New Mexico Launching New Anti-Child Abuse Campaign, Website - Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The state agency tasked with protecting New Mexico children is launching a new campaign aimed at getting more parents involved in fighting child abuse.
Children, Youth and Families Department Secretary Monique Jacobson says the "Pull Together" campaign beginning Monday will help parents and change the way state officials address child wellbeing.
The statewide campaign features slick commercials starring Albuquerque-born UFC fighter Carlos Condit and images of children around New Mexico.
Jacobson told The Associated Press the campaign isn't about rebranding her once-troubled agency but is about engaging parents and "creating a movement" to transform the way residents see child abuse.
The plan includes a new pulltogether.org website that will allow parents to chat with each other and make reporting child abuse easier.
Jacobson helped launched the New Mexico True campaign as tourism secretary.
Hawaii, Alaska, Southwest Face Increased Wildfire Threat – Associated Press
Fire forecasters say Hawaii, Alaska and the Southwest will face an increased threat of wildfires this summer.
The National Interagency Fire Center released its outlook for the spring and summer on Sunday. It says most of the country will face normal or below-normal wildfire problems.
That's welcome news after last year, when a record 15,800 square miles burned nationwide. The federal government spent more than $1.7 billion fighting fires.
The national fire center says Hawaii could face above-average wildfire potential from May through August after a drought intensified last month.
In the Southwest, an increased threat of wildfires is expected in Arizona and New Mexico early this season, later shifting north and west into California and Nevada.
The outlook says south-central Alaska will vulnerable in May, but conditions should improve after that.
Roswell Proposes Charging Parents Of Absentee Students – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
The Roswell City Council is considering a new ordinance that would penalize parents of chronically truant students.
The Roswell Daily Record reports that the council will discuss a resolution later this month that would charge parents or guardians with a misdemeanor for "educational neglect."
Members of the city's legal committee approved the resolution last week.
According to the resolution, the misdemeanor charge would apply if a child is under age 13 and has more than 10 unexcused absences.
Mayor Dennis Kintigh says an ordinance is necessary because state laws regarding truancy are too convoluted.
Councilor Juan Oropesa says he opposes the idea because it punishes parents who may need assistance.
The council will decide May 12 whether a public hearing should be held on the matter.
HUD Awards Some $2.9M To Homeless Programs In New Mexico – The Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded more than $2.9 million to homeless housing and service programs across New Mexico.
HUD Secretary Julian Castro announced the funding award Monday.
The Continuum of Care grants build upon the $7.3 million in funding HUD awarded throughout New Mexico through a first round of funding in March.
Nationally, HUD estimates there were nearly 565,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2015.
Since 2010, local communities around the country reported an 11 percent reduction in overall homelessness, a decline of more than 72,000 persons.
During that same time, HUD officials say veteran homelessness fell by 36 percent, chronic homelessness declined 22 percent and family homelessness dropped by 19 percent.
Guide Highlights Native American Link To Historic Route 66
Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
A new story is unfolding along historic Route 66 thanks to a yearlong project coordinated by a tourism group with help from the National Park Service and American Indian tribes along America's Mother Road.
The result is a guidebook detailing the histories of more than two dozen tribal communities along the 2,400-mile byway and their relationship to the road that helped change the West.
Stretching from Chicago to California, more than half of the route cuts through Indian Country.
Those behind the project say their work is aimed at filling the gap between reality and the stereotypes once used to lure travelers along the route. They say tribes now have a venue to tell their own stories.
The guidebook is being unveiled this week by the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association.
State Supreme Court Considers Rules For Closed Courtrooms – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court is considering a rule to help trial judges decide when to close a courtroom to the public.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the high court is considering a proposal that defines official guides for closures and establishes the steps and notifications that must be followed.
Closing a courtroom can help witnesses who may not otherwise feel safe to testify, but since the decision to keep the public out competes with the right of the defendant to a public trail that decision can be reversed on appeal.
Currently judges rely on a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case called Waller v. Georgia that sets four criteria to consider before closing a courtroom. The state proposal would more clearly define the Waller test.
Federal, State Officials Look To Protect Pecos River Fish – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Federal and state officials are partnering on a proposal for a $6 million pipeline that would help sustain an endangered species of fish during New Mexico's extremely dry times.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Bureau of Reclamation and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission are looking to use the water stored in Sumner Reservoir, about 16 miles northwest of Fort Sumner, to create a fish pool for bluntnose shiners, tiny minnows that only live in a 170-mile stretch of the Pecos River in New Mexico.
The proposal is still subject to bureau internal feasibility study and other bureaucratic hurdles.
Wildlife officials say the bluntnose shiner population had been growing before drought conditions dried out the Pecos between Sumner Dam and Brantley Dam between 2011 and 2013.
After Fatal Crash, Albuquerque Police Seek To Search Car – KOAT-TV, Associated Press
Albuquerque police is requesting a search warrant for a vehicle involved in a crash that killed a 4-year-old girl.
KOAT-TV reports that police are seeking to examine the car the girl was riding in to see if she was properly restrained.
If there is evidence she wasn't, the girl's parents could be charged with child endangerment.
Investigators say the car she was in turned onto an on-ramp for I-40 in front of an oncoming car Friday.
The vehicles collided, causing the child to be ejected from the rear seat.
She was transported to the hospital in critical condition but died from her injuries.
Police do not believe speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Hospital Officials Propose Fees To Help Medicaid – Santa Fe New Mexican
As the state grapples with a massive shortfall in Medicaid funding hospital executives are proposing the idea of a fee on clinics, hospitals and other providers.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports this is an alternative to the path the state is currently pursuing of slashing Medicaid reimbursements to providers.
Enrollment in Medicaid has spiked as a result of the Affordable Care Act and New Mexico is facing a shortfall of $85 million to fund its program next year. That would result in a loss of federal funds as well, which would mean around $500 million in service cuts.
Arizona has pursued a fee plan similar to the one being proposed by hospital executives. Patrick Carrier, chief executive officer of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, said he and his colleagues see it as an investment where $1 of state money can bring up to $5 for health care services.
So far Gov. Susana Martinez has not moved forward on the plan. A legislative vote may be needed to impose a fee.
Miss Indian World Crowned At Nation's Largest Powwow – Associated Press
An Arizona State University law student has been crowned Miss Indian World.
Pageant officials say 25-year-old Danielle Ta'Sheena Finn was announced the winner Saturday night at the 33rd Annual Gathering of Nations at the University of New Mexico arena in Albuquerque.
Finn, of Porcupine, North Dakota, and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, was chosen from among 24 Native American women from different tribes and traditions.
As Miss Indian World, Finn will travel around the world to native and indigenous communities for a year.
The pageant closed three days of festivities at what's considered North America's largest powwow.
The event draws more than 100,000 competitive dancers and spectators from across the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico.
Nineteen-year-old Chezney Martin, of Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, was first runner-up.