New Mexico Attorney General To Review Police Training Goals - The Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has announced he will review the much-debated curriculum of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.
Balderas said Tuesday as chair of the board that oversees the academy he also will examine if the academy is following state transparency laws and wants to make sure officer discipline is handled appropriately.
The announcement comes as the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board is set to meets in Espanola on June 9 and 10.
The eight-member board came under scrutiny in September 2013 after it voted to give complete control over the curriculum to director Jack Jones.
Jones shortened classes to 16 weeks from 22 and changed use of deadly force training.
Balderas says the review is needed amid police protests in Ferguson and Baltimore.
New Mexico Regulators Approve Dairy Agreement - The Associated Press
New Mexico regulators have signed off on an agreement brokered by dairy farmers, state officials and environmental groups.
The Water Quality Control Commission voted unanimously to approve the agreement during a meeting Tuesday in Santa Fe. It marks a compromise over how best to protect groundwater from potential contamination from dairy operations.
Settlement talks began earlier this year as regulators prepared for a public hearing to consider changes to New Mexico's dairy regulations.
Attorney General Hector Balderas says the agreement is critical to southern New Mexico's economy and water quality. He pointed out that the dairy industry has an economic impact of about $1.4 billion.
The new regulations require monitoring wells and dairies will be allowed to line their waste ponds with clay liners so long as there's no contamination.
Teacher, Principal Face Charges After Throwing Books At Kids – The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
A principal and teacher from a Santa Fe middle school are facing charges after the teacher was accused of throwing three paperback books that hit two students.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Mary Slaughter, a language arts teacher at De Vargas Middle School, has been charged with two counts of child abuse not resulting in death or great bodily harm after she was accused of lobbing the books. Principal Marc Ducharme has been charged with failing to report child abuse for the April 30 incident.
A Santa Fe Public Schools spokeswoman says Slaughter is on administrative leave and that child safety is a top priority. She said the school initially conducted a preliminary investigation before the matter was turned over to human resources.
Comic Book 'Preacher' Pilot To Be Filmed In New Mexico - The Associated Press
A television pilot based on a comic book series about a conflicted preacher in a small Texas town who is inhabited by a powerful entity will be filmed in New Mexico.
New Mexico Film Office Director Nick Maniatis announced Tuesday that AMC-TV and Sony Pictures Television will produce the pilot "Preacher" in the state May through the beginning of June.
The pilot will be directed by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg.
Officials say the production will employ at least 80 New Mexico crew members and 17 New Mexico actors.
Preliminary Hearing Set In Fatal Shooting Involving Officers - The Associated Press
A hearing has been scheduled for a judge to decide whether two current and former Albuquerque police officers will stand trial in the 2014 fatal shooting of a homeless man.
The preliminary hearing for Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy in the killing of James Boyd will be held Aug. 3.
A judge will hear testimony and then decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bind the men over for trial.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn has requested additional testing to address defense attorneys' question about which of the two officers fired the third shot into Boyd's back that may have killed him during an hourlongs standoff.
McGinn expects to announce her charging decision after the test results come back in a few weeks.
New Mexico Public Defender Shortfall May Spark Legal Action - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
The public defender state office says a budget crisis is preventing it from providing contract defenders for indigent defendants who aren't jailed.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Chief Public Defender Jorge Alvarado recently sent to chief judges statewide saying the predicted budget crisis had materialized for his office.
Contract defenders typically are hired when there is more than one defendant in a case, or in rural areas such as Lincoln or Cibola counties. Those are places where the Law Office of the Public Defender doesn't have staff.
The move could lead to a lawsuit.
The New Mexico Public Defender Commission has a special meeting on Wednesday in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico School of Law.
Las Cruces Police: Elderly Man Is Accused Of Killing His Son - The Associated Press
An 89-year-old man is facing charges in the fatal shooting of his son at a Las Cruces senior living center.
Las Cruces police say Carl Fredrick Harlan is accused of an open count of murder plus kidnapping and three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Harlan was shot in the right hand by a police officer Monday at The Hallmark independent living facility.
He remains hospitalized, but police say Harlan will be arrested as soon as he's released.
Police say 65-year-old Carl Tracy Harlan suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
They say Carl Harlan drove from Arizona to visit his father and there was a possible altercation inside the room between the men that led to the shooting.
California Men Sentenced For Meth Trafficking In New Mexico - The Associated Press
Two California men have been sentenced to federal prison in New Mexico after pleading guilty to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Prosecutors say 51-year-old Mario Llantada received a 14-year prison term Tuesday while 42-year-old Martin Llantada was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison.
Both men are from La Puente, California. They will each have to be on five years of supervised release after their prison terms.
The two were arrested and indicted in March 2014.
They were accused of conspiring to sell about four pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover FBI agent in New Mexico's Dona Ana County.
