Medical Marijuana Industry Grows In New Mexico – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The medical marijuana industry is growing in New Mexico. The Albuquerque Journal reports several licensed growers are expected to open new facilities as well as dispensaries in the coming months, which would mean a boost in jobs and the economy.
About $3 million in compensation and salaries was paid out by dispensaries and marijuana growers in the first quarter of 2016. That's an increase from $2.3 million in the same time frame last year.
The number of licensed New Mexico patients who bought medical marijuana legally has tripled from last year's first quarter to more than 55,000.
First-quarter sales went from $5.7 million in 2015 to $10 million this year.
Organtica president David C. Romero White says he predicts growth will continue at the same fast pace.
Opioid Crisis Brings US Surgeon General To Southwest – Associated Press
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is making a swing through the Southwest as part of his campaign to address America's prescription drug and opioid crisis.
Murthy will be touring the Community Bridges Central City Addiction Recovery Center in Phoenix on Monday, where he will hear from providers, community members and other advocates.
He'll tour another addiction and substance abuse center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Tuesday. The Albuquerque Journal reports he will visit the Addiction and Substance Abuse Program.
New Mexico is among the handful of states with the highest rates of death due to drug overdose.
Nationwide, deaths linked to opioids soared to more than 28,000 in 2014, the highest number on record.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 78 American die every day from an opioid overdose. Federal officials say the epidemic now kills more Americans than car accidents.
New Mexico Uses Incentives To Attract Sales Jobs – The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez is announcing the addition more than 200 sales positions in New Mexico by a California-based company that provides computer equipment, software and services.
New Mexico officials say the state will contribute $569,000 in incentives for infrastructure improvements and $700,000 toward job-training to help El Segundo, California-based PCM expand into Rio Rancho.
The Martinez administration has made a string of private-sector employment announcements as New Mexico wrestles with the highest unemployment rate in its region.
Martinez and Economic Development Sec. Jon Barela met with PCM executives during a three-day trip to California in March.
New Mexico's unemployment rate remains higher than all but four states. New Mexico state agencies have reined in spending and drawn down reserves in response reduced revenue forecasts linked to low energy prices.
AG, Legislative Officials Spar Over Subpoenas In Fraud Case – The Associated Press
The state attorney general's office is firing back at the Legislative Council Service over an effort to either quash or limit the scope of subpoenas issued in the case of a former state senator accused of fraud.
In court documents outlining the charges against Democrat Phil Griego, prosecutors provided a list of possible witnesses that included a half-dozen lawmakers and numerous other state officials.
The Legislative Council Service is concerned that the subpoenas are unlimited and could violate a constitutional provision that it claims protects the independence of the Legislature.
Prosecutors filed their own motion Monday, arguing that a narrow reading of the provision is contrary to the rule of law and public interest. They also challenged the service's refusal to name the lawmakers who want to avoid testifying.
US Gives Navajos $465,000 To Monitor River After Mine Spill – The Associated Press
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it's giving the Navajo Nation $465,000 to monitor water quality in the San Juan River for contamination from a massive mine waste spill last August.
The EPA says the money is in addition to $1 million the agency agreed to give the tribe last October.
The new grant was announced Thursday.
An EPA-led cleanup crew inadvertently triggered the spill of 3 million gallons of acid mine waste from the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado on Aug. 5. The spill tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
One of the rivers was the San Juan, which runs across Navajo land in New Mexico.
Navajo leaders have been highly critical of the EPA for causing the spill and for its response.
Cases Of Animal Plague And Tularemia In New Mexico – The Associated Press
Health officials say there have been 10 cases of plague and 19 cases of tularemia in dogs and cats in New Mexico so far this year.
Recent rabbit deaths from tularemia also have been confirmed in the Santa Fe and Eldorado areas of Santa Fe County.
Confirmatory testing was conducted at the New Mexico Department of Health's Scientific Laboratory Division.
Plague positive pets come from Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Los Alamos, Torrance and Taos counties.
Dogs and cats have tested positive for tularemia in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Los Alamos counties.
Last year, four humans contracted plague in New Mexico with one fatality with eight human cases of tularemia and no deaths. There were 18 confirmed cases of plague and 63 cases of tularemia in dogs and cats.
Hundreds Gather In Albuquerque To Honor Orlando Victims – Albuquerque Journal
Hundreds of people gathered in Albuquerque Sunday night for a candlelight vigil to mourn the mass shooting in a nightclub in Florida.
