Former Provider Sues Over New Mexico Mental Health Shakeup – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
A former behavioral health provider in southern New Mexico is suing a company that once managed the state's Medicaid dollars.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that La Frontera's lawsuit alleges United Healthcare engineered a cover-up of its own failings by accusing 15 nonprofit providers of fraud in 2013.
The lawsuit accuses United Healthcare and its subsidiary OptumHealth New Mexico of fraud and misrepresentation that led to La Frontera losing millions of dollars.
Arizona-based La Frontera had been brought in to replace some of the nonprofits that were accused of overbilling and possible fraud. Its lawsuit focuses on the first six months that it operated in southern New Mexico.
Optum spokeswoman Lauren Mihajlov says the company couldn't comment on the pending litigation.
New Mexico Gov. Martinez Won't Commit To Voting For Trump – Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez won't say if she will vote for Donald Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee.
But the chair of the Republican Governors Association and the nation's only Latina governor said Tuesday she's "certainly not" voting for Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
Her remarks come following a recent Associated Press survey of GOP senators and governors across the country that showed just under half of respondents would not commit to backing Trump if he's the nominee.
Their reluctance foreshadowed a potentially split in the party this fall. Martinez says around 70 percent of GOP delegates are still up for grabs and she still has time to make a decision.
New Mexico Limits Injury Payments When Workers Drunk Or High – The Associated Press
New Mexico is reducing workers compensation benefits for employees who injure themselves on the job while drunk or high.
Gov. Susana Martinez signed the legislation Wednesday in Albuquerque. It reduces workers compensation benefits by between 10 percent and 90 percent based on the degree that a worker's intoxication contributes to an accident.
Martinez called the legislation a matter of common sense and said employers will not be able file a compensation claim if they were aware of a worker's impairment and did not take action.
The Republican governor also approved a workforce development fund designed to quickly train and certify employees in specialized fields to help companies that move into or expand operations in New Mexico. The state has set aside $1.25 million to fund the initiative starting in July.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Dept. Rescues Man Lost In Basin – The Associated Press
Bernalillo County sheriff's personnel located and rescued a man who ended up in the Rio Puerco river basin after getting disoriented while driving.
The Sheriff's Department says the 78-year-old man called 911 late Tuesday to say he'd gotten lost and had ended up in a ravine where he couldn't see any landmarks.
Deputies drove around looking for the man but couldn't find him until personnel tracked the man's phone through a cellphone company and hiked to his location.
They then formed a human chain to pull the man to the top of the ravine. He was evaluated by paramedics and transported to a hospital for evaluation.
Alamogordo Getting US Funding For Flood-Prevention Projects – The Associated Press
Alamogordo will get nearly $10.5 million of federal funding to repair one flood-prevention channel and to finish building another.
The funding provided by the Army Corps of Engineers is for finishing construction of the McKinley Channel and for repairing the Alamogordo South Diversion Channel.
The waterways channel runoff from the Sacramento Mountains during rainstorms and help prevent downstream flooding in Alamogordo and the Tularosa Basin.
The funding was announced Wednesday by two members of the state's congressional delegation, Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich.
Audit: Los Alamos Lab Has Poor System For Fixing Problems – The Associated Press
An audit has found that the Los Alamos National Laboratory's system for solving management problems is lacking.
The report, released Tuesday by the Department of Energy's Office of the Inspector General, suggests the lab's corrective action program does not address issues or prevent their recurrence, including on health and safety issues.
The audit looked at almost 200 management issues between January 2009 and February 2014 and found that almost half were closed without addressing the root cause.
The audit wasn't all bad. The report praised a program that allows employees to raise concerns and have them investigate without retaliation.
A Los Alamos spokesman says the lab is working with the National Nuclear Safety Administration to address the issues found in the audit.
Experts: Colorado River Protection Disjointed, Underplayed – The Associated Press
Researchers say environmental protection for the 1,450-mile-long Colorado River is disjointed and too often gets a low priority.
A new critique from the Colorado River Research Group says four multimillion-dollar conservation programs do valuable work but would have more impact if they treated the entire river as a single, integrated system instead of operating separately.
