Gov. Martinez To Unveil New State Energy Plan – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez is expected to unveil a new energy policy as industry experts gather in southeastern New Mexico for an annual summit.
The governor's office says the new policy will call for an all-of-the-above approach, not unlike the prescription being pushed at the federal level.
The plan has been more than a year in the making. Several listening sessions were held around the state and more than 400 people participated.
State officials say the goals in promoting all energy sources include job creation and the diversification of a key sector of New Mexico's economy.
Aside from the governor, speakers at Monday's meeting in Carlsbad include T. Boone Pickens, a Texas billionaire who made much of his fortune in oil but has since become an advocate for alternative energy.
New Mexico Drive Encourages Steps To Promote Breastfeeding – The Associated Press
A new media campaign being launched in New Mexico by a coalition that promotes breastfeeding encourages hospitals to adopt an array of practices for maternity and infant care.
The campaign includes billboards and bus signs encouraging people to find out whether hospitals are taking steps hospitals to be equipped to encourage breastfeeding from the moment of birth.
The task force says eight of New Mexico's 30 hospitals have designations associated with encouraging breastfeeding.
Reported Suicide Attempts Among New Mexico Teenagers Drop – The Associated Press
The number of New Mexico teenagers who reported attempting suicide in 2013 has decreased by more than a third from a decade earlier, but the rate of young people in the state who take their own lives still remains above the national average.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a survey from the state Department of Health found that 9.4 percent of high school students reported attempting suicide in 2013, down from 14.5 percent in 2003.
State officials say the drop can be attributed to suicide-prevention programs, which have been implemented on school campuses statewide.
New Mexico's suicide rate among people ages 15 to 24 still exceeds the national average, ranking seventh highest among the states.
The state's suicide-prevention program received about $1 million in funding last year.
UNM Art Exhibit Explores Police, Gun Violence – The Associated Press
The University of New Mexico is hosting a debated art show meant to highlight police brutality and gun violence.
KRQE-TV reports that the Necessary Force: Art in the Police State will run until Dec. 12. The exhibit includes portraits from events during the civil rights movement and an overturned police cruiser playing scanner chatter from unrest in cities like Ferguson, Missouri.
UNM College of Fine Arts Dean Kymberly Pinder says the show is not meant to be anti-police, but instead anti-brutality and anti-gun violence.
The artists featured in the exhibit are both from the U.S. and abroad and are of varying ages, bringing a wide range of perspectives to the artwork.
UNM officials say the art show does not represent any opinion held by the university.
Bio-Fuel Firm Causes Grease Spill Into Santa Fe River – The Associated Press
City Officials say a company that recycles grease and food waste for restaurants has left a mess in the Santa Fe River.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that city crews pumped out cooking oil Saturday evening that spilled into the river earlier in the day, turning a portion of the dry riverbed orange.
Restaurant owner Tim Eckre says workers with Valley Proteins, which retrieves grease from his business once a month, dropped a barrel of used canola oil around 5 a.m.
City water conservation workers say the workers used a hose to wash the oil into a storm drain instead of sopping it up.
Officials say that drain leads to the river.
No one at the Winchester, Virginia-based company's headquarters was immediately available Sunday to comment.
PNM Pushes Back At Environmental Group Over Coal Plant Case – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Public Service Company of New Mexico is pushing back at environmentalists trying to disqualify state regulators from voting on plans for a coal-fired power plant that provides electricity around the Southwest.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the utility issued a formal response Friday to New Energy Economy's motions that four Public Regulation Commission members recuse themselves from voting.
In the 32-page document, PNM attorney Benjamin Phillips blasts the group's allegations that regulators are too cozy with utility executives.
PNM is proposing to shutter two coal-fired units at the San Juan Generating Station and retrofit the remaining two to meet new Environmental Protection Agency standards.
New Energy, which seeks to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, has opposed the plan.
Two commissioners said Thursday they plan to vote.
New Mexico AG Requests Further Injunction On Horse Slaughter – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The New Mexico attorney general is asking a state district judge to take further measures to prevent horse slaughtering in Roswell.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the AG is asking the judge to expand an injunction against a horse slaughter operation in the city to prevent another firm from starting one.
A. Blair Dunn, the lawyer for Valley Meat Co., says federal action has blocked slaughtering horses and the organization doesn't intend to do so in Roswell. He called the AG's request harassment.
The AG sued Valley Meat in 2013 and a preliminary injunction prevents the plant from operating. The next hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 22.
The company has refused to provide information to the AG, saying the lawsuit is moot because it is not planning horse slaughter.
Bio-Fuel Firm Causes Grease Spill Into Santa Fe River – Santa Fe New Mexican
City officials say a company that recycles grease and food waste for restaurants has left a mess in the Santa Fe River.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that city crews pumped out cooking oil Saturday evening that spilled into the river earlier in the day, turning a portion of the dry riverbed orange.
Restaurant owner Tim Eckre says workers with Valley Proteins, which retrieves grease from his business once a month, dropped a barrel of used canola oil around 5 a.m.
City water conservation workers say the workers used a hose to wash the oil into a storm drain instead of sopping it up.
Officials say that drain leads to the river.
No one at the Winchester, Virginia-based company's headquarters was immediately available Sunday to comment.
UNM To Divide $100 Million Bond Issue Over 2 Years – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The University of New Mexico will split a planned $100 million bond issue that will fund expansions to campus facilities over the next two years.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the UNM Board of Regents approved the divvying Friday, with the first $55 million in bonds to be sold in January and the second $45 million to be sold a year later.
School officials say the first bond will pay for the first phase of renovation for the Johnson Center, new buildings for the Anderson School of Management and renovations of Smith Plaza.
The second one will go toward a new physics and astronomy facility and a child care program.
Student government leaders say the majority of students support the Johnson Center project despite a likely rise in student fees.
AP Exclusive: After Spill, Work Suspended At 10 Mine Sites – By Matthew Brown And Dan Elliott, Associated Press
Federal officials suspended site investigations and some cleanup work at 10 polluted mining complexes because of conditions similar to those blamed in a massive wastewater blowout from an inactive Colorado goldmine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects include three sites in California, four in Colorado, two in Montana and one in Missouri.
A stop-work order affecting the sites was issued last month but officials did not disclose specifics. Details were provided following repeated requests from The Associated Press.
EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus says the suspended sites have the potential for contaminated water to build up inside mine workings.
That would set the stage for a blowout such as in Colorado, where an EPA team triggered a 3-million-gallon release of toxic sludge while doing excavation work on a mine near Silverton. That impact rivers in three states, including New Mexico.