Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Food Stamp Work Requirements – The Associated Press
Social services advocates have filed a lawsuit to stop Gov. Susana Martinez's administration from imposing work-related requirements on New Mexicans to qualify for food stamps.
The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, the Southwest Organizing Project and several food stamps recipients sued the Human Services Department on Monday in state district court in Santa Fe.
Starting next month, the state plans to phase in requirements that some childless adults work in order to receive food stamps and more individuals must search for a job or participate in community service or job training.
Human Services spokesman Matt Kennicott called the lawsuit "baseless."
The lawsuit contends the department improperly adopted the new regulations, which will apply to about 80,000 out of the more than 400,000 New Mexicans receiving food stamps.
Deputy Shoots And Kills Fellow Deputy - The Associated Press
A New Mexico attorney confirms that his client, Santa Fe County sheriff's Deputy Ty Chan, is in custody in connection with the deadly shooting of a fellow deputy.
Attorney John Day says he's on his way to the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces, where the shooting happened at a hotel following a night of drinking and arguing.
Las Cruces police say Chan allegedly fired several rounds at Jeremy Martin as Martin ran down a hotel hallway and into an elevator.
Police arrived to find Martin staggering off the elevator with multiple wounds. He died later at a local hospital.
Day calls it a tragic situation for everybody involved.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia says his department is grieving and that he was at a loss for words.
Voter ID On The Forefront of Secretary Of State Race - The Associated Press
Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran is fighting to keep her job in a close race that has her pitted against Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
A major focus has been voter ID.
Duran is seeking to become the first Republican re-elected to the seat in decades. Citing fraud concerns, she wants to push for new voter ID measures.
Oliver, Bernalillo County's clerk, says fraud is rare and requiring voters to have identification would just prevent certain residents from casting ballots.
Duran and Oliver have also clashed over two counties' efforts to put nonbinding questions regarding marijuana on their ballots.
Duran says it amounts to a poll question. Oliver says Duran overstepped her authority in trying to halt the ballot measures.
The state Supreme Court ruled in September to allow the questions.
NM Land Office Earns $2.5 Million From Leases - The Associated Press
The New Mexico State Land Office has brought in $2.5 million from its most recent monthly oil and natural gas lease sale.
Federal Abstract Company of Santa Fe put up the highest bid of $1.53 million for 120 acres in Lea County. Land office experts say this tract commanded a high bid because it's in an area that has great oil-production potential.
In all, leases for three dozen tracts of land were sold at the Oct. 21 sale.
Leases generally give companies five years to drill a well and establish production. The lease is then in effect as long as the well is producing.
The bids earned from this month's sale go directly to state trust land beneficiaries, which include public schools, hospitals and universities.
Work To Begin On Catwalk Reconstruction Next Year - The Associated Press
Officials with the Gila National Forest say reconstruction of the Catwalk National Recreation Trail in southern New Mexico is expected to be done by the end of 2015.
Contractors toured the trail with forest officials earlier this month. They will have until late November to submit their proposals.
Forest officials say the reconstruction contract will likely be awarded in February and work on the trail and parking area could be done by December 2015.
The Catwalk trail remains closed after flash flooding damaged the recreation area. Forest Service engineers applied for emergency funding to reconstruct the entire Catwalk hanging structure, pedestrian bridges, trails and picnic areas.
Flooding also washed out a section of New Mexico Route 174, making the recreation area inaccessible. State transportation officials have assessed the road damage.
Navajo Presidential Election Remains In Limbo – The Associated Press
Navajo Nation election officials are being challenged for not immediately removing a disqualified presidential candidate from the ballot.
The tribe's high court ordered the removal of Chris Deschene's name last week over a Navajo fluency requirement and said the ballots must immediately be reprinted.
The Navajo Board of Election Supervisors met Monday but did not take action on the order. An attorney for the board says questions remain on how to implement the high court's ruling.
