Methamphetamine Overdose Rates Climb – Albuquerque Journal
Deaths from overdoses of methamphetamine have been climbing in New Mexico since 2008 and visits to emergency rooms have spiked as well.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that meth-related deaths increased to 111 in 2014 from 39 in 2009. Visits to emergency rooms jumped to nearly 1,100 in 2014, a nearly three-fold increase from 2010.
The state epidemiologist, Dr. Michael Landen, says the deaths indicated increased use of meth, but he also links it to a shift in meth production from local producers to big industrial labs in Mexico.
Heroin and prescription opioids remain the top causes for drug overdose deaths in New Mexico. While there are overdose treatments for those drugs, such as naloxone, there is not a corresponding treatment for methamphetamine overdoses.
Most people who overdose on meth also have heroin and opioid drugs in their systems as well. Advocate Jennifer Weiss-Burke says people use one drug to counteract the other.
Albuquerque Weighs Getting More Power From Solar Sources - The Associated Press
New Mexico's largest city could be joining dozens of other communities around the nation that have set goals to get more of their electricity from renewable resources.
Albuquerque city councilors on Monday are scheduled to take up a resolution that calls for getting at least 25 percent of the electricity used by city facilities from solar by 2025.
The proposal highlights the city's lofty ranking for solar installations in 2014, the state's 300-plus days of sunshine and threats of droughts, floods, fires and other extreme weather linked to a changing climate.
It also claims that producing one kilowatt-hour of electricity via solar panels requires less water than electricity produced by natural gas or coal plants.
The resolution calls for an implementation plan to be drafted by mid-2017.
Airplane Lands On New Mexico Road After Mechanical Failure – The Associated Press
A Colorado pilot says he was forced to make an emergency landing on a New Mexico highway after encountering mechanical issues.
The Gallup Independent reports that Montgomery Lee says he was on his way to Arizona with a friend Thursday when the plane's engine seized up.
Lee says he realized the airplane wouldn't make it to Gallup Airport and was able to land instead on an empty stretch of U.S. Highway 491, avoiding a potentially rocky field. He says the landing did not damage the plane or injure himself or his passenger.
Lee was able to pull off to the side of the road to avoid affecting traffic.
He says the Federal Aviation Administration is examining the engine to determine the cause of the mechanical failure.
New Mexico School To Hold Conference On Gold King Mine Spill – The Associated Press
A conference about the Gold King Mine spill is expected to bring experts from across the state and nation to a New Mexico college.
The Daily Times reports that the two-day conference begins Tuesday at San Juan College in Farmington. It will include presentations on the condition of local water sources before and after an Environmental Protection Agency crew accidentally released water polluted with mine waste into the Animas River last August.
The New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute is hosting the event in collaboration with other organizations.
Institute director Sam Fernald said in a press release that the conference will help four states, two tribes and several agencies share information.
Police: Missing Hiker Found Dead In New Mexico Mountains – The Associated Press
Authorities say a hiker missing since last fall has been found dead in a northern New Mexico mountain campground and say he apparently died of exposure.
New Mexico State Police say the body has been identified as Stephen Olshansky and that it appears he died while hiking along the Continental Divide.
Police say his last known address was in Boynton Beach, Florida.
An autopsy will be conducted. Police say there's no sign of foul play.
Police say hikers reported seeing a body Saturday at a National Forest campground in mountains east of Chama near the New Mexico-Colorado line.
Officers couldn't reach the site Saturday because of impassable terrain and snow drifts, but reached it Sunday on all-terrain vehicles
The campground is above 10,000 feet elevation.
GOP Power Struggle Erupts In New Mexico – Associated Press
Ideological soul searching and bitter infighting have erupted within New Mexico's Republican Party — and it is not about Donald Trump.
A heated contest for one of New Mexico's three positions on the Republican National Committee is dividing local GOP stalwarts this week as they prepare to pick delegates to the national convention.
At stake in control over a crucial line of communication with the national Republican Party and influence over its resources.
Seeking to extend his eight-year tenure on the national committee is Albuquerque attorney Pat Rogers. He is seen as a confidant of New Mexico's governor and her top political adviser.
His challenger is third-generation oilman and former state Republican Party chairman Harvey Yates. He has won a burst of endorsements from state lawmakers.
Top FBI Agent For New Mexico Outlines Priorities – Associated Press
The top FBI agent for New Mexico says strengthening relationships with other law enforcement agencies across the state has emerged as a top priority after his appointment in December.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade says collaboration with state, local and tribal agencies is critical to his agency's work in the state.
