Committee To Start Work On Impeachment Proceedings – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A New Mexico legislative committee plans to start work next week on impeachment proceedings against embattled Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who is accused of funneling campaign contributions to personal bank accounts.
No public official has been impeached in state history.
Impeachment proceedings were started 10 years ago against state Treasurer Robert Vigil and again in 2011 against Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr.
In each case, the process was halted after the officials resigned their posts.
Democratic Rep. Ken Martinez of Grants co-chaired the Vigil impeachment panel and tells the Albuquerque Journal that impeachment proceedings are grave and "very difficult."
Duran is facing criminal charges that that she funneled some $13,000 in campaign contributions to personal bank accounts.
Duran's attorney has said she would fight the charges in court.
AP Exclusive: Drilling Boom Means More Harmful Waste Spills – The Associated Press
The U.S. oil and gas production boom of the past decade has an unwanted side effect: Millions of gallons of briny wastewater have spilled onto land and flowed into waterways, often doing severe damage.
An Associated Press analysis of state and federal record finds some 21,651 spills of oilfield wastewater between 2009 and 2014. They add up to more than 180 million gallons. And officials acknowledge many releases are never reported.
The spills happen primarily because of human error and equipment failures such as ruptured pipelines, overflowing tanks or illegal dumping.
Experts say wastewater spills can be more environmentally harmful than oil spills. The salty byproduct turn can land into barren moonscapes where plants can't grow.
Oil industry officials say they're trying to reduce the number of spills.
Judge To Decide On Halting Teacher Evaluation System – The Associated Press
A judge will hear arguments later this month on whether the education department's evaluation system should be shut down while a lawsuit heads to court.
The Los Alamos Monitor reports (http://bit.ly/1K52Ebr) Santa Fe First Judicial District Court Judge David Thomson scheduled preliminary injunction hearings for Sept. 16 and Sept. 21.
The Albuquerque Teachers Federation and the American Federation of Teachers requested the injunction after filing a lawsuit earlier this year that said the evaluations are punitive.
Thompson scheduled an April 4 court date in the lawsuit to determine the validity of the evaluations.
Attorney Shane Youtz is defending New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera and the New Mexico Public Education Department. Thompson granted Youtz's request for more time to conduct research on the allegations being made by the plaintiffs.
Woman Accused Of Embezzling From Parent Teacher Organization – The Associated Press
A Farmington woman has been arrested on charges that she embezzled more than $15,000 from a parent teacher organization.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that 28-year-old Myca Ross was charged with embezzlement, forgery and tampering with evidence.
Arrest records show that an audit revealed $15,000 was missing from the bank account of Northeast Elementary School's parent teacher organization.
Two members of the organization had alleged that Ross has spent $12,000 from the PTO's bank account on personal items, including gasoline, a pizza party for her child, groceries and a birthday party.
Ross' attorney, Sarah Weaver, said she had no comment on the allegations.
The group is independent of Northeast Elementary, but raises money to help teachers in the classroom and pay for student events.
Sandia Labs Has New VP To Oversee Energy, Security Research – The Associated Press
One of the nation's premier federal laboratories has named a new vice president to oversee energy, security and nonproliferation research in New Mexico.
Sandia National Laboratories says James Chavez also will be vice president of its international, homeland and nuclear security program management unit.
The move becomes effective on Friday.
Chavez replaces Jill Hruby, who became Sandia president and labs director in July.
Most recently, Chavez has served as the director of the Monitoring Systems and Technology Center and the Remote Monitoring and Verification Program.
In his 33-year career at Sandia, Chavez has served in a variety of leadership roles and has broad research experience including renewable energy, nuclear reactor safety and physical security.
Congress Wades Into Toxic Mine Spill Caused By EPA Crew -
By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
The focus on a toxic mine spill that fouled rivers in three Western states is shifting to Congress, where lawmakers this week kick off a series of hearings into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accident.
Leading House and Senate Republicans said EPA officials were frustrating their attempts to investigate the spill.
They want documents released explaining how a government cleanup team doing excavation work triggered the release of 3 million gallons of rust-colored sludge from the inactive Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas suggested the hearings offer the agency a chance to dispel growing suspicions over its actions.
Meanwhile, some Democrats are pursuing a proposal for companies to pay for the cleanup of thousands of abandoned mines across the U.S.
Psychotropic Drug Prescriptions Increase At State Prisons – The Associated Press
The corrections department is looking into ways to address the large percentage of prison inmates who are prescribed medications that can be abused for a high.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a quarter of the state's inmates in 2012 were taking psychotropic drugs, which can be crushed and snorted. As of April 30, that rate had jumped to 33 percent.
Corrections officials released a statement saying rates were high, especially for women.
About 70 percent of the inmates at the state's only woman's prison were taking these medications, compared to roughly 30 percent of male inmates.
Data for both men and women is well above the 10-percent prescription rate for federal inmates in 2014.
The department's statement says it is working with its medical contractor to find solutions.
AmeriCorps Gives Grants To 2 Navajo Nation Chapter Programs – The Associated Press
AmeriCorps is splitting more than $180,000 in grant funding between programs in Kewa Pueblo and two Navajo Nation chapters.
The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the national service program is using about $151,000 of the funds to maintain its members at Shiprock Chapter and Nenahnezad Chapter of the Navajo Nation. The remaining grant money will be used to establish an AmeriCorps program at the pueblo.
AmeriCorps members focus on mentoring youth, helping veterans access services, responding to disasters and building affordable housing. There are 16 members at Shiprock Chapter and 12 at Nenahnezad Chapter.
