Report: Care Provider Needs Funding Increase – The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican
A company providing some behavioral health services in New Mexico following a shake-up of the state's network says it needs more money to stay afloat.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Turquoise Health and Wellness said in an Oct. 9 report that it "is currently not a financially viable organization on its own."
Turquoise operates in Carlsbad, Clovis and Roswell. The company is a unit of Phoenix-based Lifewell Behavioral Wellness Inc.
Turquoise was one of five Arizona firms hired by Gov. Susana Martinez's administration last year after the abrupt termination of 15 New Mexico behavioral health providers suspected of Medicaid fraud.
Martinez, King Square Off In Final Debate - The Associated Press and KOAT TV
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and Democratic hopeful Gary King are squaring off in their final televised debate.
Martinez and King participated Sunday evening in a forum televised by Albuquerque station KOAT. The two offered no surprises during their opening statements, sticking to talking points they have used throughout the campaign.
With Election Day fast approaching, their campaigns also are continuing to hammer one another on the airwaves as voter concerns about the economy and education to set the tone for the race.
Martinez says the state is making progress with student achievement. She says more money is being spent on education and more is being targeted for specific classroom needs.
King, who is backed by labor unions including the National Education Association, wants to reduce or eliminate standardized testing requirements.
New Mexico Invests $1.1M In Preservation - The Associated Press
A near record number of grants awarded by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division resulted in more than $1.1 million being invested in preservation projects this year.
The division says work was completed in September on 16 projects around the state. That work was paid for with more than $300,000 in grants earlier this year. Communities invested another $735,000 in matching funds and labor.
The projects ranged from stabilizing 1,000-year-old ruins in northwestern New Mexico to rebuilding Santo Domingo Trading Post's 1880 warehouse façade.
The groundwork was also set for preserving a five-mile section of Raton Pass.
In Silver City, residents will have a downtown movie theater for the first time in more than 10 years. Lordsburg completed a cultural resource survey aimed at establishing the first historic district in Hidalgo County.
Scientists Study Fire's Effects On Rare Snake - The Associated Press and Arizona Daily Sun
Following a fire that ripped through northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon last summer, scientists are only now beginning to study the effects on sensitive plants and species.
The narrow-headed garter snake is among the species they're monitoring. The reptile — found in clear, rocky streams in Arizona and New Mexico — was designated as a threatened species in July.
Before the Slide Fire, Oak Creek Canyon had the largest population of narrow-headed garter snakes.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that scientists aren't sure about that now.
Northern Arizona University professor Erika Nowak says the snakes' range corresponds to where large fires and post-fire flooding are happening in the Southwest.
Researchers have already seen the snake's numbers nosedive in New Mexico in the wake of the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy blaze.