Albuquerque Schools Names California Educator As New Leader - The Associated Press
The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has named a California educator as superintendent.
The board picked Luis Valentino for the superintendent's job on Saturday from three finalists for the job. The district has nearly 88,000 students
Valentino currently is associate superintendent and chief academic officer for the San Francisco Unified School District. He previously worked as director of school services for the Los Angeles Unified School District and has been a principal, university and elementary school teacher, and an adult school counselor.
The district has been led by an interim superintendent since August.
Reining In Payday Loans Falls By Wayside In New Mexico – The Associated Press
Attempts to rein in payday loans in New Mexico fell by the wayside during the recent 60-day legislative session.
While the small loans industry says it helps people in need, consumer advocates say a fix is sorely needed.
According to a 2014 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, 14 states and the District of Columbia either ban payday loans or cap interest rates at 36 percent. Nine states have some restrictions, while 27 allow single-repayment loans with rates 391 percent or higher.
Predatory lending practices have been a target of consumer advocates for decades in New Mexico.
Bills that would have capped interest rates at 36 percent went nowhere.
Firefighter Awarded In Sexual Harassment Cases Against City - The Associated Press
A New Mexico court has awarded $183,000 in damages to an Albuquerque firefighter who said she'd been sexually harassed on the job.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Adele Parker, also known as Adele Ortega, filed a lawsuit against the city in 2013. Parker said firefighters had walked in and spied on her in the shower, hid sex toys in her bunk, stole her underwear and watched pornography at a fire station.
A 2nd Judicial District Court jury found the city violated the state Human Rights Act. The jury awarded Park $175,000 for pain and suffering and roughly $8,000 for past and future medical bills.
Parker still works for the fire department.
Santa Fe Police Say Fugitive Was Seen In Town - The Associated Press
A man wanted in connection to a 2010 armed robbery and a murder has been spotted in Santa Fe.
KOB-TV reports 25-year-old Rafael Dominguez shot at a clerk during a robbery at a mini-market called Latinos Unidos in 2010.
Police say Dominguez has an active warrant for his arrest and is also a suspect in a murder that took place in 2010 in Santa Fe County.
Police say Dominguez has ties to a drug cartel and is considered armed and dangerous.
He was spotted in Santa Fe on Friday.