New Mexico Lawmakers Propose Minimum Wage Hike – The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico legislators are again proposing increases in the state's minimum wage.
Democratic Sen. Clemente Sanchez has introduced a bill to raise the current hourly minimum wage of $7.50 to $8.30. Democratic Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela of Santa Fe has one to raise the minimum to $10.10.
Varela told the Albuquerque Journal that the current minimum wage isn't a livable wage.
Republicans have won control of the state House, and Majority Leader Nate Gentry says he's open to an increase that keeps New Mexico competitive with neighboring states.
Democratic legislators have made raising the minimum wage a top priority in recent years but have failed to get an increase enacted.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed an increase to $8.50 in 2013 but said she could support a smaller one.
Lawsuit: Deputies Falsely Held Rio Rancho Woman - The Associated Press
A woman suffering from mental illness says Sandoval County Sheriff's deputies roughed her up and falsely arrested her for child abuse.
Attorneys for Kari Mantilla say in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that deputies entered her Rio Rancho home without a warrant in April 2013 and arrested for child abuse after concluding her house was a mess. The lawsuit say deputies were there to serve an order to appear for domestic violence.
Court documents say a deputy slammed Mantilla onto the pavement causing her to suffer head injuries.
An attorney for the county denied the allegations.
The child abuse charge was later dismissed.
This is the second federal lawsuit filed this month against Sandoval County over treatment of detainees suffering from mental illness.
New Mexico Jobless Dips To 6.4 Percent In November - The Associated Press
New Mexico's unemployment rate is down as the state continues to add jobs.
The state Department of Workforce Solutions reported Friday that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November was 6.4 percent.
That's down from 6.5 percent in October and down from 6.7 percent in November 2013.
The department says the state's economy added 14,100 jobs during the year between November 2014 and November 2013, making it the greatest year-over-year monthly increase since the Great Recession.
New Mexico To Receive Federal Payments Next Year - The Associated Press
New Mexico counties will be getting more federal dollars next year as compensation for the non-taxable lands within their borders.
President Barack Obama signed legislation this week that included the funding. It's part of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program.
New Mexico counties rely on the payments to provide services, including improvements to schools, roads and public safety. Last year, all but one of the state's 33 counties shared a total of $37 million.
The program is administered through the Interior Department and compensates rural counties for hosting federal lands that can't be developed, such as national parks, forests and some military bases.
Funding for each county is determined by a formula that considers the number of acres of federal entitlement land within each county and the population.
George R.R. Martin Offers To Show 'The Interview' - The Associated Press
"Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin is offering to show "The Interview" at his theater in Santa Fe.
Martin wrote on his blog this week that the Jean Cocteau Cinema would be glad to screen the film if Sony ever releases the comedy for theatrical exhibition.
Martin called the decision to shelve "The Interview" in the face of terrorist threats a "stunning display of corporate cowardice."
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Martin hasn't seen the film and doesn't know whether it's good or bad.
Whether it's the next "Citizen Kane" or the next "Plan 9 from Outer Space," Martin says he's astonished that a major Hollywood film could be killed before release by threats from a foreign power and anonymous hackers.
Lawsuit: Deputies falsely held Rio Rancho woman - The Associated Press
A woman suffering from mental illness says Sandoval County Sheriff's deputies roughed her up and falsely arrested her for child abuse.
Attorneys for Kari Mantilla say in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that deputies entered her Rio Rancho home without a warrant in April 2013 and arrested her for child abuse after concluding her house was a mess. The lawsuit say deputies were there to serve an order to appear for domestic violence.
Court documents say a deputy slammed Mantilla onto the pavement causing her to suffer head injuries.
An attorney for the county denied the allegations.
The child abuse charge was later dismissed.
This is the second federal lawsuit filed this month against Sandoval County over treatment of detainees suffering from mental illness.
Report: Radiation Leak At Nuclear Dump Was Small - The Associated Press
A final report by independent researchers shows the radiation leak from the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico was small and localized.
The report released yesterday by the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center also says no negative health effects are expected among workers or the public.
