New Mexico Gov Signs Bill To Ban E-Cigarette Sales To Minors – The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation banning the sales of e-cigarettes and nicotine liquid containers to minors in New Mexico.
Sen. John Ryan's bill also requires those containers to be sold in child resistant packaging and prohibits online sales to minors.
The Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Republican says the products are dangerous.
He says nicotine is "addictive and harmful" and can be the "gateway to a lifelong addiction."
Martinez singed the bill Wednesday. The Public Education Department has to revise its tobacco, alcohol, and drug free school districts rule to include the products by Aug. 1.
A violation is a misdemeanor. A seller would be fined up to $1,000 and children buying or attempting to buy face a fine of up to $100 or 48 hour of community service.
Court Upholds Regulations For Pollution From Copper Mines – The Associated Press
The state Court of Appeals has upheld regulations that govern groundwater pollution by copper mines.
The court says the regulations do not violate the state's Water Quality Act as alleged by the state attorney general, environmentalists and a ranch owned by Ted Turner.
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn said Thursday that the regulations are the most stringent of any copper producing state in the West.
They were approved in September 2013 and include new engineering requirements for handling leftover rock, leach piles, tanks and pipelines.
The watchdog groups and Turner's Ladder Ranch had argued that the regulations give mining companies too much leeway to pollute groundwater.
The appellate court says those claims are unfounded. The court rejected a bid last year to put the regulations on hold while it considered the appeal.
Rio Grande Water Users In For Another Tough Year – The Associated Press
Federal officials say cities and farmers that depend on Rio Grande water are in for another tight year.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the annual operating plan for the Middle Rio Grande on Thursday.
Snowpack from the mountains that feed the Rio Grande now is halfway gone, and there has been little to no precipitation in the last month.
That means federal officials will be managing the waterway for drought for a fifth consecutive year.
Albuquerque, Santa Fe and others that rely on San Juan-Chama water see their allocations cut for a second year.
The Bureau of Reclamation says it is negotiating water leases to supplement river flows and will work to find extra water for the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow.
Former Jail Official Gets Probation In Inmate Sex Case – The Associated Press
A former supervisor at a New Mexico jail who admitted sexually assaulting three female inmates has been sentenced to five years of probation
The U.S. Attorney's Office says 70-year-old John Greene was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Albuquerque under a plea agreement.
Greene previously pleaded guilty to civil rights charges in the sexual assaults and to two counts of making material false statements to the FBI about two of the assaults at the Gallup-McKinley Adult Detention Center.
Court documents show Greene had access to the inmates when he accompanied them to court hearings, transported them to other facilities and had them brought to his office.
Greene must forfeit his law enforcement certification and register as a sex offender.
Pressure Building For Special Session On Capital Outlay – The Associated Press
Lt. Gov. John Sanchez say pressure is building for a special legislative session to fund capital improvement projects.
Sanchez spoke at an annual Chaves County Republican Party dinner this week, saying that negotiations with Democratic leaders for a special session are ongoing.
Legislators couldn't agree on about $270 million in a capital outlay bill, leaving the annual spending measure unfunded.
Gov. Susana Martinez says she had no plans to call back lawmakers to reconsider it. However, Sanchez says lawmakers could call themselves back for a special session.
According to the Roswell Daily Record, Sanchez say city and county officials, and public and private organizations are pushing state officials to pass what's known as the Christmas tree bill. It would allocate funding to each House and Senate district for projects.
New Mexico VA Clinic Among Nation's Worst For Care Delays – The Associated Press
A Veterans Affairs clinic in northwestern New Mexico ranks among the nation's worst when it comes to the percentage of appointments delayed a month or longer.
While local VA officials say they're doing their best to expand services in rural areas where recruiting is a challenge, advocates say more needs to be done — and fast.
The Associated Press examined wait times at 940 VA facilities nationwide to see how things might have improved since a scandal over delays and attempts to cover them up led to the resignation of the top VA official and prompted Congress to provide an infusion of cash.
The VA clinic in Farmington, New Mexico, came in at No. 6 on the list with wait times that were more than five times the national average.
Water-Supply Forecast For New Mexico Is A Downer - The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican
A new water-supply forecast signals that New Mexico could face continued trouble.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Climate Prediction Center forecast indicates that recent warm temperatures and relatively little snowfall means the state likely faces below-average runoff from snowpack in higher elevation for the fifth straight year.
The report says water flowing into major reservoirs is expected to be half or less of the 30-year average through July.
An earlier forecast had indicated that spring runoff could be wetter than normal.
However, meteorologist Chuck Jones with the National Weather Service's office in Albuquerque says there's no clear indication whether April precipitation will be at, above or below normal levels.
The water-supply forecast is created from now measurements at sites, climate data, weather forecasts and other information.
Competition To Highlight Desalination Technology - The Associated Press
With clean water supplies dwindling, federal officials put out a call around the world in hopes of finding innovative technology that could turn brackish water into potable water.
Five finalist teams will be showing off their desalination systems as part of the international completion beginning Thursday in Alamogordo.
They're competing for $200,000 in prizes and the chance at federal grants to continue their research.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says the finalists were culled from a list of 68 teams from 29 countries.
The challenge calls for the finalists to demonstrate cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable systems.
The agency's Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Facility in Alamogordo will be open to the public Saturday. That will be the final full day of testing for competitors.
Prosecutors In Albuquerque Police Shooting Want Gag Order - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
Prosecutors want a judge to limit what lawyers for two Albuquerque police officers charged with murder in a fatal shooting can tell the news media.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that a motion filed Tuesday by the District Attorney's Office for Bernalillo County says unrestricted comments by defense attorneys could prejudice proceedings in the case against former Detective Keith Sandy and officer Dominque Perez.
