Albuquerque Voter Turnout Hits A Low Point – The Associated Press
A recent Albuquerque election saw the lowest voter turnout for a city election since 1974.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that only 8.2 percent of registered voters participated in last week's election. City records say that's the lowest percentage since the city's modern form of government started.
Officials say they are now looking for a way to boost participation in New Mexico's local elections.
Mayor Richard Berry says he wants to see a broader movement dedicated to the issue, but thinks it could also help to reduce the frequency of elections so voters can make fewer trips to the polls.
State Rep. Javier Martinez agrees with the idea of consolidating elections, but says the state needs to do more to bolster turnout. He suggests allowing same-day or automatic registration.
US Reports Sharp Drop In Use Of Force By Border Agents – The Associated Press
The government says U.S. Border Patrol agents and border inspectors used physical force far less frequently in the last year compared with previous years, even as the number of assaults on authorities rose.
Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday reported 768 incidents in which authorities used force during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, down 26 percent from the previous year and 37 percent from 2013.
Authorities were assaulted 390 times during the last fiscal year, up 5 percent from the previous year but down 17 percent from 2013.
The numbers come amid intense scrutiny from critics who said authorities have been too quick to draw guns and other weapons. The agency says it's revamped training, launched new protocols to review cases and focused on being more transparent.
Dissatisfied Residents Petition To Dissolve New Mexico Town – The Associated Press
Dissatisfied residents in Sunland Park are petitioning to dissolve the government in their southern New Mexico city.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that two Sunland Park city councilors have been arrested in recent weeks -- one for marijuana possession and another for providing alcohol to minors.
A group organized by 16-year Sunland Park resident Sam Gutierrez had a petition to disincorporate the city approved by Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins. Now they must collect approximately 1,400 signatures from registered voters.
Ellins says the group doesn't have a deadline for collecting signatures.
Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea says he is taking the petition seriously and other residents should, too.
According to Ellins, enough valid signatures would result in a special election to determine whether the city should be dissolved.
New Mexico Supreme Court Vacancy Attracts 8 Applicants – The Associated Press
New Mexico officials will soon meet to consider several applicants who are vying to fill the spot of retiring state Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Bosson.
The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet Oct. 19 in Santa Fe to review the eight applicants during a public meeting. The panel will then send a list of recommendations to the governor.
Bosson is himself a member of the nominating commission.
The commission released a list of the candidates on Friday. They are: appeals court judges Michael E. Vigil and Linda M. Vanzi, Albuquerque state district judge Judith K. Nakamura, 5th Judicial District judge Gary L. Clingman, former state district judge Samuel L. Winder, district attorney for the 12th Judicial District Diana Martwick and Santa Fe lawyers Paul W. Grace and Frank Susman.
Tri-State Inks Purchase Agreement For New Mexico Solar Power – The Associated Press
A wholesale provider that serves rural electric cooperatives in four states has signed a contract to buy power from a planned solar farm in southern New Mexico.
Denver-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association says the contract calls for the Alta Luna Solar Project to provide it with 25 megawatts of electricity for 25 years.
The solar farm is expected to come online in December 2016. Its more than 108,000 photovoltaic solar panels will be located on a 220-acre site northeast of Deming.
Tri-State member Columbus Electric will receive power from Alta Luna. The co-op serves about 3,000 customers.
The Alta Luna project marks Tri-State's second utility-scale solar purchase agreement in New Mexico. In 2010, the utility began receiving power from a 30-megawatt solar farm in Colfax County.
Candidates Face Deadline To File Campaign Finance Reports – The Associated Press
Elected officials and candidates for office have until the end of Tuesday to file their latest campaign finance reports with the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office.
The reporting period covers spending and donations received during the last six months. Even though state law doesn't require it, the office's ethics bureau plans to audit a random sampling of the filings this time around.
New Mexico's campaign finance reporting system remains in the spotlight due to the case of embattled Secretary of State Dianna Duran and a few other lawmakers whose spending and reporting has been questioned in recent months.