He says New Mexico's national laboratories, vast reservations, and 180 miles of border with Mexico place a wide-ranging mandate on the division in the state.
Wade, who previously worked in Albuquerque as an assistant special agent in charge, returned to New Mexico from Los Angeles, where he oversaw that field office's criminal division.
U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez says Wade is familiar with New Mexico, and a "hands-on leader."
Closure Of 60-Mile Stretch Of I-10 Ends, Authorities Say – Associated Press
The Arizona Department of Transportation says a 60-mile stretch of Interstate 10 in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico was reopened Sunday evening after it had been closed because of blowing dust from a farm field.
The closure ran from just east of Willcox, Arizona, to Lordsburg, New Mexico.
Traffic was detoured through Safford, Arizona, on U.S. 191 and U.S. 70.
The blowing dust is coming off a field near San Simon, Arizona.
No Criminal Charges For San Juan County DA's Son Over Party – Daily Times, Associated Press
The 17-year-old son of the San Juan County district attorney has avoided criminal charges after he allegedly obstructed authorities investigating a party at his home.
The Farmington Daily Times reported Saturday that Robert Tedrow, son of District Attorney Rick Tedrow, will likely have to undergo community service or counseling through juvenile services.
According to county sheriff's officials, deputies responded to the Farmington home the night of May 7 about a fistfight at a party.
A police report says Robert Tedrow appeared intoxicated and allegedly pushed a deputy in the chest with a stack of newspapers.
Deputies say they found 20 intoxicated teens inside the home, including one who had to be hospitalized.
Rick Tedrow told the newspaper that his son is dealing with the repercussions of his decisions.
New Mexico Principal On Leave Over Student-Shaming Poster – Daily Times, Associated Press
A Shiprock, New Mexico, middle school principal has been placed on leave for allegedly displaying a poster listing students who wouldn't be graduating to the next grade.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that district officials put Principal J. Kaibah Begay on leave Wednesday.
Central Consolidated School District spokesman James Preminger says the administration learned Tuesday that Tse Bit'a'I Middle School had put up a poster in a hallway identifying 100 students who wouldn't be promoted.
The school has more than 480 students between sixth and eighth grade.
Preminger said Friday that interim Superintendent Colleen Bowman issued an apology, calling the poster an "ill-conceived attempt" to motivate students.
Begay could not be reached for comment.
The district's human resources director will be acting principal until the last day of school May 27.
Mom Convicted Over Facebook Post To Get New Trial – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
A New Mexico woman convicted of creating a public nuisance by posting an online comment about the possibility of a shooting at her son's school will get a new trial.
The Roswell Daily Record reports that Jeanette Garza Alvarez of Roswell will have a jury trial after appealing a judge's conviction in Municipal Court.
Defense attorney Luke Ragsdale says the April 26 conviction violated his client's free speech rights.
He says Alvarez plans to sue the city in federal court.
Authorities say she posted on Facebook in January that her son told her some eighth-graders were planning to take guns to their middle school and have a shootout.
Alvarez received a 30-day deferred sentence and was ordered to pay $29 in court costs.
Her trial is scheduled for July 1.
Report Praises New Mexico’s Progress On Pre-K – Santa Fe New Mexican
A new report on pre-kindergarten programs across the country praises New Mexico for increasing investment and enrollment in pre-K programs
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the state moved up from the 28th spot to 18th according to the 2015 State Preschool Yearbook by the National Institute of Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
The improved ranking was due mostly to the state’s increased funding for pre-K, which was nearly $40 million according to data from 2014 to 2015. There were nearly 8,400 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K during that time.
New Mexico has languished near the bottom of child well-being and advocates told the Legislative Finance Committee last week that continuing to increase investment in early childhood programs like pre-K will improve that statistic.
Veronica Garcia, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, applauded the improved rankings for the state in the new report but told the New Mexican that more than 60 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds still don’t attend preschool in the state.
Body Of Missing Hiker Found At Campground Near Chama – KOB-TV, Albuquerque Journal
The body of an avid hiker who disappeared late last year was found at a campground near Chama by hikers who contacted police.
KOB-TV reports police found Stephen Olshansky’s body at the Lower Lagunitas Campground. It appears he died from exposure while hiking on the Continental Divide. Olshansky, who went by the nickname Otter, was 59, reports the Albuquerque Journal.
The Office of the Medical Investigator will conduct an autopsy but it does not appear that foul play was involved.