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Headlines: Thousands Mark Anniversary At Trinity Site, Oil & Gas Industry PR Campaign...

Atomicarchive.com via WikiMedia Commons

Thousands Visit Trinity On Anniversary Of Bomb Explosion - The Associated Press and Alamogordo Daily News

Thousands of visitors converged Saturday on the New Mexico site where the first nuclear bomb was detonated nearly 70 years ago.

The Alamogordo Daily News reports White Sands Missile Range officials say more than 5,500 people attended the first of two tours being offered at the Trinity Site this year.

Visitors came from all over the U.S. and included several documentary crews.

Many attendees posed for pictures near an obelisk marking the exact location where the bomb went off.

In July 1945, Los Alamos scientists successfully exploded the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site, near Alamogordo.

Meanwhile, protesters held signs in Tularosa as tourists caught a caravan heading to the site.

Demonstrators say families living near the test site went on to suffer health problems.

NM Law Prohibits Distributing Intimate Images To HarassThe Associated Press

Gov. Susana Martinez has signed a bill making it a crime to distribute sensitive images of a person in an effort to harass or injure that person.

Posting intimate photos or videos on the internet or disseminating such images electronically or otherwise will be a crime under the so-called "revenge porn" bill signed Monday.

With Martinez's signature, New Mexico joins at least 16 states that have enacted similar laws in the past 10 years.

Under the law, sensitive images are defined as those of a person whose genitals are exposed or images depicting certain areas of a woman's breast.

Once the law takes effect July 1, the first conviction will be a misdemeanor. Subsequent convictions would constitute a fourth-degree felony.

Martinez Signs Bill To Encourage Nurses To Become EducatorsThe Associated Press

Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation that supporters say will help address New Mexico's shortage of nurses.

Martinez signed the bill, sponsored by Democrat Pete Campos of Las Vegas, during an event Monday in Las Cruces.

The measure passed both chambers on unanimous votes during the recent 60-day legislative session.

The legislation expands the pool of people eligible to receive financial aid from the state's nurse educators fund. It's aimed at those who pursue advanced nursing degrees to teach the next generation of nurses at public colleges and universities.

The state Higher Education Department spent nearly $145,000 on the nurse loan-for-service program last year. At the time, only faculty members were eligible to receive aid.

Lawmakers have called for spending $850,000 in general funds on the program next year.

Albuquerque Considers Withdrawing Support For San Juan PlantThe Associated Press

The Albuquerque City Council is set to consider withdrawing support for a plan to replace part of an aging coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico.

The council will consider the resolution Monday evening.

The resolution states the city supports an agreement reached by federal officials, Gov. Susana Martinez's administration and Public Service Co. of New Mexico to shut down part of the San Juan Generating Station in an effort to reduce haze-causing pollution.

But the resolution doesn't support PNM's plan for replacing it with more coal-generated power. It cites mistakes made in calculating fuel costs.

The city of Santa Fe has already passed a resolution opposing the plan, and some environmental and consumer groups have withdrawn their support.

PNM contends the plan is the most cost-effective for its customers.

New Mexico Oil And Gas Group To Embark On Media CampaignThe Associated Press and Daily Times

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association is hitting back at environmentalists with a new promotional campaign.

The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the organization will debut a 30-second commercial May 1 to spotlight its importance to the state's economy.

The television ad is part of a new "Funding Education, Fueling Our Future" campaign.

Spokesman Wally Drangmeister says the group is spending $250,000 to air the commercial and also publish print ads.

Drangmeister says the campaign is meant to counter environmental groups who recently got the federal Bureau of Land Management to defer the proposed drilling of five Navajo allotment parcels.

Critics say the group should spend advertising dollars on cleaner technology.

The association estimates oil and gas contributed $2.1 billion to the state last year.

Gov. Martinez Expected To Sign Santa Teresa Border Town Bill - The Associated Press

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is expected to sign a bill aimed at helping the booming border town of Santa Teresa even more.

Martinez is scheduled Monday to sign a measure that would extend the overweight zone in Santa Teresa and two other Ports of Entry.

The Republican also is planning to make an announcement about new projects for the border region.

Santa Teresa is seeing rapid growth as state officials work to plan more projects. Last year, for example, Martinez announced the creation of a 70,000-acre, master-planned community around the Santa Teresa-San Jeronimo border crossing in an effort to expand the fast-growing border region even more.

Under the plan, the project would create new trade zones, joint health care programs and "quality residential living."

New Mexico To Consider Amending Dairy Regulations - The Associated Press

State regulators are gathering in Roswell to consider revamping rules that govern how the New Mexico dairy industry deals with waste water.

A public hearing before the Water Quality Control Commission starts Monday. Officials say it's possible the proceeding could last all week and that more meetings could be scheduled elsewhere.

The commission has said Roswell serves as an ideal place for the hearing since it's in the heart of New Mexico's dairy country.

Environmentalists were unsuccessful in trying to get the commission to hold the hearing in Santa Fe.

The state, dairy farmers and environmentalists have been wrangling for years over how to best manage waste produced by the industry while protecting New Mexico's limited groundwater supplies.

The proposed changes would affect requirements for monitoring wells and liners.

Espanola College's Name Change Stirs Up Dispute - The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican

A name change is at the center of a dispute involving a northern New Mexico school already entangled in accusations of budget mismanagement and poor leadership.

A vote to change Northern New Mexico College's name to Northern New Mexico University is irking several lawmakers and some school officials.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the school's Board of Regents approved the change in January.

However, newly confirmed regent Damian Martinez said Saturday that the school should stop referring to itself as a university because the Legislature never approved the change.

Legislation proposing the name change died last month.

Albuquerque Woman Loses Leg After Getting Hit By Car - The Associated Press

Police say a woman lost her leg after she was hit by a car outside an Albuquerque post office.

Authorities say the woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition Saturday.

Police spokesman Simon Drobik says the incident occurred around 11 a.m. when the driver parking the car hit the accelerator by mistake.

Drobik says the car jumped the curb and crashed into the victim, severing one leg above the knee.

According to Drobik, bystanders applied a tourniquet with a belt until emergency responders arrived.

The driver was not injured.

The incident is still under investigation, but police do not believe speed or alcohol was a factor.

Wounded Navajo Police Officer To Leave Hospital This Week - The Associated Press and Daily Times

One of two Navajo Nation police officers wounded in a shootout that ended with another officer and a suspect dead will be released from the hospital this week.

The Daily Times in Farmington says Officer James Hale is set to leave the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Deswood Tome, the Navajo president's chief of staff, says Hale's family has asked that his medical condition not be disclosed.

The second officer, Herbert Frazier, is recovering at home.

Authorities say 42-year-old Officer Alex Yazzie was killed March 19 after 24-year-old Justin Fowler shot at officers in Red Valley, Arizona.

Councilors Propose Dissolving Albuquerque Open Space Fund - The Associated Press

Three city councilors are proposing to dissolve Albuquerque's open space trust fund.

City Councilors Don Harris, Dan Lewis and Ken Sanchez say the idea would be to use the $11 million in the fund to purchase more open space.

Since 1982, proceeds from city land sales have gone into the fund, with interest going toward open space operation and maintenance. Under current market conditions, the fund generates about $65,000 a year.

And with the price of land and the need to protect more natural areas, the councilors say it would be best to dissolve the fund and use the money to buy more open space.

City officials have identified nearly 13,000 acres they would like to acquire as open space. That land is valued at more than $95 million.