The motion cites defense lawyers' reported comments on a ballistic report in the case.
Defense attorney Sam Bregman says the prosecution request is hypocritical because District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced the charges against the officers during a televised news conference.
Bregman represents Sandy, who along with Perez is charged in the March 2014 killing of James Boyd during a confrontation with the homeless man.
Albuquerque Moving Officers Around To Put More On Street - The Associated Press and KOAT-TV
Faced with a shortage of patrol officers, the Albuquerque Police Department is redeploying some personnel and adding duties to others.
KOAT-TV reports that changes include reassigning officers now working as crime scene technicians to street duty to answer regular calls for service.
Other changes included using SWAT team members and other officers on specialized teams to respond to calls and to teach at the academy in addition to their other duties.
The department also is reducing its bike patrol to 12 officers from 24 currently and putting some detectives on the street.
According to the department, the moves are short-stem steps and that it's counting on recruitment of additional officers for the long term.
A 19-member trainee class just started, and another class is already in training.
Governor Signs Bills Aimed At Improving New Mexico Schools - The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez has signed bills to expand access to kindergarten through third grade classes and to allow certain teachers to become principals quicker.
Currently only those schools with poor grades receive funding for the K-3 Plus program, which provides additional instruction over the summer for struggling students.
Martinez says the legislation allows those schools that improve their grades to build on the momentum and continue to improve.
The other bill signed by Martinez streamlines the administrator licensure process to allow excellent teachers with a proven track record of success to become administrators after three years, instead of the current six years.
The governor signed the bills Wednesday while visiting an Albuquerque elementary school.
She faces a Friday deadline for acting on legislation passed during the 60-day session.
New Mexico Looks To Boost Number Of Kids Enrolled In Pre-K - The Associated Press
New Mexico officials say investments are paying off when it comes to early childhood education, but more work needs to be done.
Federal statistics released this week show less than 40 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs in New Mexico.
While that's in line with the national average, dozens of states have even lower percentages, including neighboring Arizona and Colorado.
New Mexico has been working for the past decade to boost pre-K programs, and the budget that was recently approved by lawmakers includes nearly $25 million to expand pre-K across the state.
Public Education Department spokeswoman Ellen Hur says New Mexico has tripled its investment in public pre-K since 2011. That has resulted in the number of enrolled 4-year-olds increasing by nearly 150 percent.
Bernalillo County Wants Albuquerque To Help Pay For Jail - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
Bernalillo County wants Albuquerque to help pay for running the county jail.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that a county official this week sent a letter asking the city to pay what the letter called "its fair share" for operating the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Some county officials say they're strapped and that it's only reasonable that the city help pay for the jail's increasing costs because three of every five inmates were arrested in the city.
However, Albuquerque residents make up the vast majority of the county's population and they already pay county taxes. Many services provided by the county largely only benefit people outside city limits.
The city is crafting a formal response.
Power Plant Expected To Boost San Juan County's Tax Base - The Associated Press and Daily Times
A natural gas and photovoltaic power plant that a Colorado-based company plans to build in New Mexico will be a boon for San Juan County's property taxes.
When the Four Corners Generating Station closed three of its coal-burning units in 2013 and BMP sold its coal mine to the Navajo Nation, the county began losing an estimated $1 million annually in property and gross receipts taxes.
The San Juan Generating Station is scheduled to shutter two of its coal-burning units in 2017 to meet federal emission standards.
Documents from Western Energy Partners show its planned 750-megawatt power plant would pay the county up to about $9 million a year in property taxes.
The company plans to build the power plant in Waterflow. It's scheduled to begin operation in mid-2019.
Family Learns Of Man's Death When They Report Him Missing - The Associated Press and Las Vegas Optic
Police in one northern New Mexico city asked police in another to notify relatives of a man who'd been found dead, but the request was overlooked, and the family only learned of his death when they reported him missing.
The Las Vegas Optic reports that Santa Fe police asked Las Vegas police March 31 to provide a death notification for 48-year-old Trujillo Jr. He died of natural causes and his body was found March 31 in a car that had sat in a restaurant parking lot since March 27.
Las Vegas Police Chief Juan Montano says no notification was made because the request was overlooked at his department's dispatch center.
Trujillo's relatives learned of his death when they told New Mexico State Police on Saturday that he was missing.
Man With Firearm Is Arrested At Navajo Technical University - The Associated Press
Tribal police say a man with a firearm has been arrested without incident at Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint.
Students at the school were on lockdown after an armed man was reported near the student housing on campus about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Navajo Police and the tribal Strategic Response Team responded to the call.
They say the campus is secured and students are returning to their dorms.
The name of the man arrested wasn't immediately released.
Clovis Man Fined $8K For Catching 160 Times His Trout Limit - The Associated Press
A Clovis man has agreed to pay a fine of more than $8,100 for catching 160 times the limit in trout.
Bounchanh Bounsombath was arrested in May 2014 after New Mexico Department of Game and Fish conservation officers seized the trout during a search warrant at his home.
The 63-year-old Bounsombath admitted to catching all of the 1,600 trout at Green Acres Lake and Denis Chaves Pond in Clovis.
Under the plea agreement, Bounsombath pleaded guilty to 10 charges of exceeding the bag limit and one count of unlawful possession of rainbow trout.
Authorities say Bounsombath was seen fishing on at least 20 different occasions at both lakes over a three-week period.
They say he caught and kept more than the daily bag limit of five rainbow trout.