Pecos Wilderness Expansion Plan Draws Opposition – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A proposal to fold thousands of acres into the Pecos Wilderness area northwest of Santa Fe is drawing resistance from nearby residents.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that a group of people living in and around the village of Peñasco, which is near forest involved in the proposed expansion, have been strongly opposed to the idea.
State lawmakers and wilderness advocates have thrown their support behind expanding the Pecos Wilderness, which includes 220,000 acres, by 30 percent with another 78,000 acres.
Residents say they are worried about still being able to hunt or gather wood if management of the forest changes.
Supporters of the plan say the proposal allows for a 14,000-acre "special management area" outside of Peñasco for those activities.
Pecos Wilderness first received federal protection in 1964.
Bill Calls For Updating New Mexico's Campaign Finance System – Associated Press
New Mexico's campaign finance reporting system would get an overhaul under legislation being proposed by a House Republican.
Rep. Jim Smith of Sandia Park pre-filed the measure last week. He says the current system is outdated and that makes it difficult to track information.
His bill would require the Secretary of State's Office to develop new hardware and software that would make the system easier to use and would provide more transparency. The changes would require public input.
Calls for reform were reignited last year in the wake of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran being prosecuted for using campaign donations to fuel a gambling addiction.
The 30-day legislative session begins Jan. 19. It's unclear whether Gov. Susana Martinez will include any campaign finance or ethics reforms on the agenda.
Judge To Decide On Sentencing Teen Who Killed 5 As An Adult – Associated Press
A hearing is scheduled to determine whether a New Mexico teenager who killed his parents and three siblings will be sentenced as an adult.
An amenability hearing is set for Monday for 18-year-old Nehemiah Griego, who pleaded guilty in October to two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.
Authorities say Griego fatally shot his parents and siblings at the family's home south of Albuquerque. He was 15 at the time of the January 2013 shooting.
His parents, Greg and Sarah Griego, were well-known locally for more than a decade of ministry work with inmates. Greg Griego also served as a pastor at one of Albuquerque's largest churches.
Griego's attorney says his sentencing terms could range from probation to three life sentences plus 30 years if he is sentenced as an adult.
Spaceport Chief Believes Virgin Galactic Could Fly In 2018 – Associated Press
The head of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority says Spaceport America is moving ahead and its anchor tenant could be launching commercial space flights as soon as the 2018 fiscal year.
Spaceport executive director Christine Anderson says she optimistic about the commercial space industry and the role New Mexico's taxpayer-financed spaceport will have as the industry grows.
In an editorial, Anderson says the spaceport expects to earn about $4 million in fiscal year 2017. But that's not enough to pay for construction, equipment and other things that were previously covered by bonds.
She plans to ask the Legislature for $2.8 million, saying fiscal year 2017 will be a bridge year since Virgin Galactic's rent will go up in 2018 from $1 million a year to about $3 million.
APS Employee Paid For Eight Months After Resigning – Albuquerque Journal
A 2015 audit has revealed that a former Albuquerque Public Schools employee continued to receive a salary eight months after resigning.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the employee was paid $11,901 after leaving APS through a special education grant. The human resources department was not notified of the departure.
This was the second such case in two years at the school system. An audit for 2014 found about $60,000 in overpayment to an employee over the course of five years.
APS will be paid back and officials say they are evaluating software that tracks when people are working.
The audit also found that the district transferred 19 buses to an external bus company without getting necessary approval from the Board of Education months later.
APS also paid a single vendor $1 million, but broke it up into numerous invoices so the relationship did not meet the threshold required for board review.
APS Eyes Changes In Background Checks – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Albuquerque Public Schools may revamp its background check system following a number of scandals in 2015. Former administrator Jason Martinez was hired last year 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.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that a 2015 report by the State Auditor criticized a “management override” that allowed Martinez to work without a background check.
One of the recommendations by APS is to have some 2,000 employees hired before background checks were required to go through checks. Another is to do periodic random checks on employees.
Ranchers' Cause, Not Tactics, Gains Support In GOP Circles – Associated Press
Republicans are widely condemning an attempt by armed ranchers in Oregon to force the federal government to return western lands to local communities. But the GOP has grown more supportive of the ranchers' goal, if not their tactics.
Republican presidential candidates are increasingly arguing that the federal government owns too much of the West's land. The Republican National Committee passed a resolution calling for the return of federal western land to states.
And some states are studying whether they want to try to take back the real estate.
Even some western critics of the federal government say that a massive federal land take-back will never happen. It's too controversial politically given many westerners' love of public lands.
But all sides agree the issue will keep getting more attention.
