College President Warns Budget Problems May Force Cuts – The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
The president of the community college serving the Albuquerque area says fiscal belt-tightening might have to include cuts of low-enrollment classes.
Central New Mexico Community College President Kathie Winograd told employees and staff that she believes proposed increases in state funding are optimistic and that higher education could actually face funding cuts.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Winograd's emailed message asks employees to turn off lights at night and to urge people to take classes at the college because its state funding is based partly on enrollment.
Winograd also says travel will be limited and that hiring and capital projects will be carefully scrutinized.
Falling oil prices have prompted state officials to scale back revenue estimates based partly on energy taxes.
Officers Facing Murder Charges Want DA Off The Case - The Associated Press
Two Albuquerque officers facing murder charges for the shooting death of a homeless man want the district attorney who charged them disqualified.
Lawyers for Albuquerque SWAT team member Dominique Perez and former detective Keith Sandy filed a joint motion Thursday to remove Bernalillo County D-A Kari Brandenburg from the case due to a conflict of interest.
The lawyers say both men have helped the district attorney's office in the past on other cases. The lawyers also say that bribery allegations made by Albuquerque police against Brandenburg "creates the impression of bias or impartiality."
Brandenburg announced this week she was seeking charges in the March shooting death of 38-year-old James Boyd.
A spokeswoman for Brandenburg says her office is reviewing the motion.
Mayor: No Racial 'Component' To Albuquerque Police Shootings – The Associated Press
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry says there isn't a "racial component" to the city's police shootings like in other cities.
However, Berry said Friday that mental health issues have played a role in some the more than 40 police shootings in New Mexico's largest city since 2010.
Berry made the comments while speaking on KKOB-AM and said the city is looking to get more resources for residents who are suffering from mental illness. He says the city is asking state lawmakers for help.
State lawmakers are expected to consider a measure that would force some residents with severe mental illness to receive court-ordered outpatient treatment.
Officials estimate that around 75 percent of Albuquerque police shootings involved suspects battling mental illness.
Albuquerque Police ID Officers In Latest Shooting – The Associated Press
Albuquerque police have released the names of two officers who authorities say killed a body-armor wearing man in a shootout.
Police said Thursday that officers Michael Oates and Matthew Fisher shot and killed John Edward Okeefe following a foot chase that ended up in an exchange of gunfire.
According to police, the 34-year-old Okeefe was wearing stolen body armor late Tuesday when he fired a stolen handgun at officers. Police were responding to a call about two suspicious suspects.
Police later said the gun and bulletproof vest were stolen from a Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy.
Authorities say Okeefe had previously been arrested for narcotics charges and armed robbery in Missouri.
It was the department's third shooting this year and the third time an officer has faced gunfire.
College President Warns Budget Problems May Force Cuts - The Associated Press & The Albuquerque Journal
The president of the community college serving the Albuquerque area says fiscal belt-tightening might have to include cuts of low-enrollment classes.
Central New Mexico Community College President Kathie Winograd told employees and staff that she believes proposed increases in state funding are optimistic and that higher education could actually face funding cuts.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Winograd's emailed message asks employees to turn off lights at night and to urge people to take classes at the college because its state funding is based partly on enrollment.
Winograd also says travel will be limited and that hiring and capital projects will be carefully scrutinized.
Falling oil prices have prompted state officials to scale back revenue estimates based partly on energy taxes.
Officers Make Marijuana Busts At Santa Teresa Port – The Associated Press
Two stops at the Santa Teresa port of entry have netted more than 280 pounds of marijuana.
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection say they made the stops Tuesday.
The first happened around 9 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck pulled into the port from Mexico. An officer noted an anomaly in the auxiliary fuel tank in the bed of the truck.
A drug sniffing dog and the port's x-ray system helped to uncover 165 marijuana-filled bundles hidden in the fuel tank. The driver was arrested.
The second seizure happened in the evening when a sedan entered from Mexico. That driver was arrested after officers found more than 100 bundles of marijuana hidden in multiple compartments within the car.