The board's inaction prompted attorneys for two men who challenged Deschene's candidacy to ask the tribe's Supreme Court to hold election officials in contempt.
The tribe's presidential election is scheduled Nov. 4, but the Supreme Court justices have said it must be postponed to ensure a valid election.
Firm To Review Zoo's Security After Animal's Death – The Associated Press
A detective agency has been hired to make recommendations for improving security at the Albuquerque zoo following the killing of a rare Tasmanian devil on loan from Australia.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that private agency will make recommendations about internal policies and procedures of the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo, while city police continue their criminal investigation of the killing.
The animal named Jasper was found dead in his enclosure on Oct. 15, and zoo officials have since said they were adding more guards and surveillance cameras.
An examination concluded that Jasper died from a fractured skull and brain trauma. A piece of asphalt was found nearby.
The animal was one of four Tasmanian devils loaned to the Albuquerque zoo by Healesville Sanctuary in Australia as part of a breeding program.
NM Land Office Earns $2.5M From Lease Sale – The Associated Press
The New Mexico State Land Office has brought in $2.5 million from its most recent monthly oil and natural gas lease sale.
Federal Abstract Company of Santa Fe put up the highest bid of $1.53 million for 120 acres in Lea County. Land office experts say this tract commanded a high bid because it's in an area that has great oil-production potential.
In all, leases for three dozen tracts of land were sold at the Oct. 21 sale.
Leases generally give companies five years to drill a well and establish production. The lease is then in effect as long as the well is producing.
The bids earned from this month's sale go directly to state trust land beneficiaries, which include public schools, hospitals and universities.
Voter ID Debate Focus Of Secretary Of State Race – The Associated Press
Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran is fighting to keep her job in a close race that has her pitted against Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
A major focus has been voter ID.
Duran is seeking to become the first Republican re-elected to the seat in decades. Citing fraud concerns, she wants to push for new voter ID measures.
Oliver, Bernalillo County's clerk, says fraud is rare and requiring voters to have identification would just prevent certain residents from casting ballots.
Duran and Oliver have also clashed over two counties' efforts to put nonbinding questions regarding marijuana on their ballots.
Duran says it amounts to a poll question. Oliver says Duran overstepped her authority in trying to halt the ballot measures.
The state Supreme Court ruled in September to allow the questions.
NJ Governor To Campaign Again For Ducey, Martinez – The Associated Press
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be back in Arizona and New Mexico for the second time this month to try to rally support for Republican governor candidates Doug Ducey and Susana Martinez.
Christie will headline campaign events in his role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
The potential GOP presidential candidate will attend two Ducey events early Thursday, one in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and one in Scottsdale. He then jets off to Farmington, New Mexico, for a noon campaign event for Gov. Susana Martinez as she seeks re-election.
Christie then heads to Colorado and Iowa to stump for Republican governor's candidates in those states the same day.
Christie is using his position as chairman of the Republican governors group to help raise money for candidates.
Prosecutors Withdraw Plea Offer In Killing – The Associated Press
Prosecutors in Santa Fe have withdrawn a plea offer made to a man accused of kicking another man to death in an arroyo last winter.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the District Attorney's Office said it was withdrawing its plea offer after learning that 38-year-old Orlando "Red Eyes" Yazzie had two previous felony convictions not disclosed during plea negotiations.
Yazzie had been scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced Monday in the killing of 55-year-old Mark Ginnel.
Yazzie is now scheduled to go on trial in January.
Police: Santa Fe County Deputy Shoots Fellow Deputy – The Associated Press
Authorities say a Santa Fe County deputy has shot and killed a fellow deputy at a Las Cruces hotel.
Las Cruces Police say the shooting took place just after midnight Tuesday at the Hotel Encanto.
Officials say the two deputies were headed to Arizona to extradite a prisoner back to Santa Fe.
It was not known what sparked the shooting.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Major Ken Johnson says the office has been informed that one of its deputies shot another deputy. He declined to comment further.
Police did not release the names of the deputies.