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Lawmakers Rarely Use Work Email, Prisoner Escape Raises Concerns

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Records: New Mexico Lawmakers Rarely Use Work EmailAssociated Press

A records request by The Associated Press finds that New Mexico legislative leaders rarely if ever communicate by work email and keep private details of breakfast and dinner appointments with industry and special interest groups.

The Legislature's top leaders provided their appointment calendars and hundreds of emails from the first week in February in response to the request.

Nearly all of the emails came from constituents; only three were outgoing messages. A small share of the work-related calendar appointments included names of individuals and none described the content of conversations.

Gov. Susana Martinez's office has yet to turn over work emails in response to the request, saying staffers have been busy reviewing legislation passed during the recent session.

The AP sent open-records requests to the top lawmakers in all 50 states and most governors.

New Mexico Prisoner Escape Raises Concerns About SecurityThe Associated Press

The escape of two violent inmates has raised concerns about security in the New Mexico corrections system, with questions lingering about how the men broke free from a prison van and fled hundreds of miles before anyone reported them missing.

The manhunt ended this weekend for convicted murderer Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah, who was serving time for armed robbery and shooting at an officer. Cruz was captured Friday in Albuquerque, and Clah surrendered outside an apartment in the city the next day.

The men bolted from the prison van along a remote stretch of southern New Mexico highway Wednesday night. Surveillance video placed them in Albuquerque early the next day.

Authorities have remained tight-lipped about their investigation, declining to identify any missteps that could have allowed for the escape.

New Mexico Court Sides With Rape Victims At Private PrisonThe Associated Press

The New Mexico Supreme Court says private prison operator Corrections Corporation of America can be held liable for compensatory damages to three victims who were raped by a guard.

The court affirmed in an opinion Monday that the company can be held vicariously liable because private corrections officer Anthony Townes was aided in the sexual assaults by his job position.

Townes is serving a 16-year state prison sentence for criminal sexual penetration and false imprisonment in connection with assaults on female inmates at the Camino Nuevo Women's Correctional Facility.

The court says the prison company allowed male corrections officers to escort female inmates around the facility alone and failed to enforce rules against physical contact.

The court says a warden at the prison also can be found liable for damages.

Local Governments Boost Monitoring Efforts In Wake Of SpillThe Associated Press & The Daily Times

Local governments are stepping up monitoring activities for heavy metals as the spring runoff increases the flow of the Animas River.

The river was among the waterways affected when a federal cleanup crew triggered the spill of 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater from the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado last August.

The New Mexico Environment Department has warned that the spring runoff is expected to stir up metals deposited in the river.

The department is working with the cities of Farmington and Aztec, San Juan County, the Navajo Nation and Utah officials to monitor the river.

Farmington's public works director, David Sypher, tells The Daily Times the city's tests have already shown a correlation in the turbidity of the river water and the level of heavy metals.

Documents: Hobbs Officials Went To Italy To Examine Pools - The Associated Press

Documents show three Hobbs officials recently rang up a nearly $8,000 bill to travel to Italy to evaluate a pool system for a planned health center.

Travel expenses obtained by the Hobbs News-Sun found that City Manager J.J. Murphy, parks and recreation director Doug McDaniel, and general services director Ronny Choate traveled to Italy in late January and early February to evaluate three swimming pools.

Myrtha Pools, which the city officials went to visit, has distribution centers in the United States. According to the company's website, it has installed similar pools similar in Phoenix and Golden, Colorado.

Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb says city officials wanted city staff to be familiar with the system and see pools in operation.

He says the trip was a fiscally responsible decision.

Lack Of Jurors Delays Navajo Nation TrialThe Associated Press

A trial for a Navajo Nation lawmaker charged with misusing tribal funds has been delayed because not enough jurors showed up in court Monday.

Mel Begay's trial is the first of two in criminal cases filed against former and current lawmakers in an investigation of a discretionary fund meant for Navajos facing extreme hardship. Plea agreements have resolved 16 other cases.

The tribal court in Window Rock summoned about 80 people to court Monday for the two-week trial. Many did not show up and some were excused, leaving 13. The court said it needed at least 14 to proceed.

Judge Carol Perry told those jurors to come back Tuesday and said the court would reach out to other potential jurors.

Meanwhile, Begay's attorney asked the tribe's Supreme Court to halt any further court proceedings.

Escaped New Mexico Inmate 'Literally Gave Up'Associated Press

Police say a convict who escaped a prison transport van surrendered peacefully after being found in an Albuquerque apartment.

Albuquerque police spokesman Simon Drobik says Lionel Clah walked out the front door Saturday and "literally just gave up" as officers were waiting for tactical units.

The woman who lives in the apartment called police around noon and said she believed Clah was in her home.

Michelle Abeyta told the Albuquerque Journal she didn’t know immediately that Clah was the subject of a massive manhunt. When she found out, she tried to persuade him to turn himself in and eventually called police herself.

Clah was one of two inmates who slipped away from prison guards while traveling Wednesday night between Roswell and Las Cruces. Convicted murderer Joseph Cruz was taken into custody Friday night.

