Natural Cigarette Maker Subject Of Class-Action Lawsuit – The Associated Press
The company behind a line of cigarettes touted as natural is being targeted in a class-action lawsuit.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports a Florida law firm filed the lawsuit this week against the maker of American Spirit cigarettes, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., and it’s parent company, Reynolds American Inc.
The plaintiffs say the cigarette maker's marketing deliberately tries to mislead smokers into believing their products are healthier than other tobacco products.
According to documents, the lawsuit cites a Food and Drug Administration warning that the use of words such as "natural" or "additive free" in their advertising violates federal law.
Santa Fe Natural Tobacoo Co. spokesman Seth Moskowitz said Friday that he could not comment on the lawsuit because of company policy.
However, the company has asked to meet with the FDA about its marketing.
UNM Provost Calls Scorecard Of Students' Salaries Unfair – The Associated Press
A top University of New Mexico official says a federal scorecard that says the school's graduates earn thousands of dollars less than their peers from other colleges is unfair.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday that Provost Chaouki Abdallah is criticizing the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
According to the study, UNM students who enrolled and obtained financial aid make $5,000 less than the national median for students.
The scorecard says the median salary for the typical four-year college student 10 years after they first registered was $40,500.
UNM's median student earning was $35,900.
Abdullah says the findings are off because they include salaries of students at satellite campuses, which are two-year programs in rural areas.
The scorecard calculates median salaries for students from more than 7,000 campuses.
New Mexico Elected Officials Declare Support For Power Plant – The Associated Press & The Daily Times
Several New Mexico officials recently declared support for a plan to build a nearly $1 billion natural gas and solar power plant in San Juan County.
The Daily Times of Farmington reports that Gov. Susan Martinez, the state's five congressmen and County Executive Officer Kim Carpenter wrote letters to Western Area Power Administration in support of the plant. It's known as the Clean Path Energy Center and could start operating in late 2019.
Power plant developer Western Energy Partners is awaiting approval to connect transmission lines to the plant.
Western Area Power Administration spokeswoman Kara Lamb says her company will be ready to move forward once the plant complies with the National Environmental Policy Act.
Western Energy President Curt Hildebrand says he plans to publish a notice of intent to build the plant this month.
New Mexico To License 12 New Medical Marijuana Producers – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Department of Health says it will issue licenses to a dozen new producers as part of the state's medical marijuana program.
The department made the announcement Monday after a committee whittled down the list of applicants from 86 and made a recommendation last month to Health Secretary Retta Ward. She made the final decision.
Officials considered a number of factors in narrowing the list of potential producers, including plans for production, security, sales and distribution, quality assurance and their agricultural experience.
Now, licensure for the 12 finalists is contingent upon their acceptance and demonstration of regulatory compliance.
This will bring the number of licensed nonprofit producers in New Mexico to 35.
Health officials say the finalists are located in Bernalillo, Chaves, Santa Fe, Taos and Valencia counties.
Lawsuit: Inmate Denied Treatment After Suffering In Hot Van – The Associated Press
A former New Mexico inmate is suing the Department of Corrections and two state corrections officers, saying they left him and several other prisoners to suffer unattended in a transport van with inadequate ventilation on a hot summer day.
The lawsuit filed in state court by Isaha Casias describes a scene of panic among inmates inside an enclosed, crowded vehicle parked outside the state penitentiary in Santa Fe two years ago. According to the lawsuit, some inmates passed out, including Casias, who says he also suffered a seizure.
Court records show Casias was convicted in 2013 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device. He was released last year.
The Department of Corrections did not immediately provide comment Monday.
Man Who Shot At Clovis Officers Gets 40-Year Prison Sentence – The Associated Press
A Clovis man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for shooting at police officers responding to a 2013 disturbance at a home.
The 9th Judicial District Attorney's Office said Judge Drew W. Tatum on Monday sentenced 32-year-old Eric Gutierrez on convictions for attempted murder, assault with intent to commit a violent felony upon a peace office and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The District Attorney's Office said officers suffered minor injuries when Gutierrez opened fire from inside a room of a home where a caller had told police that a person needed to be removed because he was acting crazy and being violent.
Gutierrez was taken into custody following a nearly six-hour standoff.
Radar Finds Hundreds Of Unmarked Graves In Santa Clara – The Associated Press & Silver City Sun-News
The Santa Clara Cemetery is working to mark almost 500 unmarked graves that were found using ground penetrating radar.
