New Mexico Releases Monitoring Plan For Colorado Mine Spill – Associated Press
A proposal for monitoring the potential long-term effects of a mine spill that contaminated rivers in three Western states calls for extensive sampling of river water, soil and drinking water wells in northwestern New Mexico.
State officials on Tuesday released a draft plan that will guide monitoring activities for at least the next couple of years. The public has 30 days to comment on the proposal.
Officials want to determine whether the Gold King Mine spill in Colorado will have any effect on drinking water sources or if heavy metals are being deposited in soil along the Animas River.
The plan also calls for recruiting residents to assess levels of heavy metals in their well water and urine.
Officials warn that more money will be needed for all the sampling and mapping called for by the plan.
Reward In Road Rage Killing Rises To $25,000 – The Associated Press
Reward money for tips leading to an arrest in a road rage shooting that killed a 4-year-old Albuquerque girl has grown to $25,000.
Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden announced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the City Council has authorized a $10,000 reward. That's on top of $5,000 the FBI is offering as the agency opens its own investigation and $10,000 from Mayor Richard Berry's office announced earlier in the day.
Eden says officers are looking for a suspect in his mid-20s or early 30s who was driving a maroon or dark red Toyota sedan with a University of New Mexico license plate when he opened fire Tuesday on Interstate 40.
Lilly Garcia, who was riding in a pickup truck with her parents, was killed.
Police: Child Dies In Road-Rage Attack On New Mexico Freeway - The Associated Press
Police in Albuquerque say a 4-year-old girl has died after being shot in a road-rage incident on Interstate 40.
Authorities still are searching for a suspect in the shooting late Tuesday afternoon.
The girl was rushed to an area hospital, where police say she died. Her name hasn't been released.
Police say it isn't immediately clear what may have led the incident on the city's west side to escalate.
A Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting, pulling up on the vehicle he believed was in distress to find the child inside.
The child's parents were also in the car and escaped injury.
Former Colorado School Official Denies Sexually Abusing Boys – Associated Press
A man whose hiring led to the resignation of Albuquerque's school superintendent says he never inappropriately touched two young boys he's charged with sexually abusing.
Jason Martinez was arrested in the abuse case and later hired in Albuquerque, where school officials never completed a background check on him. The incident led to the resignation of Luis Valentino.
Martinez, a former Denver schools employee, was a longtime friend of the boys' families. He adopted one boy's father when he was abandoned as a child.
Martinez testified Tuesday that that boy came to stay with him in Denver in May 2013. He was concerned about the boy's filthy living conditions back home.
After the visit, the boy told his mother Martinez had abused him. After he made the allegation, the second boy also said Martinez abused him.
Jury Deliberating Fate Of Former Albuquerque School Exec - The Associated Press
A Denver jury is deciding the fate of a former educator accused of sexually abusing two boys whose hiring led to the resignation of Albuquerque's school superintendent.
Jurors began deliberations in the case against Jason Martinez Wednesday morning. He was arrested in the sex abuse case in 2013 and later hired in Albuquerque, which never completed a background check on him.
Prosecutors say Martinez abused the boys during visits to his Denver home and on trips. They say the boys were perfect targets for abuse because they came from poor and troubled families.
But the defense says the mother of one of the boys lied about the abuse to keep Martinez from reporting her to social services.
In tearful testimony during the week-long trial, Martinez denied the accusations.
State Rep. Steinborn To Run For State Senate In 2016 - The Associated Press & The Las Cruces Sun-News
State Rep. Jeff Steinborn, of Las Cruces, will give up his House seat in the 2016 election in favor of a bid for the New Mexico Senate in District 36.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the Democrat announced Tuesday that he will give up his District 35 seat. Republican Lee Cotter is the current senator for District 36, the seat Steinborn is eyeing.
Steinborn was elected to the New Mexico House in 2012. He originally was elected from District 37, where he lost to Terry McMillan in 2010. His residence was transferred to District 35 later that year due to redistricting, and he defeated former Rep. Antonio Lujan in the primary in 2012.
