Secretary of State Pleads Guilty – Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas says he's pleased former Secretary of State Dianna Duran pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement and resigned.
Balderas said Friday in a statement that Duran's admission of guilt will allow New Mexico to move forward and help "rebuild the public trust."
Duran pleaded guilty to embezzlement and other charges amid allegations she siphoned off thousands of dollars from her election account and withdrew the money at casinos around the state.
Her plea agreement can be withdrawn if a judge imposes prison time later. Sentencing was set for mid-December.
Duran abruptly resigned late Thursday. Balderas filed the charges against her in August.
He says his office will continue to monitor similar cases.
Duran Resigned – KOB-TV, Associated Press
Embattled Secretary of State Dianna Duran appears to have resigned. The Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe New Mexican and NMPoliticalReport.com are all reporting her resignation.
KOB-TV reports that a press release sent early Friday morning by the Democratic Party of New Mexico includes an alleged email from the chief information officer of the Secretary of State’s office referring to Duran’s resignation.
The email indicates rulemaking hearings scheduled Friday morning have been cancelled. KOB has been unable to confirm the resignation with officials in the Secretary of State’s Office or Gov. Susana Martinez’s office.
Duran is scheduled to appear in Santa Fe District Court on Friday in connection with fraud and other charges. She is seeking to disqualify the New Mexico Attorney General's Office from her fraud case.
Duran, a Republican who is serving her second term, has pleaded not guilty.
Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, filed the charges in August following a lengthy investigation. His office alleges Duran misused campaign donations by funneling some $13,000 into personal accounts and filed false campaign finance reports with her own office.
The secretary of state's office is responsible for enforcing New Mexico's elections and campaign finance laws.
Univ. Of New Mexico To Study Exposure To Mines' Metal Mixes – Associated Press
The University of New Mexico will use federal funding to study Native American communities' exposure to metal mixtures from abandoned mine sites awaiting cleanup, such as one in Colorado where there recently was a massive spill of wastewater.
The university said Thursday the $3.5 million grant was awarded to the College of Pharmacy by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
The university said the funding will pay for research as well as providing training and community environmental health workshops in collaboration with tribal colleges across the West.
There are thousands of abandoned and unremediated hard rock mines. Those mines are receiving increased scrutiny since the August accidental release of wastewater from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.
EPA Mine Spill Could Have Been Prevented – Associated Press
Government investigators squarely blame the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a 3 million gallon wastewater spill from a Colorado gold mine, saying a cleanup crew rushed its work and failed to consider the complex engineering involved, triggering the very blowout it hoped to avoid.
The Interior Department probe concludes that the spill that fouled rivers in three states would have been avoided had the EPA team checked on water levels before digging into the mine.
The Associated Press obtained the investigation's findings on the Aug. 5 spill prior to their public release on Thursday. The 132-page report has implications across the United States, where hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines have yet to be cleaned up.
FEMA Denies Navajo Nation Request For Emergency Declaration – Associated Press
Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied the Navajo Nation's request for an emergency declaration due to a mine spill.
Tribal President Russell Begaye made the request earlier this month. Tribal officials have said they're unsatisfied with the response of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which unleashed 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater from a Colorado gold mine in August.
That water flowed into the San Juan River, which runs through the northern part of the Navajo Nation.
FEMA said this week that most of the response and recovery efforts for the spill fall under the authority of other federal agencies and denied Begaye's request.
Begaye called FEMA's decision ill-advised and said he will appeal. He says the spill devastated the Navajo Nation culturally and economically.
Report: Nuke Dump More Focused On Schedule Than Safety – Carlsbad Current-Argus, Associated Press
A federal report suggests that operations at a troubled nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico were rushed, with management focusing on meeting the scheduled reopening date more than on doing things correctly.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports that the Department of Energy's Independent Office of Enterprise Assessments released a report Oct. 15 that looked at trends at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad to try to find trends in safety.
The plant was closed from February 2014 until this month.
The report looks at the plant's operations from May 2014 to May 2015, but was only just released, a point Carlsbad officials are saying is unfair.
Carlsbad Mayor's Nuclear Task Force Chairman John Heaton says many of the points made in the report have already been resolved.
Bernalillo Rep. Maez To Step Down In Wake Of Son's Arrest – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
State Rep. Stephanie Maez has decided to step down in order to focus on her family in the wake of her son's arrest.
Her 18-year-old son, Donovan Maez, has pleaded not guilty to murder in connection to a fatal drive-by shooting of an Albuquerque teenager.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Maez says she will submit her letter of resignation to the Legislature this week. She says it will not be effective until Nov. 5. She says it has been an honor to represent Bernalillo County.
Maez had previously said she planned to run for election next year, but that was before her son's arrest in August.
After Maez steps down, the Bernalillo County Commission will have to pick a successor to serve the remainder of her two-year term that runs through 2016.
Officer Shot During Traffic Stop Identified – Associated Press
A police union has identified the officer shot multiple times Wednesday as Dan Webster.
Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Stephanie Lopez said Thursday that Webster remains in "critical but somewhat stable condition" and has already gone through a number of surgeries. She says more surgeries will be needed soon.
The eight-year veteran officer underwent surgery Wednesday night.
Lopez declined to give more details on the officer's condition.
Authorities say 34-year-old Davon Lymon shot Webster during a traffic stop late Wednesday. Lymon was later arrested and now is facing federal weapons violation charges.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Lymon or indicate when he will appear in court.
Parents Hit By Violent Road Rage 'Holding Up' – Associated Press
An Albuquerque city councilor says the parents of a 4-year-old girl killed during a road-rage shooting are surrounded by family and friends.
Councilor Rey Garduño told The Associated Press on Thursday that Alan and Veronica Garcia are holding up emotionally but often get overwhelmed.
Police say Iliana "Lily" Rose Garcia was shot in the head Wednesday during an expletive-filled encounter on an Albuquerque interstate. Authorities say 32-year-old Tony Torrez cut off the girl's father, chased him and then fired four shots toward his car.
Torrez has been charged with murder, assault, child abuse and other crimes. He made a court appearance from jail via video as a judge reviewed the terms of his $650,000 cash-only bond.