Erin Brockovich Calls Out Feds In Wake Of Mine Waste Spill – The Associated Press
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of not telling the truth about the amount of wastewater that fouled rivers in three states after spilling from a Colorado mine.
She leveled the accusation against the agency during a visit to the Navajo Nation on Tuesday. She met with tribal leadership and farmers affected by last month's spill and spoke to a crowd of high school students in Shiprock, New Mexico.
During her speech, Brockovich questioned the EPA's estimate that 3 million gallons spilled from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.
The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The EPA initially estimated the spill at 1 million gallons. That was revised to 3 million gallons after the agency reviewed river flow data following the spill.
Navajo President Russell Begaye has also questioned the amount given the damage he saw at the mouth of the mine just days after the spill.
Erin Brockovich To Discuss Mine Spill At Navajo High Schools – Daily Times
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is wading into the controversy over the Gold King Mine spill.
The Daily Times reports that Brockovich will speak at three high schools on the Navajo Nation on Tuesday. She will also join Navajo President Russell Begaye in visiting areas along the San Juan River impacted by the spill, which sent 3 million gallons of mine sludge into the Animas River and then into the San Juan River.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken responsibility for the spill, which was triggered when a cleanup crew it was supervising was working in the shuttered mine.
Brockovich released a statement calling the impact from the mine spill unacceptable and said the response indicates EPA is underfunded and understaffed.
Brockovich became famous when a movie named after her starring Julia Roberts was released in 2000. It tells the story of her work as a legal clerk helping residents in a California town win a huge settlement against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. over groundwater contamination.
ENMU Sets Fall Enrollment Record For 19th Consecutive Year – The Associated Press
Eastern New Mexico University has set a fall enrollment record for the 19th consecutive year.
School officials say this fall's student enrollment is 5,946 compared to last year's 5,887.
That's a one percent increase.
ENMU's enrollment includes 4,574 undergraduate and 1,372 graduate students.
School president Steven Gamble says ENMU's tuition and fees that are among the lowest in the nation for a university.
Questions Remain Unanswered On Man's Death While In Custody – Associated Press
Authorities say a 45-year-old man who died while fighting with Bernalillo officers had been involved moments earlier in a domestic dispute and vehicle crash before he ran to a store where he got into a struggle with employees, customers and police.
Bernalillo Police Chief Tom Romero says Monday that the man's cause of death is unknown. It's not yet known whether he was impaired or suffered from an underlying health condition.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death for the man.
Four officers who responded to the call Sunday at a Walmart have been put on paid administrative leave.
Still, Romero says it appeared that the officers acted properly.
Rio Rancho police, who are investigating the death, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
ABQ City Council To Consider New Rules For Food Trucks - KRQE
New restrictions on food trucks will be considered at this week’s Albuquerque City Council meeting.
KRQE reports the proposal would not allow the trucks to park within 100 feet of some restaurants and would generally be prohibited from setting up in front of homes.
Councilor Isaac Benton is sponsoring the proposed changes, which would also expand the number of hours that trucks can operate in private parking lots. Santa Fe has put similar restrictions in place.
Drilling Boom Means More Harmful Waste Spills – By John Flesher, Associated Press
Ranchers Carl and Justin Johnson for decades have battled oilfield companies that left a patchwork of barren earth where the men graze beef cattle in Crossroads, N.M.
Five years ago, a broken pipe soaked the land with more than 10 million gallons of oilfield wastewater — a salty and potentially toxic drilling byproduct that can quickly turn fertile land into a dead zone. The spill is among dozens that have taken a heavy toll on the ranching operation.
The Johnsons' plight illustrates a largely overlooked side effect of oil and gas production that has worsened with the past decade's drilling boom: spills of wastewater that foul the land, kill wildlife and threaten freshwater supplies.
An Associated Press analysis in leading oil- and gas-producing states found more than 180 million gallons of wastewater spilled from 2009 to 2014 in incidents involving ruptured pipes, overflowing storage tanks, deliberate dumping and other mishaps.
Though oil spills tend to get more attention, wastewater spills can be more damaging. Oil industry officials say they're trying to reduce the number of spills.
Americorps Gives Grants To 2 Navajo Nation Chapter Programs – Daily Times, Associated Press
AmeriCorps is splitting more than $180,000 in grant funding between programs in Kewa Pueblo and two Navajo Nation chapters.
The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the national service program is using about $151,000 of the funds to maintain its members at Shiprock Chapter and Nenahnezad Chapter of the Navajo Nation. The remaining grant money will be used to establish an AmeriCorps program at the pueblo.
AmeriCorps members focus on mentoring youth, helping veterans access services, responding to disasters and building affordable housing. There are 16 members at Shiprock Chapter and 12 at Nenahnezad Chapter.
Woman Accused Of Embezzling From Parent Teacher Organization – Daily Times, Associated Press
A Farmington woman has been arrested on charges that she embezzled more than $15,000 from a parent teacher organization.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that 28-year-old Myca Ross was charged with embezzlement, forgery and tampering with evidence.
Arrest records show that an audit revealed $15,000 was missing from the bank account of Northeast Elementary School's parent teacher organization.
Two members of the organization had alleged that Ross has spent $12,000 from the PTO's bank account on personal items, including gasoline, a pizza party for her child, groceries and a birthday party.
Ross' attorney, Sarah Weaver, said she had no comment on the allegations.
The group is independent of Northeast Elementary, but raises money to help teachers in the classroom and pay for student events.