Officials Warn Medicaid Cutbacks Could Violate Federal Law – Albuquerque Journal
Officials with the University of New Mexico Hospital are warning state officials that cutbacks on Medicaid payments could violate federal law.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the state seeks to enact Medicaid rate cuts to doctors, hospital and dentists starting July 1 to save up to $33.5 million.
Steve McKernan, CEO of UNMH, and Jeff Dye, president of the New Mexico Hospital Association, said cuts could impact the UNM Hospital’s ability to deliver services to low-income patients. Under federal law, Medicaid patients must get medical services comparable to other patients in the same area, McKernan said.
UNMH is the state’s only Level 1 trauma center and the largest Medicaid provider as well. Dye also said cuts could endanger birthing services in rural hospitals.
The Human Services Department in April proposed cuts that would reduce payments for inpatient services at UNMH by 8 percent and also reduce payments by 5 percent for outpatient services. Smaller cuts were proposed for other hospitals.
McKernan said cuts should be equal across all hospitals. Medicaid enrollment rose to 850,000 since the state expanded the program and it’s expected to grow to 925,000 by July 2017.
Cubs Of Bear That Attacked Marathon Runner Captured – Associated Press
State wildlife officers have captured two black bear cubs that were orphaned after their mother was shot and killed for attacking a marathon runner in northern New Mexico.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish announced Sunday that officers used a catchpole to get the 10-pound cubs down from a tree Saturday. The bears, one male and one female, will undergo rehabilitation in Espanola before being released into the wild.
The mother bear was euthanized on June 19, one day after she mauled a woman running a marathon in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The woman survived the attack, but was left with multiple punctures and cuts.
The department initially reported that the mother bear had three surviving cubs, but officials said Sunday they learned there were only two.
Crews Begin Rehab In Wake Of New Mexico Blaze – The Associated Press
Rehabilitation work is underway on a 28-square-mile wildfire that destroyed 12 homes and dozens of other structures in central New Mexico.
Fire officials say the blaze that burned through part of the Manzano Mountains southeast of Albuquerque is 90 percent contained and crews were focusing Monday on mopping up and rehabilitating dozer and hand lines that were built to corral the flames.
Fire information officer Sharma Chavez says while there are no active flames left, firefighters are making sure any hot spots not already doused by recent rains are under control.
Chavez says there have been no reports of major flooding within the burn scar.
About 260 personnel are assigned to the fire, which has cost more than $10.3 million to fight after being sparked June 14.
Prosecutors, Lawmakers Spar Over New Mexico Subpoena Powers – The Associated Press
A state district court judge is considering whether New Mexico lawmakers can be called upon to testify in the case of a former state senator accused of fraud.
Judge Brett Loveless has scheduled a hearing Monday to consider the extent to which prosecutors can compel lawmakers and their aides to testify in response to objections by the Legislature's administrative office.
The state attorney general's office accuses former Sen. Phil Griego of using his position as a legislator to profit from the sale of a state owned building in downtown Santa Fe. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud, bribery and other charges.
The Legislative Council Service says broad-based subpoenas could violate a constitutional provision that it claims protects the independence of the Legislature and the integrity of the law-making process.
Gov. Susana Martinez Unveils New Anti-DWI Ads – The Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has unveiled a new set of commercials targeting drunken driving and texting while driving.
The advertisements released Monday feature New Mexico State Police and dramatized scenes from fatal traffic crashes.
The ads are part of a push by the governor's office to combat drunken driving and come before the start of the July 4th holiday weekend.
The ads will run in radio and television spots.
In November, the governor's office announced a similar $300,000 ad campaign that featured police officers telling their stories about crashes caused by drunken drivers. Federal taxpayers funded those commercials.
Official: Inmate At Albuquerque Jail Killed Himself – Associated Press
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque says an inmate is dead after apparently killing himself while in custody.
Nataura Powdrell-Moore said Matthew Archuleta was found unresponsive on Friday evening and was later pronounced dead.
He had been booked into the detention center on June 19 on charges of unlawful taking of a car, shoplifting, aggravated eluding and others.
The Albuquerque Journal also reports that Archuleta had tried to escape custody on Wednesday after allegedly faking a seizure while in court and being transported to a local hospital.
Powdrell-Moore told the Journal that Archuleta said he needed to use the restroom then tried to overpower a female corrections officer in charge of him. He didn't make it out the door.