The research group is an independent organization of academics with expertise in water, agriculture, law and other fields.
They also say the river is managed primarily as a "plumbing system" to provide water for cities and agriculture and not as an ecosystem.
The Colorado is the lifeblood of the Southwest, supplying water to about 40 million people and 6,300 square miles of farmland in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Mayor In Troubled New Mexico Border City Wins Re-Election – The Associated Press
The mayor of a troubled border city in New Mexico has won re-election against a city councilor who previously was arrested at city hall on drug charges.
Unofficial results show that Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea captured 78 percent of the vote Tuesday over councilor Sergio Carrillo.
Perea has led the Sunland Park since it was rocked by a scandal involving a former mayoral candidate who secretly recorded an opponent receiving a lap dance from a topless woman. He also has worked to get the city's finances in order.
Last year, the 29-year-old Carrillo was charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from a previous traffic stop.
His attorney, Jess Lilley, said Carrillo has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sun Belt Conference To Drop New Mexico State, Idaho Football – The Associated Press
The Sun Belt Conference presidents and chancellors have decided to drop New Mexico State from its football conference beginning in 2018.
The New Orleans-based conference announced Tuesday that its presidents and chancellors have decided to remain a 10-football team conference and not renew agreements with New Mexico State and Idaho.
Both football teams will play in the conference until 2017.
New Mexico State President Garrey Carruthers says the schools is disappointed but respects the conference's decision.
New Mexico State remains a member of the Western Athletic Conference for non-football sports.
The university is currently evaluating options for football.
Family Files Suit Against Albuquerque Police Over Shooting – Associated Press
An Albuquerque family has filed a wrongful-death claim against the city, arguing their legal team's analysis of evidence doesn't back up officer accounts that a teenager pointed a gun at an officer before she was shot.
Police said 19-year-old Mary Hawkes, a suspect in a vehicle theft, pointed a gun at Officer Jeremy Dear, prompting him to open fire in April 2014. But a review of police video, ballistics and other evidence by the family’s attorney raises questions about the police account.
A city attorney and Dear's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday evening after the lawsuit was filed.
Hawkes' death came amid heightened scrutiny of shootings by Albuquerque police — happening just weeks after another shooting by police sparked protests and a federal investigation described a culture of excessive force among police.
New Federal Audit Criticizes LANL Management Problems – Santa Fe New Mexican
A new federal audit is highly critical of management at Los Alamos National Laboratory for failing to address health and safety issues.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General found the lab has not analyzed and addressed the underlying reasons behind a variety of problems. That includes serious health and safety issues.
Among the problems the auditor addressed was handling of dangerous waste. That included outlining what subcontractors should do if there were conflicting opinions around a technical process, such as what happened with a barrel of waste shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
In 2014 a barrel of transuranic waste processed at LANL and shipped to the WIPP ruptured and prompted a shutdown of the underground storage facility.
The Department of Energy announced it will put the lab’s management contract up for bid next year. Currently a consortium of universities and for-profit companies holds the $2.2 billion contract.
New Mexico Governor Signs DWI Legislation – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez has signed a bill aimed at toughening penalties for drunken driving offenses.
Martinez signed the measure during a visit Tuesday to New Mexico State Police headquarters in Albuquerque. The measure makes it a second-degree felony to be convicted of eight or more DWIs, meaning tougher sentencing guidelines would be imposed.
The measure also substantially increases penalties for convicted drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes.
The proposal was part of the Republican governor's overall public safety agenda this past legislative session. Martinez says cracking down on repeat offenders is the right thing to do.
Ex-Officers Of Contracting Firm Face Prison For Work In Iraq – Associated Press
Two former officers of a New Mexico-based defense contracting firm have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to wartime rebuilding projects in Iraq.
Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Neal Kasper and his 49-year-old wife, Tiffany White, were involved in a scheme to solicit and accept kickbacks in return for favorable treatment in awarding subcontracts. Kasper pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to solicit and accept kickbacks charges, while White pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax charges.
