Valles Caldera Looks To Future As National Park – The Associated Press
The management experiment at Valles Caldera National Preserve is coming to an end as the National Park Service prepares to take over the 140-square-mile property in northern New Mexico.
The transition is among dozens of public lands measures squeezed into the half-trillion-dollar defense bill approved by Congress and signed by the president last week.
The Park Service is taking on Valles Caldera and numerous other properties at a time when the agency is struggling with more than $11 billion in deferred maintenance at existing parks and monuments.
The defense bill did not include any funding for the new parks, leaving the Park Service to find money within its existing budget.
At Valles Caldera, there will be a six-month transition period. Officials expect the transition to lead to more public access.
Albuquerque Police Not Taking Extra Safety Steps – The Associated Press
Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico aren't taking extra precautionary measures following the shooting deaths of two New York police officers.
Albuquerque police spokesman Tanner Tixier said Monday that the agency is not employing any specific precautions like mandating two officers to a car or removing civilian personnel from daily duties.
He says officers have been reminded to constantly be aware of surroundings and to practice sound safety techniques.
The suspect who authorities say killed the New York officers Saturday referenced law enforcement killings as his motive.
Albuquerque officials recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to overhaul the agency amid allegations of excessive force. The city also had been under scrutiny for more than 40 police shootings since 2010.
Tourism Chief To Lead NM's Child Welfare Agency - The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez has announced another round of cabinet changes, including a shift that will have the state's tourism chief leading the Children, Youth and Families Department.
The governor's office announced Monday that the agency's current secretary, Yolanda Dienes, will be stepping down. Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson will be taking her place.
Martinez says Jacobson is well known for producing results and has a strong desire to improve the well-being of New Mexico's children.
The agency is in the midst of a massive reform effort aimed at changing the way child abuse and neglect cases are investigated. The reforms were prompted by the death of an Albuquerque boy who police say was kicked to death by his mother.
The governor also named Barbara Damron to lead the Higher Education Department.
Some Albuquerque Police Officers Give Up Bonuses - The Associated Press and KOAT-TV
More than two dozen Albuquerque police officers are giving up retention bonuses that were mistakenly given to them by the city.
KOAT-TV reports that 27 officers with three years to go until retirement received a $6,000 salary boost last month.
City officials say the salary bump was only supposed to go to officers who are one or two years away from retiring.
Police Union President Stephanie Lopez says the union decided to allow the city to fix the error and officers returned the bonuses.
The union and the city have now signed a new agreement that expires in July. The issue of retention bonuses can be reviewed then.
The bonuses were created to help retain staffing in the police department, which is seeing one of its worst staff shortages.
New Mexico Counties' Use Of DWI Funds Questioned - The Associated Press
A state legislative report says New Mexico counties are not effectively spending funds from a DWI grant program to combat drunken driving.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that a Legislative Finance Committee study says counties are wasting money from the Local DWI Grant program on strategies such as media campaigns and outreach.
According to the study, officials should devote more funds to increased patrols and tougher prosecutions. Also, most counties are not funding treatment as required by state law.
Committee members say there needs to be more accountability for how counties spend the $18 million that annually comes from liquor excise taxes.
Some advocates disagree and say there has been a sharp decrease in alcohol-related fatalities in the state.
New Mexico Hospitals Hit With Medicare Penalty - The Associated Press
Nearly a dozen New Mexico hospitals will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicare payments because of hospital-acquired infections.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that 11 New Mexico hospitals are among more than 700 nationwide that have been hit with penalties for high rates of certain conditions brought on during hospitalization.
According to Kaiser Health News and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospitals will see a 1 percent loss in reimbursements for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.
The penalized hospitals include Presbyterian and U-N-M Hospital.
Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare can cut payments based on issues such as frequency of infections caused by hospital equipment.
Negotiations Underway For Sale Of Old City Hall - The Associated Press and Las Cruces Sun-News
Negotiations are underway between the city of Las Cruces and federal government over the potential sale of the city's old City Hall building.
City Manager Robert Garza tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that the federal government is seeking bids for developing offices for federal employees associates with the courts.
In April 2010, the city moved its government offices from its older North Church Street location to a North Main Street address.
Since then, the old City Hall has relatively empty and unused.
Federal officials declined to comment on possible transactions while negotiations are underway.
Mayor Ken Miyagishima says he believes the former City Hall building could be sold for "less than $2 million."
Neil Patrick Harris Among Stars To Speak At NMSU - The Associated Press and Las Cruces Sun-News
Organizers of a New Mexico State University lecture series named after longtime professor and playwright Mark Medoff say some big names will appear in its inaugural year.
Coordinator Ross Marks tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that organizers are discussing dates for actors Kevin Costner and Neil Patrick Harris to be lecturers.
Costner starred in the 2008 movie, "Swing Vote," which was primarily filmed in New Mexico.
Harris, who is slated to host the Academy Awards in February, is an Albuquerque native.
Screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin, who created TV's "The Newsroom" and penned "The Social Network," will start the series off in the fall.
Medoff won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1980 for "Children of a Lesser God" and helped establish NMSU's Creative Media Institute.
Bernalillo Putting Cork In Annual Wine Festival - The Associated Press
The New Mexico Wine Festival in Bernalillo is running dry after 27 years.
Bernalillo town officials say they are no longer putting on the annual Labor Day weekend event.
Festival executive director Maria Rinaldi says the wine fest is the most responsible choice in light of a changing market.
Rinaldi says the festival served its purpose, which was promoting New Mexico's wine industry and tourism in Bernalillo.
The festival started as a joint effort between the town and the New Mexico Vine and Wine Society. It took place each year in Loretto Park.
Officials say they will likely plan other events for Labor Day weekend to take place in the park.
Santa Fe To Spend $8M On New Water Meter System - The Associated Press
Santa Fe officials plan to spend more than $8 million overhauling its water meter reading system.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the city's Water Division will replace 34,000 water meters as well as install and maintain a new reading system over the next decade.
Officials say the city will replace defective data-transmitting devices that were bought for nearly $5 million in 2004.
They say 13,000 meters that are supposed to allow utility workers to read the devices while in their vehicles with a laptop no longer function.
The city's complaint against the now bankrupt Texas manufacturer of the devices is pending.
Meanwhile, the city council approved an $8 million contract earlier this month with Badger Meter Inc.
Man Pleads No Contest In Inmate's 2005 Death - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
A man has pleaded no contest to killing another man nearly 10 years ago while they were both in a booking area at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that 34-year-old Ruben Ortiz was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison in the February 2005 death of 47-year-old Calvin Pendell and a 2012 attack on a corrections officer in an incident again stemming from booking.
Ortiz had been transported from the prison in Los Lunas to Albuquerque for a hearing in 2005 when he began hitting Pendell, who had violated his probation in another case and was awaiting booking for attempted possession of a controlled substance.
Ortiz later told investigators he thought Pendell was a dummy and that his head was made of glass.