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Headlines: Creating Jobs, Speed Limits On County Roads...

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NM Senate Democrats Say Their Bills Will Create 73,000 Jobs - The Associated Press

Senate Democrats have pitched a lofty jobs bills package that promises 73,000 new positions in New Mexico in the next four to five years.

They say the more than 40 bills they have introduced this session address the need for increased employment and economic activity in the state.

Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla says Democratic leadership is also united in stopping right-to-work legislation supported by the Republican-controlled House.

Democratic leaders announced what they billed as their "Ready to Work" package at a news conference Wednesday. It includes increased funding for job training through community colleges and $300 million in road funding paid for by an increase in the gas tax.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has also proposed increasing job training funds and spending on highway projects through severance bonds.

Police: Handgun In Drug Case Was Stolen From Officer's CarThe Associated Press

Santa Fe police say a handgun that figures in a pending criminal case involving a felon was stolen from a police officer's patrol car when it was parked at his home in 2012.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Police Department on Wednesday released a report on the Glock semi-automatic handgun.

It was found when federal agents searched a truck in which 29-year-old Phillip Lovato was a passenger last November.

Lovato was later arrested and accused in a criminal complaint of drug and weapons crimes. He's now jailed while awaiting trial.

The police report says Lt. William Norris in 2012 discovered a broken window in his vehicle and found that his gun was missing.

Albuquerque City Council Votes To Pause Trail ProjectThe Associated Press

Construction of a new multiuse trail in Albuquerque's popular Bosque along the Rio Grande between Central Avenue and Interstate 40 has run into a snag.

The City Council voted 5-3 Wednesday night to suspend work on the project, which includes building a 6-foot-wide trail covered by crushed rock. It'd replace a dirt path.

However, Mayor Richard Berry's office released a statement suggesting that Berry might veto bill but still have park staff meet again with project opponents.

Conservationists contend the project will ruin the Bosque, and City Council member Isaac Benton says the city didn't finish its public comment process.

City officials hope having one main trail will keep people from wandering off paths and disturbing the habitat.

NM Budget Bill To Include Pay Hike For New Teachers, PoliceThe Associated Press

New teachers and state police officers can expect pay raises in the next fiscal year as New Mexico lawmakers get closer to hammering out a spending plan in the face of declining revenues.

Most department budgets remain largely flat under the House Appropriations and Finance Committee scenarios that will become part of a budget bill members are scheduled to vote on Friday.

Still, the beleaguered Children, Youth and Families Department will get an additional $8 million to spend on early childhood and juvenile justice initiatives. As expected, K-12 schools get the lion's share of increase in spending in next year's budget proposal.

Both Gov. Susana Martinez and lawmakers have highlighted education as a priority in a state with some of the lowest performing schools in the nation.

New Mexico Senate Panel Passes On Spaceport Sale Bill - The  Associated Press

A panel of New Mexico senators offered no recommendation as it passed a proposal to pull the plug on the taxpayer-financed spaceport and put the futuristic hangar up for sale.

The Senate Corporation and Transportation Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance the legislation sponsored by Democratic Sen. George Munoz of Gallup.

The bill has added fuel to criticisms that Spaceport America — first initiated by former Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, and British billionaire Richard Branson — is a boondoggle.

Under the legislation, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and other agencies would have to develop a marketing plan by October to sell the spaceport. Proceeds would be used to repay development bonds. Taxes imposed in Sierra and Dona Ana counties to pay for the project would be rescinded.

 
55 Mph Speed Limit On County Roads Gets NM Senate Approval - The Associated Press

The speed limit on county roads that have none posted will be 55 mph if a bill that passed the New Mexico Senate also gets the nod from the House of Representatives.

Motorists will no longer be able to legally drive the state's maximum default speed limit of 75 mph when no sign is posted on county roads if Sen. Pat Woods' bill becomes law.

The Broadview Republican says that 75 mph "just doesn't make sense for many local, narrow, dirt roads that are not designed or built for the higher speeds that are safe on highways or interstates."

The Senate voted 31 to 9 Wednesday to send the bill to the House.

If approved, the change would take effect on New Year's Day.

Bill Would Give Less Weight To Tests In Teacher Evaluations - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal

Less weight would be given to standardized tests in New Mexico teacher evaluations under a bill that passed the House Education Committee.

The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. James Smith of Sandia Park passed on an 8-3 vote Tuesday. It now goes to the full House for a vote.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the legislation proposes a teacher evaluation system similar to one the Public Education Department put in place last school year by administrative rule.

The key difference from the current system is the weight that would be given to student test scores, reducing it from 50 percent to 40 percent.

Another 40 percent would be based on administrator observations and 20 percent on "multiple measures" that include things like attendance and parent surveys.

New Mexico Tribe Urges Lawmakers To Approve Compact - The Associated Press

Leaders with the Jicarilla Apache Nation are urging New Mexico lawmakers to approve a new gambling compact negotiated by tribes and Gov. Susana Martinez's office.

The proposed compact would have to be approved by the Legislature and then the U.S. Interior Department. It would cover gambling operations by the Jicarilla Apache, the Mescalero Apache, the pueblos of Acoma and Jemez and the Navajo Nation.

