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Headlines: Regulators Approve Solar Plan, Ferguson Decision Opens Wounds...

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Regulators Approve PNM Solar Plan - The Associated Press

PNM's plan to build four more solar-powered generating stations has been approved by state regulators.

The Public Regulation Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the utility's renewable energy procurement plan for next year. The solar arrays will represent a more than $79 million-dollar investment.

PNM's director of resource planning, Pat O'Connell, says another 40 megawatts of solar power will be added to the utility's capacity once the generating stations are complete. That's enough to power more than 16,000 average homes.

The utility says it's still assessing potential sites for the new solar centers, primarily in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties.

PNM currently has eight solar centers in operation and three under construction.

Ferguson Decision Opens Wounds In AlbuquerqueThe Associated Press

A grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, is reopening fresh wounds in Albuquerque.

That's because none of the Albuquerque officers in the more than 40 police shooting since 2010 have faced charges. And it's still unclear if the officers in the high-profile shooting of a 38-year-old homeless camper in March will face indictments.

Albuquerque officials recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to overhaul the police force. But advocates say the agreement's credibility could be at stake if officers continue to escape charges in police shootings and excessive force cases.

Second Judicial District Attorney Kari Brandenburg says it's difficult to bring charges against officers in shootings because of state law and federal court decisions.

Obama's Action Fuels Worry About Immigration ScamsThe Associated Press

Advocacy groups barely waited for President Barack Obama to finish speaking about sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system to start warning about scams.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Mexican consulates have also sounded alarms since Obama promised executive action last week that is expected to shield about 5 million people from deportation. For decades, immigrants have fallen victim to attorneys and consultants who disappear with their money or give bad advice that may land them in deportation proceedings.

Harris says changes of the magnitude Obama announced often invite con artists. She has published a lengthy tip sheet.

The government isn't expected to publish applications for three to six months, leaving some immigrants worried that they will be deported before they can even ask for relief.

NM Ex-School Chief Gets Battery Charge Dropped - The Associated Press

A sexual battery charge against a former New Mexico Military Institute athletic director has been dropped.

An attorney for Reggie Franklin recently told the Roswell Daily Record that a Virginia prosecutor has decided not to pursue the charge. However, prosecutors could refile within a year.

The 58-year-old former athletic director and longtime men's basketball coach at NMMI was accused of groping the wife of an alumnus during a school function.

Franklin worked at NMMI for more than 24 years. He now lives in Missouri City, Texas.

NMMI is of course the college preparatory high school and junior college located in Roswell.

2 Injured In New Mexico Oilfield Explosion - The Associated Press

An explosion at an oilfield tank battery in southeastern New Mexico has injured two workers.

The Carlsbad Current Argus reports the two workers were transported to an area hospital. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known, but early reports said one person was burned and another may have broken a leg.

Crews were able to contain the fire at the site, which is near the border between Lea and Eddy counties.

Sheriff's deputies secured the area yesterday afternoon and were limiting access to the rural road that leads to the site.

Authorities say the cause of the explosion is unknown.

Woman Accused Of Defrauding $200K From MagazineThe Associated Press & The Albuquerque Journal

A bookkeeper is accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from an Albuquerque lifestyle magazine.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that 50-year-old Bonnie Burchell was released on bail Wednesday on a felony charge of embezzlement.

According to a criminal complaint, the publisher of Albuquerque the Magazine says an audit found Burchell had been paying herself three times her salary between March 2012 and this summer.

She also is accused of making more than 30 deposits from the magazine into her bank account and an account in her ex-husband's name.

Tom Clear, an attorney for Burchell, told police that she had evidence showing the magazine had committed tax fraud.

But Burchell was arrested Tuesday.

A call to Clear went unreturned Wednesday.

Burchell was hired in December 2011.

Indicted Developer Hired As Albuquerque TeacherThe Associated Press & The Albuquerque Journal

A former real estate developer indicted on charges last year of embezzlement and fraud was able to get a job as an Albuquerque teacher.

Albuquerque Public Schools officials told the Albuquerque Journal on Thursday that English teacher William Kalinowski is on paid leave from Lyndon B. Johnson Middle School.

Authorities say Kalinowski, a former luxury home developer in Santa Fe, owed millions of dollars to investors, subcontractors and banks by 2008.

APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta says Kalinowski, who was hired in February, was put on leave after KRQE-TV brought his ongoing criminal case to their attention.

Armenta says state law did not allow them to ask Kalinowski on his initial application about any felony convictions or charges.

APS will now require applicants disclose such matters just before getting hired.