Prosecutors Seek $250,000 Fine For Convicted Former Sheriff - The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican
Federal prosecutors want a judge to impose a $250,000 fine and a stiff prison sentence on a former New Mexico sheriff.
Former Rio Arriba County Sheriff Tommy Rodella was convicted Sept. 26 of brandishing a firearm and deprivation of rights against a motorist during a road-rage incident last March. He's to be sentenced Wednesday.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that prosecutors filed their request for a $250,000 fine in response to Rodella's request for leniency.
Prosecutors said Rodella failed to fully disclose his assets during a pre-sentencing investigation.
Rodella faces a mandatory seven years in prison on the firearm count and up to 10 additional years on the rights count.
Rodella's lawyers asked for a sentence of no more than eight years, partly because a health condition.
Albuquerque Police Identify Officers Involved In Shooting - The Associated Press
Albuquerque police have released the names of two officers involved in a fatal shootout with a man who reportedly fired first.
The names of officers Michael Oates and Matthew Fisher were released after they completed their interviews with investigators.
According to police, 34-year-old John Edward Okeefe was wearing stolen body armor late Tuesday when he fired a stolen handgun at officers responding to a call about two suspicious suspects.
Police said the gun and bulletproof vest were stolen from a Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy.
Forecast: A Dry Start To The Year For New Mexico - The Associated Press
Federal forecasters say the Southwest is among the areas of the country that are starting the year drier than normal, and that could mean a fifth straight year of drought for New Mexico.
The forecast was released yesterday by the National Water and Climate Center.
It says New Mexico and other states are experiencing prolonged drought, which has focused attention on winter snowpack throughout the region. Snowpack serves as an indicator of how much water can be expected to flow through rivers and streams later in the year.
There were a few storms that produced decent snowfall in the higher northern terrain in December. But forecasters say early-season snowpack is below normal in the mountains of New Mexico.
Hydrologist Cara McCarthy says this is just the first forecast of the season so things could change.
New Mexico Calls Out Air Force Base In Contamination Case - The Associated Press
The state Environment Department has issued a notice of violation related to the decades-old fuel leak at Kirtland Air Force Base.
The state agency says the U.S. Air Force missed the most recent deadline to design and implement an interim system for cleaning up contamination from the fuel leak.
As part of the notice, the Air Force faces a civil penalty up to $10,000 and an additional $5,000 for each day the violation continues.
UNM To Fund Difference In Lottery Scholarships - The Associated Press
The University of New Mexico says it will step in to cover the difference in lottery scholarships for the spring semester for some students.
The state Higher Education Department notified colleges and universities last month that the scholarship award will not cover 100 percent of tuition this semester.
The scholarships will fund about 98 percent of tuition for 15 credit hours at UNM.
The university is paying the difference of about $56 for those students who have financial need or were recipients of merit scholarships.
More than half of students with lottery scholarship at UNM received the supplement.
Changes to the lottery scholarship program were enacted last year to shore up its finances because tuition increases and demand for the financial assistance had grown faster than lottery proceeds.
Chavez County Takes First Step Toward Solar Project - The Associated Press and Roswell Daily Record
Chaves County commissioners have taken their first step to support a $290 million solar project capable of producing enough electricity to power more than 40,000 average homes.
The commission yesterday approved a resolution that will pave the way for a vote next month on an ordinance to issue industrial revenue bonds on behalf of the project's developer.
County leaders say the bond sale would not financially obligate the county.
The Roswell Daily Record reports NextEra Energy Resources, one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., has proposed building three separate solar farms on 1,300 acres of private land northeast of Roswell.
Company officials say the project would create at least 300 construction jobs and about five full-time jobs to keep the plant running.
5 Animals Test Positive For Plague In Past 3 Months - The Associated Press
State health officials are reporting five cases of plague in animals in the Santa Fe area since last November.
The New Mexico Department of Health says three cats, one dog and one mouse have all been confirmed with plague.
Officials say all of the animals that tested positive are from residences in south Santa Fe near the Interstate 25 corridor.
Environmental investigations were conducted at each site to look for ongoing risk to others in the surrounding area.
Plague is a bacterial disease of rodents and is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas.
It can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, wildlife and pets.