The Albuquerque Journal reports about 500 people listened to political and religious leaders and the Gay Men’s Chorus sang songs such as “Over The Rainbow” and “Amazing Grace” in the wake of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
City Councilor Pat Davis and others called for tougher gun laws. Police Chief Gorden Eden, Mayor Richard Berry and U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham were also in attendance. Abbas Akhil, president of the New Mexico Islamic Center, said the gunman did not represent the Islamic faith.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports a public event is planned in Santa Fe’s plaza Monday night at 6 p.m.
Production On Deadly Arizona Fire Movie Set To Begin Monday – Arizona Republic, Associated Press
The producers behind a movie about the elite firefighting team that lost 19 members in a 2013 Arizona wildfire assure the story focuses on the firefighters' dedication, not the way in which they died.
The Arizona Republic reports that "Granite Mountain" is slated to start production Monday with a cast that includes Josh Brolin and Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly.
Most of the movie will be filming in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico, due in part to the Arizona heat.
Producers say the plot will focus on Eric Marsh, who led the crew, and Brendan McDonough, the only surviving hotshot crew member. Release is scheduled for September 22, 2017.
New Mexico Historic Sites Hit With Budgetary Layoffs – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The staff that manages New Mexico's historic sites is being downsized as part of a plan to cut costs.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the state Department of Cultural Affairs says the layoffs will take effect Aug. 3.
Department spokeswoman Loie Fecteau confirmed in an email statement that 11 positions, including six managers, will be eliminated.
One site manager will remain.
Fecteau attributes the job losses to a mandate to reduce personnel costs by $2 million by the time the state budget year begins July 1.
Managers for sites such as Fort Stanton and Coronado Historic Site were informed in May of the planned cutbacks.
A state personnel board must approve the cuts next month and managers expect the plan to go through.
Five Found Shot To Death In New Mexico Home – Associated Press
Authorities are searching for a man they believe shot his wife and four daughters to death in their New Mexico home.
Roswell police identified 34-year-old Juan David Villegas-Hernandez on Sunday as the suspect in the fatal shootings.
They say he may be driving a red, four-door Ford pickup with a New Mexico license plate.
A relative found the bodies of a woman and four children between the ages of 14 and 3 late Saturday.
Police have not officially confirmed the identities of the victims. Investigators say they believe the victims are the suspect wife and children.
Retrial To Begin For Former APS Official On Child Sex Assault Charges – Albuquerque Journal
A former Albuquerque Public Schools official who never underwent a background check and was found to be facing charges of sexual assault on two children will go to trial on Tuesday in Denver.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Jason Martinez was selected by former APS Superintendent Luis Valentino to be his deputy superintendent in spring 2015. Martinez never went through a required background check.
When the charges came to light, he resigned in August. His first trial ended in a hung jury last October. He is also facing assault charges in a domestic violence incident.
Valentino resigned in late August, with an $80,000 contract buyout. He claimed he was only told of the background check oversight twice, but another employee contends she pressed the issue with him six times.
Los Alamos App Allow Users To Experience 1940s 'Atomic City' – Associated Press
A new app lets users to experience life in the city of Los Alamos during the nation's top-secret World War II nuclear development program.
The "Los Alamos: The Secret City of The Manhattan Project" iPhone app allows users to enjoy "augmented-reality" while seeing the place as it was in the 1940s. Los Alamos National Laboratory created the app.
Jennifer Payne, Resource Management Team leader in Los Alamos' Environmental Stewardship Group, says the app takes users on a virtual tour of a Manhattan Project world that no longer exists.
Developers also are working on an Android app.
During the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos scientists worked to develop the atomic bomb that was dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The program also involved facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington.
Roswell OKs Police Citations For Parents Of Truant Students – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
The Roswell City Council has narrowly approved an ordinance that would penalize parents of chronically absent students.
The Roswell Daily Record reports Mayor Dennis Kintigh, who led the initiative, cast the tie-breaking vote.
City police can issue a citation to a parent, guardian or custodian of a child under age 13 with a misdemeanor charge of educational neglect if the child has 10 or more unexcused absences during a school year.
The adult would have to appear in municipal court.
The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
But parents can get multiple citations for each set of 10 absences.
Some city councilors opposed the law, saying it interferes with the school district and punishes parents of troubled students.