News

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Las Cruces' public schools plan a new program to enable students to provide school officials with anonymous reports on bullying, drugs, potential suicides and other trouble.

The Las Cruces Sun-News (http://bit.ly/XywxOx ) reports that the program will enable middle and high school students to use text messages, photos, video and a mobile app to anonymously send messages to school officials.

University of New Mexico Libraries is celebrating the three million volumes in its collection with a rare book on Billy the Kid.

The 1892 book, donated by the William A. Keleher Family, was written by Pat Garrett, the Lincoln County Sheriff who shot and killed the famous outlaw. The book is signed by Garrett and will become part of the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections at University Libraries.

A judge has put New Mexico's lawsuit against the federal government over Rio Grande water management on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to take up a separate lawsuit by Texas against New Mexico.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that U.S. District Court Judge James Browning ruled Friday that Texas' lawsuit might render the issues in the state-federal lawsuit moot.

The litigation revolves around water flowing out of Elephant Butte Reservoir to farms and cities in southern New Mexico and northwest Texas.

 New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says Pope Francis blessed a photo of her late mother when the governor traveled to Rome earlier this month for the installation of the Catholic Church's new top leader.

Martinez traveled to Italy with a delegation led by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the pope's inauguration Mass on March 19.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the photo Martinez carried to the ceremony was of her mother, Paula Aguirre, at the time of her mother's First Holy Communion.

New Mexico is facing a potentially devastating wildfire season this year after experiencing record-setting fires over the past two years.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that this season is shaping up to be one of the worst as a decade of drought drains moisture from forest fuels and average temperatures continue to rise.

Almost 600,000 acres of state and private land were burned in fiscal year 2011.

A group representing atheists and agnostics has objected the city Alamogordo displaying the words "In God We Trust" at City Hall.

The Alamogordo Daily News reports that the request went unheeded as the slogan was unveiled last week at a City Commission meeting.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation urged the city to refrain from posting the words at Alamogordo City Hall and argued such statements have no place in government buildings.

Mayor Susie Galea says the issue wasn't religion but rather liberty and freedom.

The Office of the Medical Investigator says a body found in the trunk of a burning car in Albuquerque was that of a woman under the age of 50.

Authorities are still trying to determine the woman's identity and the specific cause of her death.

She was in a 2006 Mustang that was found in fire Friday night.

City police detective are asking for help from citizens locating 33-year-old Guadalupe Lopez, who they say has a possible connection to the car.

From disbelief to disappointment, the emotions are all over the map as New Mexico basketball fans try to digest the fact that coach Steve Alford has been hired away by UCLA.

Alford told his team about the move Saturday morning and explained to reporters a few hours later that it was a tough decision. The move was a shock to Lobos fans because Alford had just signed a new 10-year contract that could have been worth up to $2 million a year.

The Lobos have won back-to-back conference championships and have made three NCAA tournament appearances.

This week, the Albuquerque Environmental Health Department convened a Bed Bug Conference to educate the public on bed bug basics: how to identify an infestation, how to treat it, and most importantly, how to prevent an infestation in the first place.
KUNM's Poverty and Public Health reporter Tristan Ahtone went with Rita Daniels to learn about the bugs, and spread the message.

Environmentalists are challenging a permit they say would allow federal and state wildlife managers to capture and hold captive certain wolves that find their way into the American Southwest from the north and from Mexico.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed its lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday. The agency did not immediately respond.

The group says it's seeking the protection of wolves found outside the area in New Mexico and Arizona where the federal government has been reintroducing endangered Mexican gray wolves.

New Mexico can move ahead with establishing a state-run health insurance exchange under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Susana Martinez.

The new law takes effect immediately, and one of the next steps is the appointment of a 13-member governing board for the exchange.

Reservoir levels at Santa Rosa Lake State Park have hit record lows due to a persistent drought, but state officials say the lake will soon be open to boaters.

A water release that was completed earlier this month exposed an area that will allow boaters to launch from the shore. Boats can begin hitting the water Saturday morning.

The lake is down to only 218 surface acres, but park officials say the majority of the hazards have been exposed.

Boating will be restricted to no-wake speeds due to the low water level and limited surface area.

A new state law will allow New Mexico to expand a warning system used to help search for abducted children

The state's Amber Alert system will be able to cover children abducted by a parent or other family member. The law takes effect June 14.

Gov. Susana Martinez signed the measure on Thursday and said the current system "requires law enforcement to sit on the sidelines" if a child is taken by relative and believed to be in danger.

Governor Susana Martinez has signed a measure into law to allow state officials to conduct immediate criminal background checks before placing foster children in the emergency protective custody of family members, neighbors or other individuals.

The governor said Thursday the new law can help prevent children from being placed in a potentially dangerous home with someone who has a criminal history.

Nambe Pueblo and Taos County Economic Development Corporation are two of ten organizations nationally that have received funding for Native food-systems projects. The projects could bolster economic development while combating food insecurity, health and nutrition disparities in tribal communities.

