Sandia Labs To Help Develop Museum Programs – The Associated Press
Sandia National Laboratories is teaming up with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
The two have signed a memorandum of understanding in which the lab will help identify and develop programs and exhibits that focus on space exploration, renewable energy, water and nanotechnology.
The museum will evaluate initiatives of interest to Albuquerque and the region.
Lab director Paul Hommert says Sandia and the museum have a common interest in exposing young people to science, technology, engineering and math. He says the agreement signed last week serves as a vehicle to strengthen the relationship that the lab already has with the museum.
In the past year, Sandia pitched in $70,000 for technical equipment to help provide museum visitors with state-of-the-art learning in science, technology, engineering and math.
Las Cruces To Start Year Off With Chile Drop – The Associated Press
The city of Las Cruces is set to ring in the new year with its own take on the ball drop.
The Las Cruces Sun-News says a 15-foot chrome steel chile pepper will be hoisted above Las Cruces Avenue and Main Street on Dec. 31.
Organizers say the giant pepper, powered by solar technology, will drop 60 feet at midnight.
Residents will decide if the 400 feet of LED lights covering the chile pepper will light up green or red.
Those who want to weigh in on the classic red or green debate can vote on the event's website, www.lascruceschiledrop.com , or Facebook page.
The drop will take place as part of a city street party which will include a grand marshal and a Chile Drop queen.
2 Suspects Sought In Albuquerque Bank Robbery – The Associated Press
Federal authorities are seeking two masked men who allegedly robbed an Albuquerque bank at gunpoint.
The FBI says two suspects entered a BBVA Compass bank in northeast Albuquerque on Tuesday around 9:10 a.m. wearing black masks and gloves.
Authorities say no customers were in the bank at the time.
They say one suspect displayed a handgun while demanding money from a teller while the other ordered employees in an office get down on the ground.
The two men left with an undisclosed amount of money.
They are described as between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 with a medium build. One was seen wearing green-blue sweat pants and a dark gray or black overcoat. The second suspect was seen in jeans and a gray overcoat.
Both Albuquerque police and the FBI are investigating.
NM Man Faces Charges In Revenge Robbery Case – The Associated Press
A southeastern New Mexico man is facing larceny charges after police say he enlisted two of his friends to rob a Carlsbad convenience store after he and his mother were fired from the business.
A criminal complaint alleges Travis Bruns planned the robbery of the Shell convenience store as payback.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the 21-year-old Bruns, 36-year-old Donald Fain and 22-year-old Frank Meek are scheduled to appear in court next month on suspicion of larceny, criminal damage to property and tampering with evidence charges.
Police accused the men of disabling security cameras at the store last month and removing cash from the store's deposit bags and stealing the store's safe.
Police say the men took about $7,000 out of the safe before dumping it at Avalon Lake.
Mining Group Appeals Ban On New Grand Canyon Mines - Associated Press
Two mining industry groups are appealing a federal judge's ruling upholding an Obama administration ban on new hard-rock mining claims near the Grand Canyon.
The appeal by the National Mining Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute asks the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overrule a decision dismissing their challenge to the ban.
U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell ruled in October that former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar did not abuse his discretion or violate any laws when he banned new claims in 2012.
An American Indian tribe and five conservation groups plan to join the Obama administration in opposing the appeal.