Martinez To Start 2nd Term As New Mexico Governor – The Associated Press
A public inauguration ceremony for Gov. Susan Martinez is planned New Year's Day at the State Capitol.
This time, she's taking the show inside.
The Republican is scheduled to take the oath of office for her second term inside the House chamber while Santa Fe battles freezing temperatures. Martinez held her first inauguration ceremony four years ago outside in frigid weather.
After the ceremony, Martinez will host a "Governor's True Inaugural Ball" at the Albuquerque Convention Center later Thursday.
She entered her second term with a GOP-controlled House and a Democratic-led Senate.
States Work To Meet New Renewable Energy Standards – The Associated Press
More than five dozen giant turbines erected on a remote mesa in western New Mexico began churning out power for the state's largest electric provider on New Year's Day.
Tapping into the multimillion-dollar Red Mesa Wind Energy Center marks the latest effort by utility PNM to add more renewable energy resources to its portfolio. The utility has also boosted its solar capacity by one-third.
From New Mexico and Texas to Montana and New York, PNM and other investor-owned utilities are facing higher renewable energy standards starting this year.
Energy experts say most are on track to meet the standards. However, some are falling short when it comes to meeting diversity requirements that call for specific amounts to come from solar, wind or other sources.
Navajo Council OKs Bill On Special Vote For President - The Associated Press
The Navajo Nation Council has approved a bill to conduct a special election for the tribal presidency next summer, months after a deadline set by the Navajo Nation Supreme Court.
The Daily Times reports that the council approved the legislation Tuesday during a special session in Window Rock, Arizona. The bill calls for a June 2 primary election and an Aug. 4 general election.
The presidential race was thrown into turmoil before the tribe's Nov. 4 general election when candidate Chris Deschene was disqualified due to a ruling that he lacked fluency in the Navajo language.
Under the bill, the 17 candidates who ran in the Aug. 28 primary election could run again and have the $1,500 filing fee waived
Feds Deny Performance Pay To Nuke Dump Operator - The Associated Press
The contractor that runs the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository is being denied millions of dollars in performance bonuses and fees.
Federal officials have said it could take years and a half-billion dollars to restart operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project near Carlsbad because of a February leak.
The Energy Department is paying Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC just $21,576 of the $8 million in potential performance incentives for the past fiscal year.
The partnership manages the plant under a contract that pays more than $140 million annually.
The leak occurred when a container packed with radioactive waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured in an underground storage area and forced the plant's indefinite closure.
Stage Being Set For Next Step In Arizona Prison Break Case - The Associated Press and Mohave Daily News
The stage is being set for a Mohave County Superior Court sentencing of the accomplice in an Arizona prison break that resulted in the killings in New Mexico of an Oklahoma couple.
A lawyer for Casslyn Mae Welch recently requested preparation of a presentencing report. Welch pleaded guilty to armed robbery and escape charges stemming from the 2010 escape of three inmates from the privately operated Kingman state prison.
The request says Welch is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14 but the Mohave Daily News reports that a February sentencing is possible.
Welch and two of the inmates were involved in the carjacking that led to the killings of Linda and Gary Haas of Tecumseh, Oklahoma.
She faces a 20-year sentence to be served concurrently with a federal sentence.