Mayor Signs Letter To Support Officer's Burial At Arlington – Associated Press
Albuquerque's mayor has signed a formal letter in support of a burial with full military honors for Officer Daniel Webster at Arlington National Cemetery.
Webster was shot and killed in October during a traffic stop.
He was 47 years old and an eight-year veteran with the Albuquerque Police Department. Before becoming a police officer, he was an Army Ranger, with deployments to Bosnia, South Africa and Iraq.
Hundreds of police officers attended a funeral for him in early November in Albuquerque.
Mayor Richard Berry on Friday signed the letter in support of having him laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, with his office saying it's the wish of his family for him to be buried there.
Proposal Says New Mexico Lawmakers Deserve Salary – The Associated Press
The nation's only unsalaried state legislature is considering whether it wants a steady paycheck.
Legislation proposed in New Mexico ahead of the January legislative session would provide lawmakers with a salary of about $45,000.
The proposal was submitted to the state House of Representative by Republican Terry McMillan of Las Cruces. Approval looks unlikely because legislative salaries are not part of initial budget recommendations from the governor and legislature.
New Mexico lawmakers receive retirement benefits and per diem compensation of $163. That covers work during legislative sessions that last 30 and 60 days in alternating years as well as committee work. Per diem compensation can add up to more than $25,000 a year in some instances.
Dem Leader: Varying REAL ID Rules In New Mexico Can End – The Associated Press
Democratic House Minority Leader Brian Egolf says New Mexico is seeing varying REAL ID requirements because Republicans were "unwilling to compromise" on a fix last year.
The Santa Fe Democrat said Monday that a Senate proposal creating a "two-tier" system could resolve current confusion over making New Mexico compliant under the federal REAL ID Act.
The bill will allow state residents to get REAL ID compliant licenses. Others, including immigrants in the country illegally, would have had the option to keep non-REAL ID compliant identifications.
A Republican plan would create REAL ID compliant licenses and allow immigrants to apply for "driving privilege cards."
White Sands Missile Range and Sandia Labs announced on Monday they will no longer accept just a New Mexico driver's license as a form of identification from visitors.
White Sands Missile Range To Stop Accepting New Mexico IDs – The Associated Press
White Sands Missile Range has announced it will no longer accept New Mexico driver's license as a form of identification from visitors.
Range spokesman Erin Dorrance said the base stopped accepting New Mexico IDs on Monday because they aren't in compliance with the federal REAL ID Act.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to give New Mexico an extension on complying with tougher rules that require proof of legal U.S. residency in order for state driver's licenses and IDs to be valid for some federal purposes.
REAL ID Act requirements mandate proof of legal U.S. residency for holders who want to use state IDs to access certain areas of federal buildings and, eventually, board commercial flights.
Lawmakers are expected this month to work on revising New Mexico's law.
State High Court Agrees To Hear Case About Medical Laws – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit examining if either Texas of New Mexico laws apply to a woman's lawsuit alleging medical malpractice.
The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1RGacc9 ) that Kimberly Montano is looking to pursue a medical malpractice claim against a Texas Tech University surgeon she says botched her gastric bypass surgery in 2004. She says she sought treatment in Lubbock, Texas because that was the only way her insurer would cover it.
Texas law bars lawsuits against individual state employees such as the surgeon who performed Montano's bypass. In New Mexico she would be able to pursue her case for damages.
A state District Court and the New Mexico Court of Appeals both concluded that the Texas rules would violate New Mexico's public policy.
Brrrr! New Mexico locations record frigid low temperatures
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's weather looks tranquil with plenty of sunshine but awfully cold at night for the time-being.
Frigid temperatures recorded early Monday morning included -31 degrees at Angel Fire for that location's second-coldest morning since 1993. Other morning lows included -13 degrees in Chama and Taos, 10 degrees in Santa Fe and 11 degrees in Farmington.
The National Weather Service says temperatures Monday night and Tuesday morning will again be on the chilly side, with areas of low clouds and freezing fog in the San Juan Basin and valleys of northwest New Mexico.
A couple of storms are expected late Thursday and late next weekend. The weather service says both will help maintain the cold weather pattern but provide little precipitation.
New Mexico AG To Support Clinton At Minority Forum In Iowa – The Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas says he's throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
Balderas traveled to Iowa on Monday to support Clinton during a forum focused on minority issues. The event at Drake University includes Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders.
As the nation's only elected Latino Democratic attorney general, Balderas says he believes Clinton is the best qualified to strengthen the economy, reform the criminal justice system and fix the nation's broke immigration system.
The attorney general's campaign is paying for his trip to Iowa.