Thurs. 3/28 10a:  Audiences of all ages can immerse themselves in the world of fractals on the first Friday of every month in the planetarium at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. Spencer Beckwith speaks with the creator of the full-dome First Friday Fractals shows, founder of Albuquerque's Fractal Foundation, Dr. Jonathan Wolfe.

Wed. 3/27 10a:  Baroque trumpeter Brain Shaw and mezzo-soprano Deborah Domanski join the Santa Fe Pro Musica Baroque Ensemble for a program of music for Holy Week, March 28, 29 and 30 in the Loretto Chapel.  Included in the program are J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 51 and Johann Melchior Molter's Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Strings.  Spencer Beckwith is joined by the Music Director of the Santa Fe Pro Musica, Tom O'Connor.

Representative Steve Pearce is reintroducing a bill that would allow the Mescalero Apache tribe in Southern New Mexico to lease their unused excess water. If passed, the legislation could give surrounding communities access to some much needed water resources.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act would allow the tribe to lease their water rights for up to 99 years. Tribal President Frederick Chino says that would allow the tribe to better manage their water and allow them to work with neighboring communities on water usage. 

UPDATE 03/28/13: 

A student-run New Mexico community college newspaper suspended after publishing an issue focusing on sex will be allowed to resume publication.

Central New Mexico Community College spokesman Brad Moore says the CNM Chronicle has been authorized Wednesday to continue operations immediately, and the papers will be returned to the stands.

Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation to help people with mental health problems receive evaluations and assistance in New Mexico.

The measure expands the professionals who can trigger an emergency mental health evaluation by certifying that a person poses a likelihood of serious harm to themselves or others because of a mental disorder.

Clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, clinical nurses with a mental health specialty and certified nurse practitioners could make those decisions under the new law.

An Albuquerque police officer has been charged with reckless vehicular homicide and reckless great bodily injury by vehicle.

That's according to a criminal complaint released Tuesday by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office.

Sgt. Adam Casaus says he was trying to track down a drunk driver before he slammed into another vehicle on Feb. 10.

The crash killed a 21-year-old woman and seriously injured her younger sister, who was driving the SUV.

Bernalillo County authorities say they won't seek charges against an Albuquerque police SWAT team officer in a 2011 fatal shooting.

County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg and Chief Deputy District Attorney Troy Davis wrote a letter of findings Monday to Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz.

Brandenburg and Davis say they found no probable cause to believe that officer Jim Perdue acted unlawfully when he shot robbery suspect Michael Marquez on Aug. 30, 2011.

Police say Perdue shot Marquez after a short standoff in a field near an Albuquerque apartment complex.

Federal wildlife managers have been working to return the endangered Mexican gray wolf to the American Southwest for the past 15 years. Every now and then, there's a genetic hiccup.

It happens when a wolf breeds with a domestic dog, producing a litter of hybridized pups.

Just last month, an animal that looked like a wolf was spotted in the mountain community of Reserve near the Arizona-New Mexico border. Experts with the wolf management team say the uncollared animal was most likely a wolf-dog hybrid.

Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation into law to help New Mexico veterans, including requiring the state to expedite the handling of occupational licenses for military service members and their spouses.

The USDA announced Monday it would extend the filing deadline in the program to compensate Hispanic and women farmers who were discriminated against in loan applications.  The additional time may have been granted in response to low numbers of claims.

In a last-minute extension, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that farmers now have until May 1st to file claims.  The program is part of a decades-long effort to address discrimination at the USDA, which began with lawsuits brought by black farmers. 

Researchers searching for a treatment to a genetic disease called Cerebral Cavernous Malformation say they're poised to begin human trials. The University of New Mexico will lead the trials. In the past, the University of Utah used animals to test possible treatments.
The genetic disease affects thousands of New Mexicans, a large portion of that population Hispanic, and is known to cause epilepsy, disabling headaches, brain defects, bleeding and death.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority says it's in the final phases of unveiling high-speed broadband and wireless services for the majority of the Navajo Nation. The project would bring telecommunications services to the nations largest reservation straddling Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.

A few companies have offered broadband accessibility to parts of the Navajo Nation in the past, however, historically, the Nation has dealt with little to no telecommunications access.

KUNM Call In Show Thu. 3/28 8a: Last week, Santa Fe officials announced they believed same-sex marriage is legal under current New Mexico law. The ACLU-New Mexico has filed a lawsuit on behalf of several same sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Bernalillo County. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court hears arguments in two same sex marriage cases this week.  

Albuquerque firefighters contained a fire in rugged terrain in the city's northeastern foothills Sunday evening.

The Fire Department says 22 firefighters used hand tools to battle the fire.

Firefighters will be on scene Monday morning to determine the size of the fire and to check for any hot spots.

Calm weather helped firefighters' efforts Sunday evening.

The cause of the fire hasn't yet been determined. 

A group called Working America says it will be in Santa Fe Monday to try and persuade Gov. Susana Martinez to sign a minimum wage increase.

The group says it will deliver thousands of photo petitions and petition signatures to the governor's office in support of a just-passed Senate Bill to increase the state's minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50 an hour.