Albuquerque Prepares To Swear In 5 City Councilors - The Associated Press
A new city councilman is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday in Albuquerque.
Patrick Davis is the only newly elected councilor and replaces outgoing Council President Rey Garduno, who did not seek reelection.
Davis will represent District 6, which covers parts of southeast Albuquerque that include the University of New Mexico, Nob Hill and the International District.
Councilors re-elected to the nine-member City Council also will be sworn in at a ceremony Tuesday set for 5:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque Convention Center. They are Isaac Benton, Brad Winter, and Trudy Jones.
They were re-elected during a municipal election in October.
Feds Want New Mexico To Repay $16M In Bonus Payments – The Associated Press
Investigators are recommending that New Mexico repay the federal government nearly $16 million in funds they say the state shouldn't have received under a health insurance program for low-income children.
The recommendation comes from the U.S. Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General following a review that looked at enrollment over a five-year period beginning in fiscal year 2009.
Federal officials say New Mexico reported it had more children in the program than were actually shown in enrollment data maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
New Mexico received a total of nearly $24 million in bonus payments under the program over five years.
State officials have argued that their method for determining enrollment was correct, but the inspector general is standing by its findings.
New Mexico State Police Investigating A Shooting In Socorro – The Associated Press
New Mexico State Police say they're investigating an officer-involved shooting in Socorro.
Details weren't immediately released Tuesday.
Police say an officer discharged his firearm, but the agency couldn't immediately confirm if a person was injured in the shooting.
KOAT-TV reports that a member of the Socorro County Sheriff's Department fired the shots and one person was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Albuquerque To Hold Parade Sunday For UFC Champ Holly Holm – The Associated Press
New UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm is being honored by her hometown of Albuquerque with a parade set for this Sunday.
Holm captured the belt from the previously undefeated Ronda Rousey on Nov. 14 in Australia.
She now has a 10-0 record after pulling off the stunning win over Rousey in UFC 193, knocking out the women's bantamweight champ in the second round with a powerful kick to the head.
Following the fight, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said the city would plan a celebration to honor the 34-year-old Holm.
Albuquerque city councilors then declared November "Holly Holm Month."
On Monday, plans were announced for the parade and celebration to honor Holm.
The parade is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. Sunday with the route and other details to be announced soon.
Another New Mexico Early Child Ed Proposal Get New Push - Russell Contreras, Associated Press
Democrats and a coalition of 40 groups say they will push — again — for legislation that would tap into New Mexico's permanent land fund to expand childhood education.
The coalition is scheduled Tuesday to announce new efforts to get the proposal passed during the 30-day legislation session, which begins in January.
Under the proposal, voters would decide if New Mexico should use a portion of the state's $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund to dramatically expand childhood education.
But Sen. John Arthur Smith, chairman of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee, says previous proposals have been "fiscally irresponsible" since it took so much money from the permanent fund.
The moderate Deming Democrat says he didn't believe any proposal had any chance of passing the New Mexico Senate.
GOP Lawmakers Ask New Mexico High Court To Reconsider Rules – The Associated Press
More than a dozen Republican lawmakers are asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to revamp rules they say have led to violent criminals being released in the state's most populous county.
The GOP lawmakers are the latest to raise concerns about an order issued by the court in February that set strict timelines for the disposition of criminal cases.
They say prosecutors in Bernalillo County should have more time to present evidence and that the deadlines imposed by the so-called case management order are unreasonable.
They also say prosecutors are being forced to dismiss hundreds of cases rather than face sanctions under the rules.
The Supreme Court already has sought comments from prosecutors, public defenders and others on proposed amendments but has yet to make a final decision on what changes to adopt.
New Mexico Lawmakers Address Backlog Of Untested Rape Kits - Mary Hudetz, Associated Press
New Mexico state officials say some 5,000 untested rape kits are in state warehouses and crime labs, and it could take roughly five years to work through the backlog.
New Mexico Public Safety Secretary Gregory Fouratt told lawmakers Monday that about 75 percent of the kits that haven't been tested stem from cases under the jurisdictions of the Bernalillo County sheriff and Albuquerque police.
John Krebsbach, the crime lab director for Albuquerque police, added that some of the cases in the department's backlog date back to the late 1980s — a time when protocal would have called for many of the rape kits to be discarded.er.
Addressing the state backlog could cost about $8 million over five years.
New Mexico is among numerous states attempting to address how to decrease the number of untested kits.
PRC Schedules Vote On Fate Of Coal Plant For Mid-December – The Associated Press & The Farmington Daily Times
The state Public Regulation Commission will take a final vote on a case that will likely decide the fate of a northwestern New Mexico coal-fired power plant on Dec. 16.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that the PRC on Monday scheduled the vote on the San Juan Generating Station, which was targeted by federal officials seeking to curb haze-causing pollution in the Four Corners region where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet.
The case the commission will vote on centers on a plan by Public Service Company of New Mexico to retire two units at the generating station by the end of 2017 so the plant complies with federal regulations.
Group Says Only Half Of Female Inmates Paroled On Time – The Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican
An advocacy group is calling for lawmakers to reevaluate parole policies, saying only half of female inmates in New Mexico are paroled on time.
The Santa Fe News Mexican reports that officials with the New Mexico Women's Justice Project met with legislators on the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee on Monday. The group asked for the end of "in-house parole."
The group says the state could have saved about $2.8 million if the Corrections Department had released on time the 231 women who instead were kept on in-house parole during the 2014 budget year.
The agency's deputy director of Adult Parole, Melissa Ortiz, says many of those inmates served sentences shorter than the 210 days in which parole planning must begin before they're released, causing a delay in release.
Century-Old Altar From France Gets Restoration In Hobbs – The Associated Press & The Hobbs News-Sun
A newly restored, century-old black walnut altar imported from France is helping reshape St. Helena's Catholic Church in Hobbs.
The Hobbs News-Sun reports that Hobbs artist Lawrence Wilcox has been working for three months to restore the altar. It's the focal point of the remodeled chapel to the left of the church entry.
The altar is a stunning attraction with its Romanesque architecture, featuring columns, exquisite details and a hint of high-peaked Gothicism.
Wilcox says he left some imperfections in the altar since the Rev. Ricardo Bauza wanted to show not a brand new altar, but one with history.
Jewelry Worth $1M Taken From Santa Fe Store – The Associated Press
More than $1 million in jewelry has been stolen from a store on a historic plaza in Santa Fe as crowds gathered for a holiday tree-lighting festival outside, police said Tuesday.
Santa Fe Police Lt. Michele Williams said that 11 items of jewelry were taken from an unlocked case in a store bustling with shoppers.
Williams said the jewelry was removed between 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Jewelry store employees were busy attending to customers and did not discover items were missing until about 6 p.m.
Police declined to provide more details.
Santa Fe Police were attempting to identify a trio of suspects involved in the Friday heist. Police distributed images of the suspects taken from security camera footage on the day of the theft and in the weeks leading up the robbery.