NM Utility Works On 3 New Solar Power Centers – The Associated Press
Dirt is being leveled in three New Mexico counties as the state's largest electric provider prepares to install thousands of solar panels.
PNM says its planned solar power centers in Valencia, Cibola and Sandoval counties will be capable of producing enough electricity to meet the needs of 8,900 average residential customers.
The solar centers will cost about $48 million to construct. The largest one, the Meadowlake energy center east of Los Lunas, will be made up of more than 122,000 solar panels.
PNM already has eight utility-scale solar centers in operation. Four more centers are planned for next year.
The utility says that by 2016, its solar centers will be capable of generating enough electricity for 40,000 average residential customers for a year.
VA To Hold Town Halls To Discuss Health Care – The Associated Press
Officials with the Veterans Affairs health care system in New Mexico are planning two town halls to discuss health care and disability claims with veterans and their families.
The back-to-back town halls will be Sept. 10 at the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial in Albuquerque.
Following whistleblower complaints, investigators earlier this year uncovered large-scale improprieties in the way VA hospitals and clinics around the country scheduled veterans for appointments. Thousands of patients were forced to wait months for appointments.
The most recent audit of Albuquerque's Veterans Affairs hospital shows there were 111 veterans on the electronic waiting list as of Aug. 14. That's down from 248 at the end of July and down from more than 1,040 in May. The list includes new patients for whom appointments cannot be scheduled within 90 days.
Boy Allegedly Threatened Roswell Shooting Victim – The Associated Press
Authorities say a student at a Roswell school, where a 12-year-old boy opened fire in the gym, has been arrested after he wrote a threatening message directed at one of the shooting victims.
Chaves County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Herrington told KOB-TV on Saturday that a Berrendo Middle School eighth-grader admitted to writing "I will finish off Nathaniel on 9-2-14" on a bathroom wall.
Nathaniel Tavarez is still recovering from injuries he suffered in the January shooting and is still a student there.
Herrington says the male student was arrested Thursday for disrupting the educational process. The suspect, who is new to the school, told authorities he was angry at another classmate when he wrote the message.
Superintendent Tom Burris says the student has been suspended.
Native Network To Open First School In Shiprock – The Associated Press
The first school in a newly created education network that focuses on New Mexico's Native American communities is set to open this week in Shiprock.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Dream Dine Charter School will open its doors Tuesday behind the Shiprock Chapter House.
Officials say the school is starting out with two kindergarten classes and one first-grade class. They plan to add a grade each school year with the last being eighth grade.
The Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque established the school as part of its NACA-Inspired Schools Network.
Officials say the goal is for the network to operate 10 schools in the next three years.
Network executive director Kara Bobroff says the schools are aiming to make education for Native Americans more innovative.