New Mexico Green Chile Growers Pushing Guest Workers Program -
By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
Chile growers in New Mexico say they need a guest worker program to survive and reverse the decline of the famed crop.
New Mexico Chile Commission chairman Rick Ledbetter says growers want new temporary immigrant labor because U.S.-born workers are opting not to work in the fields. That's creating a shortage of green chile pickers
Ed Ogaz, owner of the Anthony, New Mexico-based chile wholesaler Seco Spice Co., says the shortage also is preventing farmers from using all available land to grow the spice staple.
But Jon Hendry, president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, says a guest worker program without federal comprehensive immigration reform is unacceptable.
In 2014, New Mexico saw a 10 percent decline in acres of chiles harvested. Farmers blame drought and labor shortages.
Flushing Out Irrigation Ditches Discolors River – The Associated Press
Colorado authorities are warning that cleaning out irrigation ditches along the Animas River is temporarily discoloring the water again a week after federal and contract workers accidentally released a plume of mustard-yellow muck.
The ditches are being flushed of sediment left behind by the 3 million gallon spill that contained heavy metals.
Colorado and local authorities said in a statement Thursday that farmers and ranchers shouldn't give the water to livestock until the sediment in the irrigation ditches is flushed out.
That work started Wednesday evening just after the state allowed Durango to take Animas River water back into its water treatment plant. However, the city isn't yet tapping the river, which supplements its water supply.
Durango's utilities engineer, Matt Holden, says the city is "proceeding carefully to ensure the absolute safety of our drinking water."
Officials To Mark 'Milestone' In Kirtland Fuel Spill Cleanup – The Associated Press
Officials are marking a milestone in the cleanup of a massive plume of jet fuel at the edge of Albuquerque.
Gov. Susana Martinez, members of the state's congressional delegation and other officials are scheduled Thursday to join U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James at Kirtland Air Force Base to mark the extraction and treatment of some of the contaminated water.
First detected in 1999, the fuel leak is believed to have been seeping into the ground for decades. Estimates of the amount of fuel spilled range from 6 million to 24 million gallons.
The greatest concern has been that the spill would contaminate drinking water wells in the Southeast Heights.
The pump-and-treat system is part of an effort to keep the contamination from reaching those wells.
DEA Seizes Medical Pot After Explosion At Dispensary – The Associated Press
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has seized and destroyed several marijuana plants from a licensed Santa Fe dispensary after two employees were burned in a recent explosion.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Santa Fe police asked the DEA to help investigate the blast at NewMexiCann Natural Medicine on July 23.
Although New Mexico has legalized medical marijuana, DEA spokesman Eduardo Chavez says agents acted in accordance with federal law, which still finds marijuana illegal, when they seized the plants. The removal of the plants has been questioned by an official with the New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance who says the DEA's actions were "overzealous."
The two employees were using a process to extract THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, right before the explosion. They both are recovering from burn injuries.
High Court Considers Public Funds For Private School Books – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has heard arguments over the state's practice of buying textbooks for private and religious schools.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports those who sued the state Public Education Department and its Cabinet secretary, Hanna Skandera, argued Wednesday that the use of public funds to buy textbooks for private schools violates the state constitution.
But advocates of the program countered that money for the books is governed by federal law, because the funds are provided by federal mineral leases.
Plaintiffs Cathy Moses and Paul Weinbaum filed their lawsuit in 2012, but both a Santa Fe district judge and the state Court of Appeals have sided with the department.
It is unclear how long it will take the high court to decide on the case.
Albuquerque Can Prohibit Employees From Running For Office – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled Albuquerque can bar its firefighters and other employees from running for elected office.
In a 49-page ruling Thursday, the state's high court reversed a lower court's ruling in the case of fire Capt. Emily Kane.
Kane served for two years in the state House before losing her re-election bid last year.
The city had sought to discipline Kane before she won a lower-court ruling that said the prohibition was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled that Albuquerque's prohibition served a "legitimate government purpose" — avoiding conflicts of interest and limiting the perception of partisan influence.
City attorneys argued that a 1989 amendment to the City Charter prohibited employees from holding an elected state office. A similar prohibition also was written into a city ordinance.
The Latest: EPA Head To Visit New Mexico To Address Spill – Associated Press
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says she will visit Farmington Thursday, downstream from where millions of gallons of mine waste spilled into a southwest Colorado river.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke with residents of Durango, Colorado, on Wednesday, as well as state, local and tribal officials.