The center is associated with New Mexico State University.
Its technicians have been collecting samples since February, when a container of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured after being placed in a storage room at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Sampling stations at and near the plant confirmed the presence of trace amounts of americium and plutonium.
The release forced the plant's indefinite closure. Federal officials have said it could take years and a half-billion dollars to restart operations.
New Mexico Records Drop In Teens' Birth Rates - The Associated Press
New Mexican teens' birth rates are down.
The Department of Health announced Thursday that vital records show a 10 percent drop between 2012 and 2013 for teens 15-17 years old and for teens 18-19 years old.
The department says the drop is New Mexico's largest in the last 15 years, continuing a trend that has seen birth rates for teens 15-17 years old decline 56 percent since 1998. Meanwhile, birth rates for teens 18-19 years old dropped 36 percent.
However, New Mexico's rates still top national rates for each age group. According to the most recent data available, New Mexico has the highest rate nationally for teens 15-19.
Health Secretary Retta Ward says that means the state is making progress in reducing teen pregnancies but still has work to do.
Lawmakers Discuss Lottery Scholarship Program - The Associated Press
The head of the New Mexico Lottery says the state needs to catch up with the mobile revolution if it wants to attract the next generation of players and raise more money for the lottery scholarship program.
Lottery CEO David Barden testified yesterday before the legislative Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee.
While more than 80 percent of tickets are sold at convenience stores, Barden says statistics show about 73 percent of people who stop for gas never go inside and that amounts to lost opportunity.
Barden says the lottery needs to tap into smartphone and debit card sales if it wants to raise revenues.
Lottery proceeds fund the scholarship program.
Changes were enacted earlier this year to shore up the program's finances because tuition increases and demand for the financial assistance had grown faster than lottery proceeds.
2 Sentenced In Gallup Housing Fraud Case - The Associated Press
The Gallup Housing Authority's former executive director and another man have both been sentenced to prison for plotting to defraud the federal government.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Danny Garcia received a 20-month prison term yesterday while 62-year-old Michael Virruso got an 18-month sentence.
Both pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit false claims against the government. Garcia also pleaded guilty to theft from a program receiving federal funds.
A 2013 indictment accused them of engaging in a scheme to defraud the Department of Housing and Urban Development out of more than $100,000 between 2010 and 2012.
Garcia was executive director of the Gallup Housing Authority at the time.
Prosecutors say Garcia must pay $105,000 in restitution with Virruso jointly paying $75,000 of the total.
Cops: 2 Killed In Crash On US 550 Near San Ysidro - The Associated Press and KRQE-TV
Authorities say two people are dead following a crash that occurred on U.S. 550 in Sandoval County, reportedly after a law enforcement chase had been halted.
According to New Mexico State Police, two people were dead at the scene and a third person was flown to a hospital. That person's condition isn't known.
The accident occurred Thursday night near San Ysidro, and KRQE-TV reports that a vehicle crashed head-on into another after Santa Ana police had called off a chase because it was getting to dangerous.
New Mexico County Offers Online Crime Reporting - The Associated Press
The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office is taking part of its criminal reporting system online.
The sheriff's office says victims can now file temporary online reports for lost property, vandalism, theft or larceny, telephone harassment or motor vehicle vandalism.
The report can then be downloaded and printed. A sheriff's deputy will then follow up with the victim.
The sheriff's office says the new system is not designed to take the place of calling 911 in serious emergencies.
Man Arrested By New Mexico State Police In Killing - The Associated Press
An 11-month New Mexico State Police investigation into the killing of a woman last seen in Moriarty in Torrance County in January has resulted in an arrest.
State Police investigators on Thursday arrested 51-year-old Mark Chavez of Albuquerque in the killing of Tammie Cessna.
She was last seen at a Moriarty hotel on Jan. 13, reported missing on Jan. 14 and found dead in her van on Jan. 18.
A State Police announcement of the arrest of Chavez in the killing says he was served an arrest warrant for murder at the Metropolitan Detention Center where he is being detained on other charges.