Prosecutors say Mario Llantada also was accused of money laundering and using a communication device in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Revenue Plan For Spaceport America Gets Go-Ahead – The Associated Press
Spaceport America is launching a new business plan to bring in more revenue and prove itself worthy of New Mexico's tax dollars.
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority's board of directors officially approved Wednesday the five-year plan proposed by Spaceport America CEO Christine Anderson.
The plan outlines goals to lure resources in fields within and outside of aerospace.
Officials say they want to see a rise in suborbital spaceflight activities starting in 2017.
The spaceport also proposes obtaining 30 percent of its revenue from non-aerospace sectors by 2020.
The facility's success has been tied to anchor tenant Virgin Galactic.
But Virgin's continuing delays have irked lawmakers, who say they are tired of taxpayers footing the bill.
The project has cost more than $200 million so far.
Health Department Facing Projected Deficit Of $6 Million – The Associated Press
The state health department is facing a projected deficit of nearly $6 million.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the department had a $27 million surplus only two years ago and its practice of contracting with private nursing services may have contributed to budget problems.
State Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela says the budget shortfall is a result of the system. He says there has been excessive turnover among nurses, so the department has been hiring temporary nursing services to fill the gaps.
The amount spent by the department on nursing services has increased more than four-fold in recent years.
State health officials said Tuesday that their budget woes were caused, in part, by higher bills, litigation costs, a general fund reduction, less money from state funds and inflation.
Mountainair School District Votes On Shortening School Week – The Associated Press
A New Mexico school district has voted to attend fewer days of school.
KRQE reports that students in the town of Mountainair will go to school Monday through Thursday, but the days will be longer.
The school board says the change will improve academics and attendance because more kids will come to school if they only have to go for four days.
One parent says she has concerns about parents having to leave kids at home alone because most people in the district are living below the poverty line and can't afford to get a baby sitter.
Mountainair High School junior Joseph Mosely says the free day will give parents a chance to schedule other appointments.
The district says the new move will also save the school money.
Figures Show New Mexico Economic Outlook Stabilizing – The Associated Press
Despite weak oil and natural gas prices, New Mexico's budget picture is stabilizing with personal and corporate income taxes largely driving an increase in anticipated revenues.
The latest estimates show that revenue for the current fiscal year is expected to increase by $136 million to $6.25 billion as compared with a February forecast.
State financial analysts are trying to figure out what's driving the uptick in those taxes but say it's generally attributable to the improving economy.
They caution that the estimated increase in revenues doesn't equate to new money that could be available to spend in fiscal 2017 because hard numbers won't be available until after July 1, the start of fiscal year 2016.
Gov. Susana Martinez in March signed a $6.2 billion budget for the next fiscal year.
Lawsuit: Pedophile New England Priest Sent To New Mexico – The Associated Press
A new lawsuit says the Vatican sent a New England priest accused of raping boys and stealing parish money to New Mexico for treatment and that he later abused a boy here numerous times.
The lawsuit recently filed in Albuquerque District Court says a religious order in Massachusetts wrote the Vatican seeking to fire Rev. John George Weisenborn. However, the Vatican instructed the diocese to send Weisenborn to New Mexico in 1964 where he was later hired as a full-time priest.
According to the lawsuit, Weisenborn abused as boy more than fifty times as a priest at St. Francis Xavier in Albuquerque beginning in 1968.
Court documents say Weisenborn also was detained three times in Washington D.C. for having sex with boys before coming to New Mexico.
A Santa Fe Archdiocese spokeswoman did not comment on the lawsuit.
Carlsbad Site Could Be Used For Plutonium Disposal – The Associated Press
A U.S. Department of Energy report indicates that a site in southern New Mexico may be used to dispose of plutonium from surplus nuclear weapons.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports that the the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad could be a lower cost alternative to a federal program that would convert weapons-grade plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel.
That program is called the mixed oxide nuclear program or MOX.
A spending bill passed by Congress in December required the DOE to review the costs of plutonium disposal.
The Union of Concerned Scientists and the International Panel on Fissile Material issued statements last month urging the DOE to cancel MOX.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014 after a salt truck fire and radiological release.
New Mexico Gets Waiver On Federal Teacher Requirements – The Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Education will give New Mexico a waiver on requiring all classrooms have a "highly qualified" teacher as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The New Mexico Public Education Department announced late Tuesday that the waiver will give state officials more flexibility.
Under the current law, a "highly qualified" physics teacher who is rated highly effective with a strong record of student achievement growth cannot teach an algebra course. That teacher would first have to become "highly qualified" in math.
The waiver, requested by New Mexico, allows school districts to replace credentials with demonstrated effectiveness. State officials say that physics teacher can now teach math.
Education Secretary Hanna Skandera called the waiver "a big win for New Mexico's students."