The couple was indicted in February 2012 for conspiring to defraud the government of more than $5 million. Prosecutors say Kasper is facing up to 20 years in prison on the wire-fraud charge and five years on the kickback conspiracy charge.
Disgraced New Mexico Official Withdraws Protest Of Probation – Associated Press
Disgraced former Secretary of State Dianna Duran has called off her request for a reduction in probation requirements under felony convictions for money laundering and embezzlement.
Duran withdrew on Tuesday her request to reduce probation requirements such as public speaking engagements, community service work and restrictions on in-state travel.
State Attorney General Hector Balderas opposed the request.
Duran has completed a 30 day jail sentence after resigning from office and acknowledging she used political campaign funds to fuel a gambling spree.
An attorney for Duran had equated the public speaking with public shaming and said Duran would be in danger judging from threatening online comments.
The attorney general's office says there are no credible threats against Duran and that speaking to civic groups is beneficial.
New Mexico Chile Production, Value On The Rise – Associated Press
It was a good year for New Mexico's chile farmers.
Statistics released Tuesday by state and federal agriculture officials show the acreage planted, the number of tons produced and the value of New Mexico's most well-known crop all increased in 2015.
Officials say the value of chile production in 2015 was estimated at more than $41 million, compared to $38.7 million the previous year.
Chile used for processing accounted for most of the total, while the fresh crops came in at $7.5 million.
A total of 66,700 tons were produced last year, marking the most since 2012 but not as much as the nearly 90,000 tons produced in 2005. Production has fluctuated over the last decade.
House Panel Chairman: Gold King Mine Was Breached On Purpose – By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
The Republican leader of a congressional panel investigating a 3-million-gallon spill of toxic wastewater from an inactive Colorado gold mine says the mine was purposely breached by a government cleanup team.
Tuesday's assertion by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop appears to contradict claims by the Obama administration that the cleanup team was doing only preparatory work at the site.
Bishop cited an email in which an Interior Department official said the spill occurred while the cleanup team was removing a "plug" blocking the mine's entrance and holding back the wastewater.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in response she stands by her earlier statements that the spill was an accident.
The wastewater fouled downstream rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah and forced the shutdown of public water supplies.
Roswell Tables Proposals To Name Property After Cesar Chavez – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
Roswell officials have decided to put any plans to rename city property after the late California farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez on hold.
The Roswell Daily Record reports that on Monday the City Council voted unanimously to indefinitely delay proposals to rename a recreation center or a square block after Chavez.
The city council has been embattled for more than a year trying to honor Chavez. Last year, a proposal to rename a street after him failed to gain traction without the support of the Chaves County commission.
City Councilor Elena Velasquez, who has been pushing for the dedication, says the city needs to work on educating the community before it can turn its attention to naming anything after Chavez. Monday was Velasquez's last meeting before her term expired.
Fans Fear Historic New Mexico Murder Site Endangered – KVIA-TV, Associated Press
The purported site in southern New Mexico where the killer of Billy the Kid was murder himself is in danger of more vandalism and possible development.
KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, reports that history buffs fear the site of the alleged murder of Sheriff Pat Garrett could face more trouble if the state doesn't work to preserve it.
The site is about one mile from a historical marker in east Las Cruces.
Garrett is famous for gunning down the legendary outlaw, Billy the Kid. But the circumstances surrounding Garrett's death are unclear. Some say he was ambushed while taking a stop in the desert.
The New Mexico State Historical Society said it was not aware of any plans to preserve the site.
State, Feds Work Together On Gila Trout Recovery Project – Associated Press
State and federal wildlife managers want to know what the public thinks about a proposal for restoring native Gila trout and other native fish to Whitewater Creek and its tributaries.
The Gila National Forest says the public will have through March 25 to comment on the plan.
Officials say the goal is to restore the Gila trout to about 24 miles of steam in hopes of establishing a fishable population.
The majority of the project would be within the Gila Wilderness.
Under the plan, Gila trout and other native fish would be stocked after nonnative fish are removed.
The proposal also calls for trail maintenance and reconstruction activities to restore public access to Whitewater Creek. Officials say post-fire erosion damaged all of the trails that provide access to the creek.