The proposal will have its first committee hearing next Tuesday.

Lawmakers are under more pressure this session because the current compact expires later this year.

Jicarilla Apache President Ty Vicenti issued a statement Wednesday, asking that the Legislature act swiftly. Vicenti says the compact with his tribe will preserve hundreds of jobs in northern New Mexico.

The 60-day legislative session has almost reached the midway point. Adjournment is set for March 21.

'Three Strikes' Bill Would Lead To Life Sentences - The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican

House Majority Leader Nate Gentry wants to clear the way for mandatory life sentences for offenders who are convicted of three violent crimes.

His legislation joins a growing list of tough-on-crime proposals being floated by the Republican majority.

Gentry tells the Santa Fe New Mexican there's a reason for the theme. Pointing to a recent report, he says New Mexico is the second most dangerous state in the nation when it comes to violent crime.

Democrats argue that the majority's motive for the anti-crime bills is political.

Rep. Moe Maestas of Albuquerque says most of the bills are just penalty enhancements and would prove costly for the state's corrections system.

Gentry defended his proposal as a common-sense measure to lock up offenders who have demonstrated that they're dangerous.

Ex-Albuquerque Schools Chief Sues District Over Comments - The Associated Press

A former Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent is suing the district over allegations that the current school chief violated an agreement.

Lawyers for Winston Brooks filed a lawsuit Tuesday following comments made by interim superintendent Brad Winter.

According to the lawsuit, Winter told the Albuquerque Journal in September that Brooks refused to work with the community and business leaders. The lawsuit says those remarks violated a settlement agreement that no district officials would disparage Brooks.

Brooks resigned from the post in August after the board bought out the last two years of his contract. Both sides declined to elaborate, but records show an attorney was hired to look into accusations of intimidation and retaliation involving Brooks.

Winter said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.

Albuquerque Board Votes To Name School After Latino Scholar - The Associated Press

A New Mexico school board has approved a proposal naming a school after a noted Mexican-American scholar who is virtually unknown in his hometown of Albuquerque.

The Albuquerque School Board voted unanimously Wednesday on officially naming the new school in honor of George I. Sanchez.

The civil rights advocate was born in Albuquerque in 1906 and worked as a teacher before becoming one of the nation's most influential Latino scholars. His 1940 classic "Forgotten People" was one of the first studies to document how Hispanics were losing land and influence to poverty.

A political fight later forced him out of New Mexico. He died in 1972.

A dozen or so schools in Texas and California are named after Sanchez, but there were none in New Mexico.

Ride-Sharing Service Comes To Las Cruces - The Associated Press and Las Cruces Sun-News

The ride-sharing service Uber has found its way to southern New Mexico.

Operations began in Las Cruces on Wednesday following the calls for service from thousands of potential riders in the area.

The general manager for Uber in New Mexico and Arizona, Steve Thompson, tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that the level of interest has been high. The company already operates in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

A state district judge earlier this year refused to bar Lyft, a similar ride-sharing service, from operating in the state because the Public Regulation Commission's authority was unclear.

Both companies use smartphone technology to line up passengers for their contracted drivers. Those drivers use their own vehicles to provide rides.

The companies compete with traditional cab companies, which are regulated by the commission.

Methamphetamine Found In Car Driven By Arizona Woman - The Associated Press

A New Mexico State Police officer found 11.5 pounds of methamphetamine packed in the spare tire of a car whose driver told the officer she didn't know what the drug was.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that 26-year-old Noelia Telenili of Gilbert, Arizona, allowed the officer to search the vehicle during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 on Monday after making several statements that made the officer suspicious.

According to a criminal complaint, Telenili denied knowing what methamphetamine is. She also reportedly told the officer she was going to Indiana to visit her mother but hadn't told her mother she was coming.

Telenili was booked into jail in Albuquerque in lieu of $15,000 bond. Online court records didn't indicate whether she has an attorney.

Albuquerque Man Gets Prison For Drug Trafficking, Firearms - The Associated Press

An Albuquerque man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations.

Prosecutors say 46-year-old Charles Padilla also was sentenced Wednesday to five years of supervised release.

Padilla was arrested in November 2012 on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

He was later indicted a month later and charged with two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and two counts of using and carrying firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

Prosecutors say law enforcement officers seized about 21 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in an underground storage area at a southwest Albuquerque home.

Following Padilla's arrest, authorities say officers searched his residence and seized 19 firearms.

Padilla pleaded guilty in the case last July.

Colorado Mountain Snow Is Bright Spot During Drought In West - The Associated Press

Snowpack in the mountain valleys where the Colorado River originates is only a little below normal, marking one of the few bright spots in an increasingly grim drought gripping much of the West.

Measurement stations in western Colorado showed the snowpack on Wednesday at 90 percent of the long-term average.

By contrast, many stations in the mountains of California, Oregon and Washington have shown snowpack at 50 percent or less. Some detected no snow at all.

Mountain snow in Colorado is closely monitored because a half-dozen Western waterways, including the 1,400-mile Colorado River, start in the area.

The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to millions of people in seven states and Mexico. Much of the river comes from mountain snow that accumulates during winter and melts in the spring.