An investigation into the suicide is ongoing.
Dona Ana County Church Suffers String Of Vandalism – The Associated Press & KVIA
Parishioners of the San Pedro Mission in the Dona Ana County community of Vado are shaken after three incidents of vandalism have left their church desecrated.
KVIA-TV reports that Las Cruces Bishop Oscar Cantu was called to rededicate the church after the Eucharist, the body of Christ in the catholic faith, was thrown around the temple and stepped on.
The Eucharist is the most recent event in three incidents of vandalism the church has suffered in the last month. Doors were kicked down, windows were shattered and other damage was done to the sanctuary.
The parish is asking the community for funds to help repair the damage and to increase security.
New Mexico Supreme Court Cautions Judges Using Social Media – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
New Mexico judges are being cautioned about using social media by the state's highest court.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the New Mexico Supreme Court has issued guidelines it wants judges to follow on Facebook and other online platforms.
They include suggestions that judges have campaign committees maintain any election social media profiles and prohibit public comments on them.
The court's remarks came last week in a decision to grant a retrial for a defendant convicted in the 2010 killing of an Albuquerque woman.
The conviction was overturned because court testimony over Skype was seen as depriving the defendant of the right to confront a hostile witness.
The court also criticized the trial judge for posting a celebratory Facebook post after the defendant was convicted.
Roswell Newspaper To Host 2-Day Event On 1947 UFO Crash Incident – Associated Press
A 1947 incident in Roswell that the military attributed to a weather balloon is the focus of a two-day event.
The Roswell Daily Record has been covering the mystery since the beginning and will host its first gathering of experts from July 1-2.
Publisher Barbara Beck said her grandfather Thomas Shearman owned the newspaper in 1947. She said the Daily Record was an important factor in the famous incident.
The event will feature experts on research into unidentified flying objects.
Among them will be writer Lee Speigel, who used to do UFO reports for NBC Radio. He will present three interviews with people he spoke to about the Roswell incident in 1980.
Tickets to the Roswell Incident are available at the event or online.
The event will be broadcast online.
Agency To Sterilize Mustangs For First Time To Slow Growth – Associated Press
A federal agency is on a path to sterilize wild horses on U.S. rangeland to slow the growth of herds — a new approach condemned by mustang advocates across the West.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management also continues to resist calls from ranchers and western Republicans to euthanize or sell for slaughter the animals overflowing holding pens so as to clear the way for more roundups.
Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director Steve Ellis delivered those messages at an emotional congressional hearing this week. He offered a glimpse of the challenges facing the agency that has been struggling for decades with what it describes as a $1 billion problem.
Highlights of the hearing included Nevada's state veterinarian calling for the round-up and surgical sterilization of virtually every mustang in overpopulated herds and a protester who briefly interrupted with shouts denouncing "welfare ranchers" turning public lands into "feedlots."
Man Accused Of Stalking Santa Fe Author's Granddaughter – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A Nevada man is accused of stalking the granddaughter of Santa Fe antiquities dealer Forrest Fenn and claiming she is actually the treasure that Fenn has been hiding.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that 46-year-old Francisco "Paco" Chavez was released on bond Friday in Santa Fe after pleading not guilty to a charge of stalking.
According to court records, Chavez, of Henderson, was transported from a Nevada jail Thursday.
Santa Fe police say Chavez has allegedly been sending messages to Fenn's adult granddaughter for the last several months.
They say he also visited Santa Fe several times to search for her.
The 85-year-old Fenn has inspired a treasure hunt since announcing in his 2010 memoir that he stashed a chest filled with $2 million in coins and gold.
Los Lunas Police Wound Suspected Carjacker – Associated Press
New Mexico State Police are investigating a police-involved shooting in Edgewood that left a suspect wounded.
Authorities said Saturday that 24-year-old Dakota Cook, of Albuquerque, was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and then booked on charges related to a carjacking.
Meanwhile, a Los Lunas police officer was treated for an injured hand.
Cook is accused of stealing a car at gunpoint Friday afternoon and then driving recklessly to evade officers in pursuit.
Police say they fired at Cook when he drove toward them.
He then abandoned the car and fled on foot, allegedly shooting at officers.
An officer returned fire.
Police arrested Cook and a passenger, 28-year-old Sheliky Sanchez.
Sanchez has outstanding felony warrants and was booked on charges related to firearms possession and resisting or evading an officer.