Contract To Manage Federal Nuke Lab Up For Grabs After 2017 – The Associated Press
The $2 billion contract to manage one of the federal government's premier nuclear weapons laboratories will be up for grabs after 2017.
The National Nuclear Security Administration has decided not to grant an extension of Los Alamos National Security's contract to run the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation say the reasons cited by the agency include a serious safety incident involving a worker, and the handling of enriched uranium at a Nevada facility in 2014.
The lab also has shared blame for errors that led to the indefinite closure of the federal government's only underground nuclear waste repository in 2014.
The current contract expires in September 2017.
Lab Director Charlie McMillan told employees the lab's latest review was better than the previous two but not good enough to ensure an automatic contract extension.
Officials Still Silent On Disgraced Mora Ex-Superintendent – The Associated Press
New Mexico Public Education Department officials aren't giving any updates on an investigation into a disgraced former superintendent accused of faking his credentials.
The Las Vegas Optic reports that PED officials declined an invite to a Legislative Education Study Committee meeting to talk about licensure system.
The Optic has also been asking about the status of the investigation for weeks, and neither PED nor state police have responded to the newspaper's requests.
Mora Independent School District superintendent Charles Trujillo resigned following an October investigation by the Optic that Trujillo faked his credentials to obtain his administrative license.
Two days after the Optic story was published, Trujillo surrendered his education licenses to the state Public Education Department.
NM Town Angles For Solutions As More Die Out In The Cold – The Associated Press
A New Mexico town along Historic Route 66 is grappling with how to address a high rate of hypothermia deaths.
Alcoholism and frigid winter temperatures produce an alarmingly high number of deaths each year in Gallup, a city of 22,000. So far this cold season, authorities say at least four deaths in McKinley County, which includes Gallup, are being investigated as potential hypothermia cases.
State officials say 14 people in Gallup succumbed to the cold in the chilly days and nights between October 2014 and April.
The fatalities set the city's hypothermia death rate at 64 deaths for every 100,000 people last year, far above the national average. Officials hope a detox center with uncertain funding will help. But some residents say the city's efforts are falling short.
Suspect Dies In Shooting Involving Albuquerque Police – The Associated Press
Albuquerque police say a man has died after officers responded to a call of a possible armed robbery.
Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza says officers were called to an area near Central Avenue in northeast Albuquerque on Tuesday morning before the suspect was shot.
So far this year, there have been more than a half-dozen shootings by police officers in Albuquerque.
The shooting Tuesday marks the third time in 2015 a suspect has died in a police-involved shooting in Albuquerque.
Last year, six people were killed in confrontations with Albuquerque police as the Justice Department conducted an investigation and entered into a consent-decree with the city following allegations over excessive use of force by police.
UNM Investigating Purchasing Activity On Staffer's Card – The Associated Press
The director of basketball operations for New Mexico men's team has been put on a leave of absence while school officials audit the activity on his purchasing card.
UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said Tuesday that Cody Hopkins is cooperating with the audit process, which could take several weeks to complete.
Hopkins has been director of operations for the team since fall 2014. He's responsible for purchasing and payment for travel, hotels, food and incidentals for the Lobos.
The university's Internal Auditing Department conducts independent, objective audits of campus activities.
School officials say the department currently is reviewing recent transactions for basketball operations statements that haven't been reconciled, as required under university policy.
They didn't disclose any details of the unreconciled transactions.
La Plata Agrees To $2.4M Federal Mine Spill Cleanup Deal – The Associated Press & The Durango Herald
The federal government will pay La Plata County $2.4 million to help clean up after the Gold King Mine spill.
The Durango Herald reports that county commissioners unanimously agreed to the deal Tuesday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has assumed responsibility for an August breach at the abandoned mine portal that sent 3 million gallons of mining wastewater into the Animas and San Juan rivers.
EPA officials have until Feb. 1 to sign off on the agreement. The agreement includes eight tasks for ensuring the future health and safety of the county's citizens and environment.
Those include a real-time water monitoring system to alert the county of changes in water quality.
Commissioners postponed until January a vote on supporting a Superfund designation.
US Formally Announces Recent Deportation Figures – The Associated Press
The Obama administration says Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 235,413 people between October 2014 and September 2015.
It is the fewest number of immigrants sent home by ICE since 2006.
The Homeland Security Department says during that same period 337,117 would-be immigrants were caught crossing the border illegally.
The arrests at the border included roughly 79,800 people traveling as families and children traveling alone, mostly from Central America.
The Associated Press first reported in October that ICE had deported about 231,000 people as of Sept. 28.
Homeland Security has previously said deportations have declined in part because arrests at the border have dropped.
Republicans Allege Potential Interference In EPA Spill Probe
House Republicans are asking the Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to look into potential agency interference with an investigation into a 3-million-gallon wastewater spill from a Colorado mine.
The Republicans said agency interviews with personnel involved in the spill may have tainted the Inspector General's pending probe of the Aug. 5 accident.
The lawmakers' concerns were detailed in a Friday letter signed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas.
The accident was triggered by EPA cleanup workers who failed to test the water pressure inside the inactive Gold King Mine before conducting excavation work at the site. It sent a torrent of toxic heavy metals into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Navajo Nation On Track For First Utility-Scale Solar Plant - Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press
The Navajo Nation's first utility-scale solar plant is on track to be built by the end of 2016.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority says the $64 million plant in Kayenta will be capable of powering an average 7,700 homes on the reservation.
The utility's general manager, Walter Haase, says the tribe will use federal loans and tax credits to finance the project.
Navajo customers won't immediately see an increase in their bills. That's because the Salt River Project has a two-year agreement to buy power from a natural gas plant the tribe invests in and will get credits to strengthen its renewable energy portfolio.
Officials say the financial terms are confidential.
The solar plant will create 100 jobs during construction and a handful of long-term jobs.