New Mexico Lawmakers Warn Agencies Of Belt Tightening – Associated Press
A key legislator is warning that New Mexico could be headed into a financial storm thanks to growing spending pressures and slumping oil and gas prices that have resulted in weaker revenues.
Legislative Finance Committee Chair Sen. John Arthur Smith issued the warning during a meeting Tuesday in Santa Fe. He questioned whether state agencies have any backup plans for reducing spending.
Legislative analysts say agencies already have asked for $85 million in supplemental appropriations to make it through the rest of the fiscal year. That includes some $47 million to cover growing Medicaid costs.
Analysts and lawmakers say they'll have a better idea of whether the state will be able to make ends meet next year when new revenue estimates are released in early December.
Man Accused Of Killing Albuquerque Police Officer Indicted – The Associated Press
An ex-convict accused of fatally shooting an Albuquerque police officer last month has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Prosecutors announced Wednesday that 34-year-old Davon Lymon is charged in a four-count indictment with violating federal firearm laws.
Lymon was arrested several hours after Officer Daniel Webster was shot multiple times during an Oct. 21 traffic stop outside a pharmacy.
The 47-year-old former Army Ranger died eight days later in a hospital, having suffered gunshot wounds to his upper body and jaw.
Authorities say Lymon has been in and out of the court system for years and pleaded guilty more than a decade ago to voluntary manslaughter.
The Albuquerque resident was facing misdemeanor battery charges when Webster was shot.
A judge has ordered Lymon to remain jailed pending his trial.
Legal Experts Urge Caution As Tribes Enter Pot Business – The Associated Press
Tribes across the U.S. are finding marijuana is risky business nearly a year after a Justice Department policy indicated they could grow and sell pot under the same federal guidelines outlined for states.
Federal raids on tribal cannabis operations in California followed by a South Dakota tribe's move this month to burn its crop amid fears it could be next have led some tribal leaders to take pause as they assess the risks of launching their own ventures.
At a tribal economic development conference in Santa Fe, attorneys suggested there may be more red tape for tribes to negotiate than states with legalizing marijuana.
The DOJ memo in December directed its prosecutors not to prioritize federal marijuana laws in cases where tribes legalize the drug, and take measures that include keeping pot out of the hands of children and criminals.
Exchange Defends Efforts To Reach Uninsured New Mexicans – The Associated Press
Officials with the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange are defending their spending and outreach efforts to ensure more people in the state are covered.
They testified Wednesday before the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee during a meeting in Santa Fe.
Exchange CEO Amy Dowd says the uninsured rate in New Mexico has dropped to 14.5 percent and that the exchange has captured a majority of its target population in just the first two years of operation.
More than 44,000 people are enrolled in coverage through the exchange.
Dowd says those who are eligible and have yet to sign up represent the most culturally and geographically hard to reach.
More focus is being put on Spanish-language ads and Native American outreach during the current enrollment period, which started this month.
New Justice Supports Changes To New Mexico Bond Law – The Associated Press & KOAT
A newly appointed New Mexico Supreme Court justice says she supports amending the state constitution to give judges more leeway when setting bonds.
KOAT-TV reports that several people have been killed by repeat offenders in the past year, spurring a push allow judges to set higher bonds.
Bernalillo County District Judge Judith Nakamura was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez last week to take over the spot that will be left by Justice Richard Bosson when he retires.
The judge says she has personally had to deal with laws that forced her to set low bonds for suspects who end up reoffending.
Nakamura says the last thing she wants to do is release people who could be a threat to the safety of other community members.
Sandia Pueblo Donates Water For Rio Grande Conservation Work – The Associated Press
A conservation group says an Albuquerque-area Native American tribe will donate water for work benefiting river flows and riparian habitat.
Audubon New Mexico says the Pueblo of Sandia's donation of 100 acre-feet of water in 2016 will support the Middle Rio Grande's stream flow.
The pueblo's governor, Isaac Lujan, said in a statement that the Rio Grande and the environment it provides are sacred to his people. He said the pueblo is donating the water in hopes that it can be an example of what can be done when people work together.
An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons. That's enough to supply at least two average households with water a year.
The tribe's reservation sits on nearly 23,000 acres on the east side of the Rio Grande Valley.
State Launches Ad Campaign To Dissuade Drunken Driving – The Associated Press
Drivers in New Mexico will hear a different kind of holiday advertisement on the radio in the coming weeks, as the state launches an ad campaign aimed at curbing drunken driving.
Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday announced the $300,000 ad campaign that will feature police officers telling their stories about crashes caused by drunken drivers. Federal taxpayers are funding the commercials.
The ads will run in radio and television spots.
