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Arizona Advocates Buoyed By Obama Monument Actions, Immigration Arrests Driven Up By Surge

Paul Fundenburg
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The Grand Canyon

Arizona Advocates Buoyed By Obama Monument Action – Associated Press

Advocates for the creation of a new national monument covering areas around Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park say they are hopeful after President Barack Obama created two new monuments this week in Utah and Nevada. But Arizona's governor is threatening legal action if Obama acts.

Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter says Obama's action in the nearby states is encouraging. Environmental groups and Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva have been championing a proposed 1.7 million-acre monument in the area of towering cliffs and canyons, grasslands, forest and desert that is popular with hunters and hikers.

It also includes 1 million acres rich in uranium ore where new mining claims are banned through 2032.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake oppose a monument.

Surge Of Central Americans Drive Jump In Immigration ArrestsAssociated Press

Officials say Central Americans attempting to enter the United States illegally along the country's border with Mexico helped drive a 15 percent increase in immigration arrests.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security figures released Friday show the jump came entirely from U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions, which surged 23 percent to nearly 416,000 in the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30.

Border Patrol arrests are still lower than the 2014 tally and far below those seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Homeland Security says the number of Central Americans recently apprehended on the Mexico border once again surpassed the number of Mexicans who were stopped.

Many are families and unaccompanied children, a shift from earlier years when border crossers were largely adult men.

Albuquerque Police: Mother Disappears With 6 KidsAssociated Press

Police say they're searching for an Albuquerque mother who disappeared with her six children after being accused of beating one of her teenage sons earlier this month.

Police spokesman Daren DeAguero says the children range in age from 3 months to 14 years.

Investigators say one of her 14-year-old sons, who is not among the missing children, showed up at a police station barefoot early Dec. 18. He told officers that his mother attacked him after accusing him of molesting one of his younger siblings.

Officers couldn't find the mother that morning so an arrest warrant was issued. She and the six children were last seen at their home that day.

Police say the woman is facing charges of child abuse, criminal sexual contact of a minor and kidnapping.

Study: Chaco Inhabitants Likely Relied On Imported Food – Associated Press

A new study suggests salty soils and dry conditions would have made it difficult to grow enough corn at Chaco Canyon to sustain the population at the once monumental gathering spot in northwest New Mexico.

University of Colorado-Boulder scientist Larry Benson's research adds fuel to the theory that Chaco inhabitants relied on imports from around the Four Corners region.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Chaco Culture National Historical Park includes what's left of an ancient civilization whose massive masonry architecture and cultural influences have been a source of mystery for years.

Some say the latest study offers just one more piece to the puzzle.

Benson says much of the corn consumed by those at Chaco centuries ago may have come from more fertile lands along the Arizona-New Mexico border.

Santa Fe Officer Accused Of Harassment Reportedly Resigns Associated Press

Officials say a Santa Fe police sergeant on probation for threatening a paralegal has resigned, though the officer say otherwise.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Santa Fe Police Chief Patrick Gallagher said Wednesday that Sgt. Charles Lujan resigned a day after an internal investigation into the threat allegation was completed.

However Lujan said Thursday that his resignation was just a rumor started by another officer. He declined to comment when asked if he believed Gallagher was providing false information.

Lujan came under scrutiny in June 2015 due to allegations that he threatened a paralegal who had testified as a witness in a timesheet fraud case against another officer. Lujan pleaded no contest to criminal charges stemming from the incident and was sentenced to probation.

Study: Babies In Home Visit Program Have Less Medical Costs – Associated Press

Newborns enrolled in New Mexico's home visiting program are less likely to use costly medical services than other children in their first year.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that according to a new Rand Corporation study, children enrolled in the New Mexico First Born program were a third less likely to visit an emergency room than newborns in a control group.

First Born is a privately funded program that provides in-home services to parents and children in their first year in order to promote healthy child development.

The study, published in the online edition of the journal Pediatrics, compared 138 newborns enrolled in a First Born program to 106 who were not enrolled. It found that children enrolled in the program were 41 percent less likely to make nine or more visits to a primary-care clinic than non-enrolled infants.

Gila National Forest Grows With Land TransferAssociated Press

The Gila National Forest in southern New Mexico is now nearly one square mile bigger.

The Trust for Public Land says it has conveyed 605 acres to the U.S. Forest Service through an arrangement paid for with money from the national Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The property along the Upper Bear Creek was already surrounded mostly by federal land and includes a mile of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and a stretch of the Trail of the Mountain Spirits National Scenic Byway.

Officials say the transaction will give visitors better access to the national forest.

The property was purchased for $1.8 million from a private landowner by The Trust for Public Land. The Forest Service then purchased it for the same price using money from conservation fund.

Police Officer's Last Official Duty To Welcome Son To ForceAssociated Press

The last order of business for a long-time Albuquerque police officer was to pin a badge on his son.

KOB-TV reports that Lou Golson on Thursday welcomed his son Adam Golson to the force, Lou Golson's last day on duty with the department.

Lou Golson says he's proud that three of his five children have chosen to work in law enforcement, even after he was shot by a suspected drunken driver in January 2015. He suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen and a broken wrist in the encounter.

Police Chief Gorden Eden says Lou Golson will be deeply missed, though they are grateful to have his children on the force.