Navajo Nation Council Approves Purchase Of New Airplanes - The Associated Press & The Daily Times
The Navajo Nation is one step closer to replacing its aging aircraft now that lawmakers have approved the purchase of new airplanes.
The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the Navajo Nation Council voted 13-5 on Tuesday to purchase three King Air jets. If approved by Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye, officials will work to secure a $20 million loan for the purchase.
The tribe currently owns two planes that are more than 30 years old, both of which would require extensive and expensive work to keep running.
After the bill is submitted to Begaye's office, he has 10 days to sign it, veto it or use his line-item veto authority.
State Officials: New Mexico Has 'Work To Do' On Grad Rates – Associated Press
New Mexico education officials say graduation numbers released by the federal government show that the state still has work to do.
Public Education spokesman Robert McEntyre says the state is investing in truancy and dropout prevention coaches and early warning systems to keep more kids in school. He says officials hope those program help improve rates in future years.
The U.S. Education Department said Monday that preliminary data indicate 36 states saw higher graduation rates for 2013-2014. However, New Mexico was one of only five states that saw declines.
McEntyre says New Mexico has made significant progress over the last several years and has one of the fastest growing graduation rates in the nation.
NAACP New Mexico Branches To Meet In Alamogordo – Alamogordo Daily News, Associated Press
The New Mexico branches of the NAACP are coming to Alamogordo for the civil rights group's statewide conference and will team up with Latino advocates.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that the eight New Mexico NAACP branches will gather at the Tay's Events Center for a series of civil rights workshops on Friday and Saturday.
Otero County NAACP President Rev. Warren Robinson also has invited members of the League of Latin American Citizens, LULAC — the nation's oldest Latino civil rights group. Robinson says it is an effort to get more young blacks and Latinos involved in civil rights issues.
The conference's workshops, held throughout the day Saturday, will address criminal justice, health, "Get out the Vote," the U.S. Constitution and local NAACP branch administration.
New Mexico Unemployment Rate Increases To 6.8 Percent – Associated Press
New Mexico's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent in September, increasing from 6.7 percent in August despite adding jobs over the year.
By comparison, the state's unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in September 2014.
State officials said Tuesday that the 7,600-job increase was the state's 37th consecutive month of over-the-year growth of employment.
The state Department of Workforce Solutions said eight economic sectors added jobs last month and five reported losses.
Employment growth in education and health services continued to exceed that of all other industries in September.
Leisure and hospitality was the fastest growing industry over the year, adding 2,500 jobs.
Mining lost 1,100 jobs in September while retail trade shed 700 jobs and construction lost 300 jobs.
State To Hold Public Hearing On Turner Ranch Wolves – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
The New Mexico State Game Commission will hold a public hearing in Roswell to consider an appeal to keep endangered Mexican gray wolves at Ted Turner's ranch.
A bid by the Ladder Ranch in southern New Mexico to renew its permit for holding wolves in captivity on the private property was recently denied by the state Game Commission, triggering calls for Gov. Susana Martinez to reverse the decision.
The Roswell Daily Record reports that the Game Commission is scheduled to meet Nov. 19 to review an appeal by the Turner Endangered Species Fund.
Game Commission officials have said they couldn't approve the permit, citing the failure by the federal government to update a decades-old recovery plan for the wolves.
Fund officials say denying their permit will not lead to a new plan.
'Problem-Solving' Courts Awarded $600K In New Funding – Associated Press
So-called "problem-solving" courts around New Mexico are receiving $600,000 in new state funding to treat mental illness and offenders' addictions.
The Administrative Office of the Courts announced the funding, which was approved by the state Supreme Court based on recommendations made by an advisory committee that reviewed applications submitted by courts.
The Legislature appropriated the money for courts such as those focusing on drugs, DWI, family dependency and mental health.
Court officials say problem-solving courts provide a less expensive alternative to incarceration yet are more effective in reducing the rate at which offenders are rearrested.
Programs typically require counseling, drug tests and probation visits. Some of the money included in the new funding will pay for hiring additional probation officers.