An EPA-supervised cleanup crew accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of wastewater from an old mine that flowed into the Animas River.
McCarthy said that "no agency could be more upset about the incident happening, and more dedicated in doing our job to get this right. We couldn't be more sorry."
UNM Cancer Center Wins Elite Status – Albuquerque Journal
The University of New Mexico Cancer Center has been awarded the National Cancer Institute's Comprehensive Cancer Center designation.
The Albuquerque Journal reports this puts the institution into the top-tier of cancer research centers – one of 40 such institutions in the U.S.
This marks the first time in 17 years that NCI has added a new institution to that elite list. It includes the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Dr. Cheryl Willman, CEO of the UNM Cancer Center, says the designation is likely to boost the center’s federal research funding above this year’s $72 million, and help attract oncologists from other top cancer centers.
UNM’s work developing powerful new genetic sequencing tools to fight cancer played a key role in winning the new designation, Willman said.
The center has 500 employees who serve about 10,000 cancer patients a year.
New Details In Shooting Of Undercover Officer In Drug Bust – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Authorities say the Albuquerque police lieutenant who shot and seriously injured an undercover officer during a low-level drug bust may not have known the man was an officer.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that police reports released Tuesday show Lt. Greg Brachle didn't attend a pre-operation briefing where police decided to send an additional undercover officer to the January drug bust.
That officer was Jacob Grant, who was shot multiple times by Brachle during the undercover operation near a McDonald's restaurant.
The reports state that Grant pulled a gun on one of the suspects and then Brachle yelled, "He's got a gun," and opened fire on Grant.
Grant's attorney said in a claim filed with the city that he won't be able to return to work or normal activities because of his injuries.
PRC Wants To Withdraw Suit Against Newspaper Over Documents – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The state Public Regulation Commission wants to withdraw its lawsuit against a Santa Fe newspaper over confidential documents relating to the San Juan Generating Station.
A lawyer for the commission informed a District Court judge Wednesday that the regulatory body was dropping the suit.
The litigation sought to stop any publication of documents that the commission staff inadvertently released to a Santa Fe New Mexican reporter last week as part of a response to a public records request.
Public Service Company of New Mexico says it will suffer "irreparable harm" if its confidential business information and trade secrets are published by the newspaper.
But one commissioner says the suit never should have been filed and he doesn't believe the documents should have been secret in the first place.
State Officials: New Mexico Democrats' Emails Unblocked – Associated Press
Officials say a server issue that was blocking emails from the Democratic Party of New Mexico to state agencies should be resolved.
Secretary of State spokesman Ken Ortiz said Wednesday the Department of Information Technology contacted the service provider for state email addresses after an inquiry by The Associated Press. He says Democrats should no longer be blocked.
Democratic Party spokesman Scott Tillman says emails from New Mexico Democratic chairman Deb Haaland and other staffers were being blocked and "blacklisted" from state agencies.
He says the blocking is preventing state Democrats from obtaining important public voter information.
But Ortiz says the Secretary of State's office doesn't have any record of any complaints from Democrats and immediately would have helped resolve it.
Democrats have not confirmed if emails are unblocked.
California Firm Pays $5.9M For Overcharging NM National Lab – Associated Press
A San Diego company will pay $5.9 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the federal government for computers used at a national security research and development laboratory in New Mexico.
The computers sold by a subsidiary of PC Specialists Inc. to the National Nuclear Security Administration between 2003 and 2013 were used at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. The settlement of the civil fraud charges was announced by the Department of Justice late Tuesday.
The PC Specialists subsidiary known as Technology Integration Group also entered a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico in April that required it to fire three employees.
The civil settlements arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former company executive.
Sandia conducts research in nuclear weapons, energy and environmental technology.
Santa Fe Asks Judge To Uphold Ban On Small Liquor Bottles – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The Santa Fe City Council is asking a judge to uphold its decision to ban the sale of small bottles of liquor.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the city government also wants District Judge Sarah Singleton of Santa Fe to dismiss claims filed by liquor businesses challenging the law.
The council voted in April to ban the sale of liquor in bottles of 8 ounces or less. In court documents, the city says the law, which will take effect Oct. 8., is meant to reduce litter.
Liquor stores say it will hurt business and argue that the state government has authority over alcohol sales.
The city filed for a judgment in May in hopes of preventing a lawsuit by seven businesses.
Lawyers for the businesses didn't return a message requesting comment.