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NM Bishops Support Syrian Refugees, Gov. Martinez Expands Family Support Program

İHH İnsani Yardım via Compfight
Refugee Camp

New Mexico Catholic Bishops: Support Syrian Refugees – The Associated Press

New Mexico Catholic bishops are urging state residents to write letters to President Barack Obama in support of expanding U.S. resettlement efforts of Syrian refugees.

The church leaders said in a statement Monday that they are joining the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in calling Catholics to pray for refugees.

Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester, Las Cruces Bishop Oscar Cantu and Gallup Bishop James Wall also asked parishioners to call members of Congress to support needed development aid for refugee host countries.

The bishops say the "vast majority of refugees are innocent, law-abiding people who are fleeing persecution and death."

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says she's opposed to the Obama administration's plan to accept any more Syrian refugees until there's a plan to properly vet and place them.

Martinez Announces Expansion Of Family Support Program – The Associated Press

A pilot program aimed at helping families prevent child maltreatment is expanding to six New Mexico counties.

Gov. Susana Martinez announced the $1 million expansion of the family support worker program during a visit to Los Lunas on Monday.

Martinez says working with high-risk families and providing proper support will keep children safe and promote healthy, loving homes and families.

The support program is a community-based service that works with families in their homes and neighborhoods to help them meet the basic needs of their children and prevent child maltreatment and abuse.

The program is administered through local community providers based on referrals from the state Children, Youth and Families Department.

Martinez on Monday also urged lawmakers to enact tougher penalties for those convicted of assaulting or battering caseworkers.

House Democrats Outline Campaign Finance Reforms The Associated Press

House Democratic leaders are rolling out their proposals for reforming New Mexico's scandal-plagued campaign finance reporting system.

They also want to create an independent ethics commission and revamp a pension forfeiture law aimed at corrupt elected officials.

Democrats outlined their plans during a news conference outside the secretary of state's office in Santa Fe on Tuesday.

The announcement comes just a month after Dianna Duran tendered her resignation as the state's top elections official and pleaded guilty to embezzlement and other charges.

Duran's case thrust New Mexico's campaign finance reporting system into the spotlight and rekindled calls for more transparency.

The next legislative session begins in January and will focus on the budget. It's unclear whether Gov. Susana Martinez will add the transparency and ethics issues to the agenda.

Depositions: Superintendent Investigated After ComplaintsThe Associated Press

As Albuquerque news outlets fight for records pertaining to the resignation of Albuquerque Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks, depositions show he was investigated after a number of complaints.

Brooks resigned from the post in August after the board bought out the last two years of his contract.

KOB-TV and the Albuquerque Journal filed a public records lawsuit in January to obtain records that contain the reason for Brooks' resignation and buyout. Filings from that lawsuit show that the school board began investigating Brooks after nine employees reported they felt their rights were violated and that they felt intimidated or feared retaliation.

According to testimony those complaints came in for months. School board president at the time Dr. Analee Maestas says she kept the reports to herself at first before finally notifying the board that claims had been made against Brooks.

New Mexico Will Temporarily Lock Down State PrisonsThe Associated Press

New Mexico's 11 state-run prisons will be on lockdown for a few days while staff member search for banned items.

New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel ordered the lockdown, which began Monday morning. Visitors will not be allowed at the prisons until the lockdown is complete, but prison officials say it should be over before Thanksgiving.

Marcantel said in a statement that the unannounced lockdowns help the corrections department examine its security, operations and prison conditions.

Department spokeswoman Ashley Espinoza says staff members check the prisons cell by cell. She says the last routine check was in June and searchers found a few shanks and Suboxone.

According to Espinoza, New Mexico state prisons hold a total of 7,302 inmates.

States To Step Up Patrols On Interstate 40 For ThanksgivingThe Associated Press

Police and highway patrol agencies in eight states spanning the country plan stepped-up patrols along Interstate 40 over the Thanksgiving travel period to reduce collisions and prevent fatalities.

States participating in the "Drive Toward Zero Fatalities" include California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety says its effort includes increasing patrols along I-40 during busy 12-hour periods on Wednesday and Sunday.

The department also says Arizona troopers will focus on violations related to seatbelt usage, speed, impairment and overall dangerous driving behaviors.

Colorado Town To Pursue Superfund Help After Mine SpillThe Associated Press

Southwestern Colorado officials have voted to begin negotiating with state and federal agencies about a Superfund cleanup of old mines, including one that spewed millions of gallons of wastewater into rivers in August.

Silverton and San Juan County leaders say a tour of four Superfund sites in Colorado helped make up their minds before Monday's unanimous vote.

The tourism-dependent community has been wary of seeking a Superfund designation for nearly two decades, fearing stigma and red tape.

Hundreds of idle mines have been pouring acidic wastewater into the Animas River north of Silverton for years. The spill from the Gold King Mine in August polluted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah and forced towns and farmers to temporarily stop using the waterways.

Lemitar Shrimp Farm To Get Federal Grant To Expand Marketing – The Associated Press

A shrimp farm in Lemitar is getting a federal grant to expand its marketing efforts across New Mexico.

USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner is scheduled to present a certificate of obligation to the owners of Southwestern Seas on Tuesday morning.

The company qualified for a nearly 50 thousand dollar Value Added Producer Grant from USDA Rural Development's Business program.

The money will be used to help the small business market its locally grown shrimp.

Southwestern Seas will be marketing to various local farmers' markets to expand its sales.

Eastern New Mexico Could See Icy Conditions By Week's End 

Forecasters say eastern New Mexico may be in for icy weather conditions starting late Thanksgiving day.

National Weather Service meteorologist Kerry Jones says Arctic air will spread southward beneath a relatively warm and very moist air stream originating elsewhere.

He says that could spell trouble for travelers with icy conditions on Friday but that a less active and drier weather pattern is expected by Sunday.

New Mexico Bishops 'Pray' For Driver's License Compromise – The Associated Press (UPDATED 11/24 11:00a)

New Mexico Catholic Bishops say they are praying for state lawmakers to come to an agreement on a "fair" two-tier compromise regarding New Mexico driver's licenses.

The bishops said in a statement Monday they hoped a proposed compromise will continue to allow immigrants suspected of being in the illegally to obtain licenses and make the state compliant under the federal REAL ID act.

State lawmakers are expected in January to begin work on revising a state law that grants New Mexico driver's licenses to immigrants regardless of status.

The move follows a decision by the federal government to deny New Mexico an extension from imposing tougher federal requirements on state driver's licenses.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Catron says a decision on commercial air travel will be announced by the end of the year. 

Federal Approval Of Gila River Agreement Triggers Review 

-Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

The U.S. Department of Interior is entering into an agreement with water managers in New Mexico that marks the next step in a long, contentious process as the state looks to develop its share of the Gila River.

The department's approval came Monday despite opposition from environmentalists and others who contend a diversion project along the Gila could end up costing $1 billion.

Critics submitted 54,000 petition signatures to the department last week.

Supporters argue that the project is vital to supplying communities and irrigation districts in southwestern New Mexico with a new source of water.

The department's signing of the agreement is procedural.

Federal officials say approval does not guarantee construction of a diversion system along the Gila, but rather triggers a series of environmental and economic feasibility reviews.