Plan To Change Health Center Oversight Prompts OppositionAlbuquerque Journal

An abrupt move to restructure the governing board of the University of New Mexico’s Health Science Center is drawing increasing opposition.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that two UNM regents criticized the fact that the plans were not discussed openly and only made public on Friday. They are slated for action on Monday at a regents’ meeting.

The head of the UNM Cancer Center, two top Democratic lawmakers and the head of the NAACP’s Albuquerque chapter all expressed concern about the proposal.

A board that includes five regents and two community members currently governs the Health Sciences Center. The proposed new policy would replace the board with a committee of three regents and bring HSC Chancellor Paul Roth more closely under the authority of the UNM president.

Regents Rob Doughty and Marron Lee introduced the plan and Doughty said quick action is needed because of a budget crunch at UNM. But regents Suzanne Quillen and Lt. Gen. Brad Hosner oppose it and said it was not discussed with Roth, faculty or staff.

The regents will meet Monday morning at 9:30 in the UNM student union building.

Case Alleging Misuse Of Navajo Nation Funds Heads To Trial By Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press

A Navajo Nation lawmaker charged with enriching his children with tribal funds is going on trial.

Mel Begay says he's innocent and expects to be vindicated in the two-week trial that starts Monday in Window Rock.

Begay's trial is the first of two in criminal cases filed against 16 former and current lawmakers in the investigation of a discretionary fund meant for Navajos facing extreme hardship. The other defendants have resolved their cases through plea agreements.

Prosecutors say Begay and his children never disclosed their relationship. Tribal law prohibits nepotism.

Begay is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, and nine counts of making or permitting false tribal vouchers.

If convicted, he'll lose his seat on the Navajo Nation Council and could be sentenced to jail time and fines.

Report Finds Big Businesses Get Most Tax CreditsSanta Fe New Mexican

A new report finds some of the largest companies in the country are the biggest beneficiaries of tax credits in New Mexico.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that nonprofit organization Good Jobs First found that 70 percent of economic development spending benefitted large companies.

The group advocates focusing incentives on small business, or companies employing less than 100 people.

The report found the companies that got the biggest subsidies in New Mexico included Intel, Forest City Enterprises, which built Mesa del Sol, Schott Solar, which has since closed its solar panel plant in Albuquerque, and Lions Gate Entertainment.

A spokeswoman for the state’s economic development department said the study is misleading and levels unfair criticism at some of the state’s best economic development tools.

The report does give some kudos to New Mexico, including the state’s structure for analyzing and reporting tax credit data. It also notes that the weak economy has prompted lawmakers to examine the efficacy of tax credits.

Carlsbad Caverns To Hold Community Forum On Elevator RepairsAssociated Press

Carlsbad Caverns National Park officials will hold a forum to help inform the community about the ongoing lack of elevator service.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports that Park Superintendent Doug Neighbor will speak about the current status of repairs at the Tuesday town hall.

The park's second passenger elevator closed in November after it stalled. The other elevator was already out of service.

The National Park Service is expected to award a contract for the repair work Friday.

The pace of settling on a contractor has drawn criticism from some, including Rep. Steve Pearce.

The congressman says the forum is a first step in the right direction.

Caverns spokeswoman Valerie Gohlke disputes Pearce's criticism, saying the park has been good about sharing new information with the community.

Insurer Launches House Visits For Some Medicaid PatientsAlbuquerque Journal, Associated Press

Paramedics are making house calls through a Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico pilot program.

The Albuquerque Journal reports Albuquerque Ambulance and American Medical Response have been contracted to visit Medicaid patients referred to the program, an effort to reduce 911 calls as well as potentially unnecessary medical costs and hospitalizations.

Blue Cross Blue Shield medical director of state government programs Dr. Duane Ross says the insurer and hospital personnel determine who to refer to the program. Ross said the company will evaluate the program's efficacy over the next three to six months.

Community Paramedicine workers visited 50 patients in the last month.

Police ID 2 Killed In Northern New Mexico Plane CrashAssociated Press

Authorities have released the identities of two people who were killed in a small plane crash in northern New Mexico.

New Mexico State Police say 46-year-old Karen Ann Young and 47-year-old Thomas Spickermann, both of Los Alamos, died when the single-engine plane went down Friday near the Ohkay Owingeh Airport near Espanola.

State Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Armijo says there were no others on board. She says Young is believed to have been the pilot and Spickermann the co-pilot.

Federal Aviation Administration investigators are conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Several Hurt In Albuquerque Crash Caused By Drag RacingAssociated Press

Police say drag racing led to a crash that injured several people and knocked down a power line in Albuquerque.

Officer Fred Duran says the crash happened early Sunday in the area of Arvilla Avenue and San Mateo Boulevard.

According to Duran, at least three vehicles were drag racing.

Several people have been taken to the hospital but police did not know the nature of their injuries.

He says at least one driver is being investigated for possibly driving while under the influence.

A stolen firearm was recovered from one of the cars.

The crash also took down a power line and caused an outage.