Duran, the state's top elections official, is facing charges that she allegedly misused campaign donations and filed false reports. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
New Mexico Town Of Belen In Fight To Keep Nativity Scene – The Associated Press
The little New Mexico town of Belen — Spanish for Bethlehem — is fighting to keep an all-year round Nativity scene on city property.
Belen Mayor Jerah Cordova told The Associated Press the city will continue to resist pressure from a Wisconsin-based organization to remove a piece of art on the birth of Jesus. Cordova says the city would even sell the property to keep the Nativity scene up.
Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor says Belen is violating the U.S. Constitution by having the religious art on city property.
She says if Belen puts the property up for sale, her foundation may bid on it and would replace the art with a monument to nonbelievers.
Indigenous Day Proclamation Leads To City Council Infighting - Mary Hudetz, Associated Press
An Albuquerque councilman says he wants the City Council president censured over how a proclamation recognizing indigenous people on Columbus Day was handled.
The City Council issued a proclamation Wednesday declaring Monday as Indigenous Peoples Day. Six councilors signed the proclamation and three did not.
Councilor Dan Lewis filed the censure motion Friday criticizing Rey Garduno for putting through a proclamation that said Albuquerque occupied Native people's land, which Lewis suggested denigrated the founding fathers and the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas.
Lewis' motion lauded the contributions of Native communities, but said he didn't sign the proclamation because of language he called "inflammatory."
Garduno says councilors don't typically weigh in at length before deciding whether to sign proclamations. He also says Indigenous Peoples Day represents a unifying movement.
Ranch To Let More Film Shoots Despite 'Maze Runner' Flap - Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The manager of a private New Mexico ranch says he will continue to let movie productions film at the site despite a recent flap over American Indian artifacts.
Diamond Tail Ranch manager Roch Hart told The Associated Press he's happy a 20th Century Fox investigation found that the cast from "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" didn't take any ancient items from the ranch.
The film's star, Dylan O'Brien, had suggested during an interview that artifacts were taken.
Hart says actors did not leave designated areas and the ranch isn't missing any artifacts.
But he says the case has convinced the ranch to impose stricter guidelines for future productions.
Scholars Urge More Research On Future Of Colorado River – The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A coalition of scholars from across the West is urging the federal government to partner with the National Academy of Sciences to study the future of the Colorado River.
Among the topics: Is climate change leading to reduced stream flow?
Twenty-three scholars from Western universities sent a letter Tuesday to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Owen Lammers, executive director of Living Rivers and Colorado Riverkeeper, says the federal government needs a wider breadth of scientific research to ensure it is prepared for all water flow scenarios for the next 50 years. His group believes the government is relying on opportunistic projections.
Secretary Jewell is expected to receive the letter Wednesday.
New Mexico Town Of Belen In Fight To Keep Nativity Scene – The Associated Press
The town of Belen — Spanish for Bethlehem — is fighting to keep an all-year round Nativity scene on city property.
Belen Mayor Jerah Cordova told The Associated Press the city will continue to resist pressure from a Wisconsin-based organization to remove a piece of art on the birth of Jesus. Cordova says the city has explored options like selling the property to keep the Nativity scene up but for now it will remain under city control.
Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor says Belen is violating the U.S. Constitution by keeping the religious art on city property.
She says if Belen decides to sell the property, her foundation may bid on it and replace the art with a monument to nonbelievers.
New Mexico County Will Appeal Ruling On Forest Jurisdiction – The Associated Press
A New Mexico county will appeal a court ruling that requires local officials to have federal permission before removing trees in national forests.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that Otero County commissioners decided Thursday to appeal the U.S. District Court decision.
Judge Christina Armijo struck down a state law that gave New Mexico counties the authority to remove trees and clear overgrown areas on national forest land without having to get approval from the U.S. Forest Service. She said it violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
County Commission Chairman Ronny Rardin says the county has every right to manage national forest lands. He says the fight over forest jurisdiction has been an ongoing issue since he was elected to office since 1992