According to a statement by Martinez, there have been 234 traffic deaths in New Mexico this year. She says 95 of those were alcohol-related.
New Mexico Storm Good For Snowpack, But It's Still Early – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
A New Mexico meteorologist says the wintry weather that recently left more than two feet of snow on the state's northern mountains is good news for the snowpack.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that meteorologist Chuck Jones of the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office says this is a significant storm that will help build up the early-season snowpack.
Jones says a large amount of snow will probably stick around because mountain temperatures will be below freezing at night.
New Mexico's snowpacks are important because they provide irrigation water for the spring and, if they last long enough, help reduce forest fires.
Jones says it's too early to get your hopes up for a large snowpack. A dry, windy and warm spring could melt it all.
Wreckage Of Missing Plane Found In New Mexico; 3 Dead Inside – KOB-TV, Associated Press
Authorities say three people have been found dead inside the wreckage of a small plane north of Tijeras, New Mexico.
KOB-TV reports that family members identified the deceased as Brian Moore, the plane’s owner, and Tim and Sherry Couch. They’re all from Wichita Falls, Texas, and they were on their way to an aviation convention in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified Albuquerque law enforcement agencies that it lost radar touch with a Cessna C-182 in the area around 1 p.m. Monday.
New Mexico State Police said the wreckage was located Tuesday morning near the Sandia Crest Ski Area.
State Police say the search and rescue mission was slow and tedious due to inclement weather conditions and rugged terrain.
New Mexico Storm Good For Snowpack, But It's Still Early – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A New Mexico meteorologist says the wintry weather that recently left more than two feet of snow on the state's northern mountains is good news for the snowpack.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that meteorologist Chuck Jones of the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office says this is a significant storm that will help build up the early-season snowpack.
Jones says a large amount of snow will probably stick around because mountain temperatures will be below freezing at night.
New Mexico's snowpacks are important because they provide irrigation water for the spring and, if they last long enough, help reduce forest fires.
Jones says it's too early to get your hopes up for a large snowpack. A dry, windy and warm spring could melt it all.
Utility That Serves New Mexico Seeking A $6.4M Rate Increase – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A utility company that serves about 400,000 customers in southern New Mexico and west Texas is facing stiff opposition to its request for a $6.4 million rate increase.
Hearings began this week at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for El Paso Electric's rate hike request.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the company requested an $8.6 million increase in its base revenue in May.
El Paso Electric says it has invested about $1.3 billion in new assets since 2009, the last time it requested a rate increase in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office, the City of Las Cruces and Dona Ana County argue for granting less than a 1 percent rate hike.
Opponents say the utility is inflating the costs it needs to recover for infrastructure development.
Census Weighs Changes To Counting American Indians In 2020 – Associated Press
The U.S. Census Bureau is testing new questions on tribal enrollment to try to get a more accurate count of American Indians in 2020.
Director John Thompson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the agency is aiming to avoid a 5 percent undercount of the population seen in 2010.
Dee Ann Alexander, a census tribal specialist, says past censuses didn't ask whether someone was an enrolled tribal member. She says there was an American Indian box to check with instructions on describing a tribe.
Officials say the bureau is getting feedback from tribal leaders and will decide later whether the questions make it on the 2020 census.
Thompson says the agency is reaching out to American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages five years early because of distrust of federal government.
Debt Forgiveness Coming To New Mexico For College Students – Associated Press
Authorities say hundreds of New Mexico residents who were students of a for-profit college chain will receive $632,000 in student-loan forgiveness as a result of a settlement of a multistate investigation into consumer complaints.
The agreement announced Tuesday by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office is part of a nationwide settlement with Education Management Corp.
Pittsburgh-based EDMC is the nation's second-largest for-profit college provider. The company operates 110 schools in 32 states plus Canada through Argosy University, The Art Institutes, Brown Mackie College and South University.
In New Mexico, the Attorney General's Office says EDMC operates a Brown Mackie campus in Albuquerque and that numerous New Mexico residents enrolled in online programs.
New Mexico Auditor Issues 'Risk Advisory' On School Hiring – Associated Press
The New Mexico State Auditor's Office has issued a "risk advisory" to school district on licensure and background checks for employees.
State Auditor Tim Keller announced Tuesday the advisory to alert schools and school districts about the School Personnel Act following recent high-profile cases involving school employees.
Mora Independent School District superintendent Charles Trujillo resigned last month after an investigation found he faked his credentials.
And the Albuquerque school board voted in August to accept former Superintendent Luis Valentino's resignation after it became public he hired an administrator charged with child sex abuse in Colorado. The administrator did not go through the required background check.
Under the School Personnel Act, every education professional must hold a valid professional license or certificate. Employees also must be fingerprinted and undergo background checks.