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Gov. Martinez Welcomes Election Attention For NM, Griego Case Assigned To ABQ Judge

Gage Skidmore via Compfight
Ted Cruz won't campaign in NM

Gov. Martinez Welcomes Election Attention For New Mexico – The Associated Press

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez says she welcomes the attention New Mexico will get when the GOP presidential candidates begin campaigning in the state.

Still, Martinez — the chair of the national Republican Governors Association — doesn't plan on making an endorsement.

Her office made the statement after hopefuls Ted Cruz and John Kasich defended their new alliance as the party's last, best chance to stop Donald Trump. They're coordinating strategies in three of the 15 remaining primary states.

Kasich will step back in the May 3 Indiana contest to let Cruz bid without interference for voters who don't like Trump. Cruz will do the same for Kasich in contests in New Mexico and Oregon.

Martinez says she hopes the candidates will address issues important to New Mexico, such as its federal laboratories and military bases.

Hot-Potato Corruption Case Assigned To Albuquerque Judge – The Associated Press 

The New Mexico Supreme Court has named a Republican district court judge from Albuquerque to oversee criminal proceedings against former Sen. Phil Griego after nine Santa Fe-based judges stepped aside or were excused.

A spokesman for the Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Brett Loveless will preside over the case. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels made the appointment with the prior consent of Griego's attorney and the New Mexico attorney general's office.

Griego is accused of using his role as a legislator to profit from the sale of a state-owned building in 2014. He resigned in 2015 and recently pleaded not guilty to charges including fraud, bribery and tampering with public records.

Loveless won election in 2014 as a Second District Court judge after his appointment by Gov. Susana Martinez.

State To Draft Plan To Grow Endangered Bird's PopulationThe Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican

State wildlife officials will draft a plan to help protect an endangered bird species that is part of the grouse family.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the white-tailed ptarmigan has been listed as endangered in the state since 1975.

Taos County and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department will start drafting a management plan in May.

U.S. Forest Service data shows that less than 20 of the birds have been seen annually since 1985. Just three were seen in 2011.

Experts say white-tailed ptarmigans tend to inhabit high-altitude areas and survive in cooler temperatures.

Wildlife officials say the bird is threatened by factors like climate change, development and other animals competing for food.

A public meeting will be held May 5 in Taos.

Feds Use Prescribed Fire To Make Progress In Southwest  -The Associated Press

There's nothing secret about what's planned for Area 74 — a swath of forested land along the Continental Divide in southern New Mexico that needs some attention.

After years of planning, crews with the Gila National Forest are making final preparations to walk the 16-mile perimeter with drip torches.

Nearly 16 square miles will be set ablaze this spring as part of a $375 million nationwide campaign by the U.S. Forest Service to clean up overgrown forest and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires as things heat up and dry out.

The agency plans to treat close to 2 million acres with fire, mechanical thinning and other means.

State foresters, wildlife managers and environmental groups are pleading with Congress to approve more funding — $479 million — to boost the work in 2017.

Officers Investigate Shooting Involving Federal TaskforceThe Associate Press

Albuquerque police say multiple agencies are investigating a shooting at an Albuquerque apartment complex that involved a federal law enforcement taskforce.

Officer Tanner Tixier, a police spokesman, says Albuquerque police are at the apartment complex to help secure the scene, but none of the department's officers were involved in the shooting Tuesday afternoon.

He did not immediately provide any other details, including which agencies were part of the federal law enforcement task force and whether anyone was injured.

The Albuquerque Journal reports U.S. Marshals and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies also were at the scene of the shooting Tuesday.

More People Accessing Mental Health Services In New Mexico – The Associated Press

The number of people accessing behavioral health care services in New Mexico is growing, inching up almost 5 percent over a one-year period.

The Human Services Department released the data Monday, saying the increase stems partly from the expansion of the state's Medicaid program to ensure more low-income people have coverage and access to everything from primary care doctors to psychologists.

New Mexico residents have flocked to Medicaid since eligibility was broadened in 2014. Now, more than 850,000 people — about 40 percent of the state's population — are enrolled.

According to the latest data, more than 153,000 people used behavioral health services in 2015. That's nearly double the number in 2014.

Human Services Secretary Brent Earnest says the latest figures indicate the growth curve is beginning to level out.

Report: 52,000 New Mexico Youth Have Had Parent Imprisoned 
-Mary Hudetz, Associated Press

A new report says 52,000 children in New Mexico have had a parent serve time behind bars at some point in their lives.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation report released Monday shows New Mexico is one of a six states where 10 percent of youth have a parent who has been incarcerated.

Only Kentucky and Indiana had higher rates. The national rate is 7 percent.

The non-profit New Mexico Voices for Children says the report underscores the need for reforms that could include directing judges to consider the impact a sentence could have on a defendant's child, and measures aimed easing a parent's reentry into society after prison.

State Department of Corrections figures show there are currently more than 7,000 inmates in the state's prison system.

Chevron CEO: Company To Invest More In The Permian Basin – The Associate Press

Chevron Corp. plans to move from massive, billion-dollar oil and gas projects to the Permian Basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.

The Hobbs News-Sun reports Chevron chairman and CEO John Watson recently announced Chevron will put more of its budget into the Permian Basin while cutting costs elsewhere.

He made the announcement at the company's annual security analyst meeting last month.

Watson predicted by 2020 Chevron could pump up to 350,000 barrels a day from the Permian — almost triple its current 125,000 barrels a day.

The Permian Basin is around 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It encompasses several sub-basins, including the Delaware Basin in southern Eddy and Lea counties and the Midland Basin in Texas.

States File Opening Brief In Federal Ozone Rule Challenge 

A group of states has filed its opening brief in a federal lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's new ozone limits.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tightened the limits on ozone, a smog-forming pollutant linked to asthma and respiratory illness, to 70 parts per billion in October. A coalition of states including Wisconsin, Arizona, Kentucky, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Texas filed a federal lawsuit later that month challenging the rules.

The states filed their first brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Monday arguing that the standards are unachievable and would require stopping human activity across large parts of the country, amounting to an abuse of agency discretion.

Federal attorneys have until July 22 to respond.

Albuquerque Schools Won't Cut Current Teaching Positions 

Albuquerque Public School officials say teachers will not be laid off despite a proposal to save money by hiring fewer teachers.

The Albuquerque Journal reports  that APS officials say they're trying to cover a projected $9.5 million shortfall in state funding. They expect to save $3.3 million by hiring fewer teachers in response to declining enrollment, but say they won't remove any current teachers.

Some schools might lose vice principals and other support staff who are hired based on formulas tied to enrollment, saving $1.2 million.

APS Executive Director of Budget and Strategic Planning Debora Warren says enrollment may continue to decline this summer and administrators have to plan staffing levels now. She says the district will be more conservative than usual in estimating how many teachers are needed.