Partisan Fighting Also Killed New Mexico 'Kendra's Law' - The Associated Press
Lost in the partisan bickering of the New Mexico Legislature's final moments was a measure aimed at helping some residents with severe mental illness.
Since lawmakers failed to pass the bill, New Mexico remains one of only a handful of states without a "Kendra's Law."
It would have allowed judges in some counties to order patients to take medication and undergo treatment if they are deemed a danger to themselves and their community.
The proposal came after calls in Albuquerque following more than 40 police shootings since 2010. Officials say 75 percent of the suspects shot suffered from some sort of mental illness.
The House passed the measure with minutes to go in the session but not enough time for the Senate to vote on the revised version.
Energy Secretary Reiterates Priority Of Reopening Nuke Dump – The Associated Press
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says his department is committed to reopening the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico.
Moniz made assurances to a U.S. Senate subcommittee during a hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C. He says reopening the troubled facility would be done safety, with worker safety in mind.
A container stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant leaked in February 2014. The radioactive release forced the repository to close indefinitely.
Federal officials have said it could take years and more than a half-billion dollars for full operations to resume at WIPP.
New Mexico also has levied $54 million in fines against DOE and its contractors over failures that led to the radiation release. Moniz says he's hopeful DOE and the state can reach an agreement.
New Mexico Officials Tout Increase In Graduation Rates – The Associated Press
New figures from the U.S. Education Department show New Mexico is among the states to see the most growth in high school graduation rates over a three-year period.
The state's graduation rate increased from 63 percent during the 2010-11 school year to 70 percent in 2013. Only Alabama and Nevada saw higher growth rates during the period.
Nationally, the graduation rate reached a high of 81.4 percent in 2013.
State education officials said Wednesday that New Mexico's graduation rates included advances among Hispanic, American Indian and black students.
State Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera says she's encouraged by the progress but that three out of every 10 students who enroll still don't graduate from high school.
She says her focus remains on increasing opportunities for students.
Dona Ana County Commissioners Approve Sales Tax Increase - The Associated Press
Dona Ana County is going to increase its sales tax and plans to spend part of the revenue on criminal-justice agencies.
The Las Cruces Suns-News reports that county commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve its sales tax by three-eighths of a percent on July 1.
The tax increase will replace $1.9 million in annual state funding that the state plans to phase out over 15 years.
The commissioners earmarked various shares of the sales tax revenue for the sheriff's department, the detention center, economic development and capital improvements.
Former San Miguel County Judge Agrees To Permanent Ban – The Associated Press
A former San Miguel County magistrate who publicly supported various candidates while retired but still serving occasionally as a judge has agreed to never serve again in a judicial position.
The Las Vegas Optic reports that Philip Romero had retired from his San Miguel County position but still ran afoul of a state prohibition against judges supporting candidates because he continued to fill in temporarily for judges in other counties.
Romero said he agreed to permanent retirement from judicial office because he didn't want to face being ordered to pay costs of potential Judicial Standards Commission proceedings.
He said he had thought he was allowed to endorse candidates running in 2014 because he had retired in 2013 and since then only served as a fill-in judge occasionally.
Groups Threaten To Sue Over Mexican Wolf Protections – The Associated Press
A coalition of environmental groups is threatening to sue the federal government over protections for the endangered Mexican gray wolf.
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals warned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue Tuesday.
It would mark just the latest legal challenge over changes to the wolf reintroduction program that were announced in January. Under the changes, wolves will be able to roam a greater expanse of Arizona and New Mexico and will be released at more sites.
Critics of the changes are concerned about provisions that allow for wolves to be trapped and removed if they roam outside certain boundaries. They also disagree with the agency's categorization of the wolves as an "experimental" population.
Carlsbad Business Group Approves Nuke Dump Resolution - The Associated Press
A business group has joined the call for negotiations to continue between state and federal officials over $54 million in fines stemming from a radiation leak at a nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico.
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce became the latest group to sign on to a resolution that outlines several recommendations as officials wrangle over the fines.
The city of Carlsbad, the city's development department and Eddy County previously passed the same resolution.
Officials say a signed copy was being delivered to Gov. Susana Martinez and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
Carlsbad officials have said they're concerned about the DOE's position that the fines would have to be paid out of the budgets of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Navajo Nation Signs Gambling Compact With New Mexico - The Associated Press
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly has signed a compact with the state of New Mexico that allows the tribe to continue operating its casinos for another two decades.
The gambling compact recently cleared the New Mexico Legislature. It needs final approval from the U.S. Interior Department.
The compact was the result of three years of negotiations with Gov. Susana Martinez's administration.
New Mexico lawmakers were under pressure to approve the compact since existing revenue-sharing agreements with the state are set to expire at the end of June. Without a new compact, the Navajos and some other tribes would not be able to legally operate their casinos.
The Navajos say their three casinos generated nearly $80 million last year, and more than $6 million went to the state for revenue-sharing payments.
Names Unreleased For 6 Wounded In Albuquerque Park Shooting - The Associated Press
Police say one person still remains hospitalized in critical condition after a shooting at an Albuquerque skate park.
A teenager was killed and six people wounded in Sunday night's incident at Los Altos Park.
Albuquerque police say the shooting appears to be gang related and involved more than one shooter, but no arrests have been made.
They say the incident started over a fist fight possibly over a skateboard.
Police on Monday identified the person killed as 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis.
They haven't released the names of the six wounded, saying it could jeopardize the on-going investigation.
But police said Tuesday that the wounded included a 20-year-old man, a 23-year-old man, a 25-year-old woman, two 26-year-old men and a 27-year-old man.
Report Says Beetles Don't Make Forests More Likely To Burn - The Associated Press
Mountain pine beetles have left vast tracts of dead, dry trees in the West, raising fears that they're more vulnerable to wildfire outbreaks, but a new study found no evidence that bug-infested forests are more likely to burn than healthy ones.
In a paper released Monday, University of Colorado researchers say weather and terrain are bigger factors in determining whether a forest will burn than beetle invasions.
The findings could provide some comfort to people who live near beetle-infested forests, if those trees are no more likely to burn.
But the study acknowledges that other researchers have found that trees killed by beetles pose different fire risks.
Previous studies by the U.S. Forest Service found beetle-killed trees ignite faster and burn more quickly than healthy trees.