of the house and grabbed my cat. I didn’t take anything else,” said Moser, who works at Spic and Span restaurant. “I called 911.”