Brewery Brotherhood Emerging In Albuquerque Area – The Albuquerque Journal, The Associated Press
Albuquerque breweries are brewing not only beer but budding friendships — with each other.
A majority of the owners of the city's breweries tell the Albuquerque Journal that the industry here is anything but cutthroat.
Christopher Goblet, executive director of the New Mexico Beer Guild, says the brewers are small business owners who want to see others succeed.
He says the close proximity of all the breweries breeds a community feel.
Owners who opened within the last few months say more established places have even referred customers and shared their equipment.
According to the New Mexico Beer Guild, there are 20 breweries in Bernalillo County.
The National Brewers Association has found New Mexico's three dozen breweries have an economic impact of some $265 million.
New Mexico Lawmaker Seeks Tougher Child Sex Crime Penalties – The Farmington Daily Times, The Associated Press
A New Mexico lawmaker is pushing legislation that would toughen penalties for people convicted of child sex crimes and make them easier to prosecute.
The Farmington Daily Times reported Saturday that state Rep. Sharon Clahchischilliage has pre-filed a bill that would increase prison time for anyone in a position of authority who coerces a child between the age of 13 and 18 to submit to sexual penetration.
The bill would also change the definition of second- and third-degree criminal sexual contact, eliminating a requirement that the minor victim must have suffered "personal injury."
According to state criminal statute, personal injury includes pregnancy and mental anguish.
Clahchischilliage, a Republican from Kirtland, says she consulted the New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Department when crafting the legislation.
Mission Control: Balloon Crew Streaking Over Pacific - The Associated Press
Mission control for a helium-filled balloon says the craft carrying an international team is past the one-quarter mark as they fly eastward across the western Pacific Ocean in a bid to break two major records en route from North America from Japan.
Pilots Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off in the Two Eagles balloon from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday Japan time. That was Saturday afternoon at mission control in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mission control says the balloon has been averaging more than 50 miles per hour (about 80 kilometers) and had traveled nearly 1,700 miles (2,736 kilometers) as of late Sunday night New Mexico time.
They're trying to break a distance record of 5,208 miles and a 137-hour flight-duration record.
2 Teens Who Escaped Albuquerque Work Detail Still At Large – KOB-TV, The Associated Press
Authorities are searching for a third day for two offenders who fled from a work detail in northwest Albuquerque.
KOB-TV reports that New Mexico State Police believe 18-year-old Michael DeHerrera and 17-year-old Nicholas Davis could be anywhere in the state or further.
According to police, they fled on foot Thursday night near the intersection of Fourth Street and Delamar Avenue.
Davis was in custody of the Children, Youth and Families Department's Camino Nuevo Youth Facility for taking a motor vehicle, while DeHerrera was in custody for armed robbery.
Both are described as Caucasian. DeHerrera is described as 5-foot-2, 100 pounds with brown eyes, black hair and several tattoos.
Davis is described as 5-foot-11, 165 pounds with green eyes and brown hair. He has a tattoo on his right arm.
Pit Bulls That Bit Rio Rancho Boy, Dog To Go Back To Owner – KOAT-TV, The Associated Press
Two pit bulls that attacked an 11-year-old Rio Rancho boy and his dog will get to return to their owner.
KOAT-TV reports that Rio Rancho police say the dogs will be released back to the owner following the Jan. 19 incident.
Police spokesman Paul Rogers says the owner, who lives near the boy, will receive several citations including for having dangerous animals, failing to have rabies vaccinations and not having a city license for animals.
Rogers says the dogs would be detained further if they had rabies.
Police say the dogs charged the boy as he was taking his pet Rottweiler to the family car and neighbors stepped in, shooting the canines with pellet pistols.
The boy suffered a bite on his shin and his dog received several lacerations.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Has Running Water Again – The Associated Press
Carlsbad Caverns National Park officials say water has been restored after freezing temperatures damaged a crucial pipe line.
Officials say all park services are up and running and there are no water restrictions thanks to an interim bypass pipeline.
According to park spokeswoman Valerie Gohlke, the 4-inch bypass pipeline temporarily replaces 7,000 feet of broken pipeline.
Below freezing temperatures around New Year's weekend resulted in the bursting of the park's above-ground main water supply line. The park has been without water for three weeks with only some facilities operating.
The park will break ground next month on a long-term solution in the form of a project to bury the line.
The project is slated for completion in early May.
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Accused Of Ethics Violation – The Farmington Daily Times, The Associated Press
A Navajo Nation Council delegate is being accused of abusing his position.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that LoRenzo Bates received an ethics complaint Thursday filed by the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules Office.
Bates is accused of compelling the office's executive director to disclose information about a case involving delegates who were also shareholder representatives for the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company.
The complaint alleges the disclosure was at a public council session in August, violating the office's confidentiality clause for ongoing investigations.