The Silver City Sun-News reports that the Village of Santa Clara was prompted to investigate their burial grounds after people searching for family members had been unable to find them. In all, they identified 1,397 burials.
Village of Santa Clara officials say records had not been kept correctly since the cemetery opened. A few years ago the boy scouts helped identify some graves by marking them down according to headstones. But some families had not paid for headstones, leaving piles of rocks or wooden crosses to mark graves.
Mayor Richard Bauch says they will make metal crosses to identify the unmarked graves and hope family members help identify them.
Group Asks NM Supreme Court To Weigh In PNM Case – The Associated Press
Environmentalists want the New Mexico Supreme Court to weigh in as they seek the recusal of all but one member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission in a case that will determine the fate of a coal-fired power plant.
New Energy Economy filed its motion Monday. The Santa Fe-based environmental group wants the court to disqualify the four commissioners from the case.
The commissioners have rebuffed previous efforts to get them thrown off the case. They dispute the group's claims that they're too chummy with the utility that operates the power plant.
The commission has been considering a plan that calls for shutting down part of the San Juan Generating Station and replacing the lost power with a mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy.
Los Alamos Lab Running Out Of Storage For Nuclear Waste – The Associated Press
Los Alamos National Laboratory has only a narrow time frame before it runs out of room to store its nuclear waste.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the waste should go to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, but that remains shut down after the underground site was contaminated last year.
A recent report from the Defense Nuclear facilities Safety board said the Los Alamos lab will reach its maximum capacity for storing the waste sometime in the federal fiscal year that begins in fall 2016.
The WIPP was initially slated to reopen in March 2016, but over the summer the U.S. Department of Energy indefinitely delayed the opening.
Recently, however, energy secretary Ernest Moniz recently said the facility is on track to open by late 2016.
America's Challenge Balloon Race Dependent On Weather - The Associated Press
Officials are waiting for a break in unsettled weather to launch the 20th annual America's Challenge gas balloon race.
The initial launch for the seven teams participating in this year's distance race was Saturday, but showers and thunderstorms over the weekend forced race officials to delay.
Officials say they must consider weather conditions both for the launch at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque and downrange across the country for the two or three days the balloons are expected to be aloft.
The next briefing has been rescheduled for Tuesday at noon.
If conditions are favorable, balloons could launch that night or later in the week. The period of time during which the race can commence closes at midnight Wednesday.
This year's competitors include pilots from the U.S., Germany, France, Poland and Spain.
San Juan County To Improve Accessibility – The Associated Press
San Juan County has agreed to take steps to improve the accessibility of public facilities as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Daily Times of Farmington reports that the agreement requires the county to hire an independent architect to certify that the county has altered polling places and emergency shelters to comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The upgrades include reducing the slope gradients of some wheelchair ramps, widening entryways and retrofitting bathrooms. The sheriff's office, office of emergency management and the county's detention facilities will also have to adopt accessibility possibilities.
San Juan County Safety and Compliance Manager Stewart Logan says the county estimates it will spend $175,000 on the project over three years.
Shortage Of Guards Taking Toll On New Mexico Prison Staff – The Associated Press
New Mexico officials say challenges in recruiting and maintaining corrections officers is causing large staffing shortages across state prisons.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Saturday that five of the six state-run prison facilities have vacancy rates of 20 percent or more.
The shortage has led to corrections officers complaining about mandatory overtime for not that much pay.
Deputy Corrections Secretary Mark Myers says the department cannot keep "running officers into the ground."
Myers says the state's salary for guards is among the lowest nationally, even with a 2014 pay raise.
The agency has hired an outside firm to conduct a study of staffing and how to best deploy corrections officers.
Officials say the study is expected to be completed in a month.
Spaceport America Holds First Open House – The Associated Press
Spaceport America has held its first open house, allowing visitors to explore the enormous hangar, admire a replica of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and watch planes touch down on the runway.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the Saturday event was free but had a limited registration. The spaceport also invited 30 pilots to fly in small planes from around the state.
Eventually, Virgin Galactic plans to fly tourists to suborbital space using Spaceport America as a launch pad. CEO Christine Anderson said in July that the spaceport could also be used as a test center for drones or to host university rocket competitions.
Anderson says it's important to let New Mexican taxpayers see the project they paid $218.5 million to build in the desert north of Las Cruces.