AG: 2,400 Albuquerque Schools Workers Lack Background Checks – By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
New Mexico's attorney general says he's "concerned" 15 percent of employees in the state's largest school district don't have background checks on file.
Attorney General Hector Balderas wrote in letter to Albuquerque Public Schools on Wednesday that district officials should work quickly to conduct background checks on 2,270 employees
Balderas says the district should try to get the checks done before the district's May 2016 deadline.
In August, Balderas announced he would look into why Albuquerque Public Schools' safety protocols were breached and former administrator Jason Martinez was hired before a background check was completed.
Martinez resigned abruptly after it surfaced he was facing sexual assault on a child charges in Colorado.
The scandal forced superintendent, Luis Valentino, to resign just weeks into his new job.
Former New Mexico State Official Issues Apology – Associated Press
Former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran has issued a written public apology to comply with part of her sentence in a campaign finance scandal.
She distributed the letter for publication in media outlets on Wednesday as part of a sentence that includes 30 days in jail.
The 60-year-old former state senator wrote that her transgressions were "not borne out of greed but rather a result of very tragic personal circumstances which led to some very poor decisions."
Duran has pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement and money laundering charges involving the use of campaign donations to fuel a gambling addiction. She is scheduled to begin serving her sentence on Friday.
Santa Fe Judge Steps Aside After Insulting Prosecutor – The Associated Press
A Santa Fe judge has removed himself from a high-profile case after insulting a prosecutor.
State District Judge T. Glenn Ellington told Deputy District Attorney Jason Lidyard last month that a case "might be above your pay grade." He made the remark during a hearing on a proposed plea agreement for Santa Fe Police Lt Jason Wagner.
Ellington on Wednesday said his statement was unprofessional and issued a public apology.
Attorney John Day, who represents the police officer, made a motion calling for Ellington to remove himself from the case. Day says other remarks by Ellington infringed on Wagner's right to an impartial trial judge.
Ellington denied the motion but handed Lidyard a notice saying he recused himself for other reasons.
Ellington also has received attention for his recent sentencing of former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran.
Officer Who Faced Scrutiny For Fatal Shooting Named Union VP – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
An officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed teen was highlighted in a U.S. Justice Department report has been named as the Albuquerque police union's vice president.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Justin Montgomery shot and killed the unarmed, wounded man who was on his back in 2009.
A grand jury and Albuquerque Police Department internal affairs found the shooting of 19-year-old Andrew Lopez justified. But the shooting led to a $4 million judgment and was highlighted by the Department of Justice last year as an example of the department's pattern of using deadly force to violate people's constitutional rights.
Montgomery said Wednesday that he never set out to be involved in a shooting, and it doesn't represent the entirety of his career.
Gallup City Council Votes To Develop Downtown – The Associated Press & The Gallup Independent
The Gallup City Council is moving forward with plans to redevelop downtown in hopes of revitalizing the area.
The Gallup Independent reports that that council on Tuesday approved the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan and Arts and Cultural District Plan.
The plans, which are separate but similar in purpose, detail a series of specific projects as well as funding sources for the project.
The redevelopment plan outlines some ways to finance the projects such as low income tax credits, a tax increment financing district and tax deferrals as an incentive for new business.
The council decided to look more in depth into a financing district at a later date.
More Money To Fight Wildfires, But No Long-Term Budget Fix - The Associated Press
Legislation that has cleared Congress includes an additional $600 million to fight wildfires next year but no long-term fix to firefighting's havoc on the U.S. Forest Service budget.
The Forest Service spent a record $1.7 billion fighting fires this year. Year after year, the agency must borrow from other programs to keep up with ever-growing cost of fighting fires.
The Obama administration wants to address the problem by treating wildfires like other types of natural disasters for funding purposes.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska supports a long-term solution, but she says paying for wildfires like the government's response to hurricanes and tornadoes needs more review.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Robert Bonnie calls the funding increase a Band-Aid solution that also neglects to make forests more resilient to fire.
Albuquerque's Embattled Police Union President Resigns – Associated Press
The president of Albuquerque's police union has resigned from her leadership post after authorities say she abused a teenage relative.
Stephanie Lopez was arrested last week on charges of child abuse and bribery or intimidation of a witness.
A criminal complaint filed by a Bernalillo County Sheriff's detective says Lopez repeatedly struck the teenager during a dispute over a utility shut-off warning.
A spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Officers Association on Wednesday confirmed Lopez's resignation as union president.
Lopez, who is 40, is a patrol officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. The department placed her on paid administrative leave after her arrest Thursday.
Lopez has pleaded not guilty to charges.
She was released the morning after her arrest after posting a $5,000 bond.
New Mexico Regulators Settle Fate Of Coal-Fired Power Plant – Associated Press
State regulators have adopted a plan that calls for closing part of a coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico that serves customers across the Southwest.
The 4-1 vote by the Public Regulation Commission came Wednesday after years of public meetings, protests and legal challenges that reached the highest courts in New Mexico.
The debate has centered on how the utility that runs the San Juan Generating Station plans to replace the lost capacity. Public Service Co. of New Mexico says a mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas and solar power would be the most economical option for ratepayers.
Some environmentalists had pushed for the closure of the entire plant and for more renewable energy to be added to the grid.
Under the plan, the utility says customer rates will increase by about $10 a year starting in 2018.
Santa Fe Company Sues Airbnb – Santa Fe New Mexican
A Santa Fe property owner is suing vacation rental company Airbnb alleging the it is hurting his business by promoting too many unlicensed rentals in the city.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Bruce Kuehnle owns 30 units near Santa Fe Plaza. He filed a complaint in state District Court contending Airbnb has flooded the market with short-term rentals and is violating a local ordinance. This has hurt the market value of his own rentals, he says.
He is seeking monetary damages and he wants the San Francisco-based company to be enjoined from renting unlicensed properties in Santa Fe. He is also seeking class action status for all property owners in the city damaged by Airbnb.
Feds Unveil Interactive Tool Showing Colorado River Drought – Associated Press
Federal agencies have unveiled an interactive Web display showing high-water to low-water data and images resulting from a historic 16-year drought in the Colorado River basin.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation titles the presentation "Drought in the Colorado River Basin - Insights Using Open Data."
Bureau spokesman Peter Soeth said Wednesday that project folks just call it the "drought visualization tool."
It's a self-guided tour using graphs, charts, photos and maps.
It shows reservoirs drying like puddles on a river that serves seven Western states and supplies drinking water to one in 10 Americans.
The Colorado also irrigates farms in a land area comparable to New Jersey, the Garden State.
The release comes amid projections that water deliveries to Nevada, Arizona and Southern California may be curtailed as early as 2017.