In a letter to the council and constituents, Bates says he plans to handle the matter with "complete honesty."
The complaint was first filed Sept. 12 in the tribe's Office of Hearings and Appeals, which is being asked to hold an administrative hearing.
Lawmakers Concerned About New Mexico's Unbalanced Books – The Associated Press
New Mexico's top finance officials say the state's checkbook is out of balance to the tune of $100 million.
Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Tom Clifford testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. He says that amount is his agency's best guess at the discrepancy between the state's general cash ledger and what it actually has in the bank.
However, state Auditor Tim Keller says the difference could be hundreds of millions of dollars.
The problem stems from accounting software the state purchased several years ago. Officials say if the state doesn't reconcile its cash accounts, its credit rating and borrowing power could suffer.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and other lawmakers voiced concerns that the missing money could have been used for education and other state needs.
Lawyer: Slain New Mexico Deputy Had 'Drug' In Wallet – The Associated Press
A lawyer for a former New Mexico deputy accused of killing a fellow deputy wants to test of a "white powdery substance" found in the dead deputy's wallet.
John Day, an attorney for Tai Chan, said in a motion last week that he uncovered the substance listed as "drug" during a review of Las Cruces police evidence.
The substance has not been tested.
Authorities say former Santa Fe County sheriff's Deputy Chan fatally shot Jeremy Martin at a Las Cruces hotel in October after they drank at a nightspot and got into a heated argument.
Police say the two deputies were staying at the hotel after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.
An autopsy report found alcohol in Martin's system but no drugs.
New Mexico To Tackle Campaign Spending Bill – The Associated Press
A New Mexico Senate Democrat and a House Republican plan to co-sponsor legislation to define the relationship between candidates and political action committees when it comes to campaign finance.
Similar bills have failed in previous years but Sen. Peter Wirth said Monday he is hopeful of passage this year because of bipartisan support. The Santa Fe Democrat said the bill will be introduced following a review by the New Mexico Secretary of State. Republican James Smith of Sandia Park will be the sponsoring the measure in the House.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that super PACs, which aren't supposed to coordinate with candidates, spent millions of dollars on elections in New Mexico last year but there is no law that defines what exactly coordination is.
New Mexico Appeals Court Hears Assisted Suicide Case – The Associated Press
Do terminally ill patients in New Mexico already have a right to end their lives?
That's what the New Mexico Court of Appeals is set to decide after hearing arguments Monday from the state and lawyers from a terminally ill woman.
The case involves a Santa Fe woman with advanced uterine cancer who is asking the courts to clarify New Mexico's laws preventing her from ending her life and putting doctors in legal trouble.
Last year, Second Judicial District Judge Nan Nash ruled the New Mexico Constitution prohibits the state from depriving a person of life, liberty or property without due process.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office appealed the ruling.
The court battle comes as aid-in-dying laws have been introduced in California, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.
Candidate Withdraws After Tie Vote In Navajo Speaker's Race – The Associated Press
A vote to decide the next leader of the Navajo Nation's legislative branch ended in a tie Monday.
Rather than leave the result to chance, Alton Joe Shepherd withdrew his name.
LoRenzo Bates will preside over the Navajo Nation Council for the next two years. The four-term delegate is perhaps most well-known for his work as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee.
Bates served as speaker pro tem after Johnny Naize resigned in April.
Bates and Shepherd each received 12 votes in runoff for the job. A tie earlier this year for speaker pro tem had been broken by a coin toss.
The selection of a speaker was the first line of business for the 24 lawmakers meeting in their first regular session in Window Rock.
Lawmakers Want To Boost New Mexico Job Training Program – The Associated Press
A bipartisan coalition of New Mexico lawmakers is calling for more money to be funneled into a job training program as part of an effort to attract more businesses to the state.
Under the proposed legislation, $12 million would be provided for the Job Training Incentive Program, which helps expanding companies and those that have relocated to the state cover the cost of training or hiring new employees.
State economic development officials say the program is one of the most generous in the country when it comes to training incentives.
Republican House Speaker Don Tripp and Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen say the legislation marks an opportunity for party politics to be put aside.
More than $8.8 million was spent by the job training program during the last fiscal year.
NM Lawmaker Back At Legislature After Husband Sentenced – The Associated Press
A northern New Mexico lawmaker who skipped the opening days of the legislative session to attend her husband's sentencing hearing has been sworn in.
House Democrats announced Monday that state Rep. Debbie Rodella of Espanola took the oath of office after missing a week.
She had attended hearings involving her husband, former Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella.
The ex-lawman was sentenced last week to 10 years in federal prison for abusing a driver in a bizarre, off-duty traffic stop that prosecutors described as a fit of road rage.
U.S. District Judge James Browning said after reading letters from the public, it appeared Thomas Rodella also abused his position in exchange for votes for his wife.
The Espanola Democrat did not respond to a reporter's question about the judge's comment.