Police Union President Placed On Leave Amid Abuse Allegations – The Associated Press
A spokeswoman for the Albuquerque police union says its president has been placed on leave amid allegations she abused a teenage relative.
Albuquerque Police Officers Association spokeswoman Toni Balzano says union Vice President Shaun Willoughby will conduct business as interim president, and that no final board decision has been made regarding APOA President Stephanie Lopez's status with the union.
Lopez, who is an Albuquerque police officer, was arrested Thursday evening on charges of child abuse and bribery or intimidation of a witness.
Police turned over the investigation to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department to avoid any conflicts of interest.
A criminal complaint states that Lopez hit and struck the teenager.
Authorities say Lopez's arrest came after the teen reported the abuse to school officials, who notified police and the state Children, Youth and Families Department.
Deputies Question Man Who Sparked Lockdown – The Associated Press
An armed man who forced a lockdown at city hall Friday is being questioned by sheriff's deputies after being detained at his home in the mountains east of Albuquerque.
Authorities say the man entered the downtown government building around 10:15 a.m. and was spotted on the second floor outside the city's dispute resolution center.
He was seen banging on doors and demanding to be let into the secure area.
Police spokesman Tanner Tixier says the man appeared to be talking to himself and mumbling.
The man left the building after about 10 minutes.
Tixier says it appears the man never took the gun out of its holster.
No charges have been filed, but police said the investigation is ongoing.
New Mexico Justices: Special Prosecutors Can Hand Off Cases – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that a special prosecutor can hand off a criminal case to another special prosecutor.
The court Thursday overturned the state Court of Appeals and reinstated former Lea County law enforcement officer Danny Surratt's conviction for criminal sexual penetration of a minor following a second trial.
Surratt argued that the district attorney serving as the second special prosecutor lacked authority because his appointment by the first special prosecutor, also a district attorney, was invalid.
The first special prosecutor got the case because the Lea County district attorney stepped aside because Surratt was a deputy sheriff. The first special prosecutor didn't handle the second trial because of staffing issues.
The justices said special prosecutors have full powers of district attorneys, including appointment of special prosecutors.
New Mexico State Grad Creating Networking App For Filmmakers – The Associated Press
A New Mexico State University graduate is developing a networking app that will allow like-minded filmmakers to find each other in their cities.
Jared Ortega says he created the app, called "filmcrU," to address the lack of networking resources for aspiring filmmakers.
Ortega designed the app to show the profiles of other filmmakers living within a 20-mile radius of the user's location.
The NMSU Department of Individualized Studies graduate says the app will allow a user to create a profile that includes their personal bio, links to portfolios, pictures and equipment lists. Once a profile is created, users can start looking for other filmmakers in their area.
Suit: New Mexico Jail Let Inmate Get Drugs, Hang Himself - The Associated Press
A lawsuit says a New Mexico jail failed to stop an inmate from getting heroin and didn't provide proper psychiatric care before he killed himself.
The family of Joseph Barela says in a new lawsuit a private prison company operating Torrance County jail let the inmate get access to suboxone and lethal black tar heroin. Court documents say when Barela was moved to solitary confinement in November 2013 for refusing a drug test jail officials ignored suicidal signs and left him without treatment for a week.
The lawsuit, now in federal court, says Barela later hanged himself using a shredded bed sheet.
Jonathan Burns, a spokesman for the Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, says the company's lawyers are reviewing the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
Residents Want To Dissolve Troubled New Mexico Border City – The Associated Press
Residents in a troubled New Mexico border town want voters to disincorporate their scandal-plagued city and turn services over to the county.
KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, reports petitioners say they have collected enough signatures this week to dissolve Sunland Park. Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins will have 10 working days to verify the petition once signatures are submitted and county commissioners could then order a special election.
Earlier this year, a former mayoral candidate in Sunland Park pleaded guilty to extortion for secretly recording an opponent receiving a lap dance from a topless woman.
The city drew national attention in 2012 after news of the recording became public.
Last week, a Sunland Park city councilor was indicted for giving alcoholic beverages to a minor.
New Mexico Foresees Limits On Infrastructure Spending – The Associated Press
Legislative analysts say New Mexico's efforts to improve public infrastructure next year could be limited by falling revenues from the energy sector.
New Mexico lawmakers are wading through some $1.8 billion in funding requests for public works projects submitted by state and local agencies for next year.
Legislative Finance Committee analyst Linda Kehoe told lawmakers during a meeting Friday they would have about $485 million available to meet all capital requests based on the state's borrowing capabilities.
Government watchdogs want the state to reconsider the way it selects and pays for public works projects.
A recent review identified more than $1 billion in funds that went unspent for projects approved over the last several years.
New Mexico Proposes Pay Hike For New Teachers – Associated Press
New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera wants to increase starting salaries for public school teachers by $2,000 to $36,000 next year to better compete with neighboring states.
The 6 percent pay increase would apply to nearly 3,700 new teachers in the fall of 2017 if funding is approved by the Legislature.
An earlier effort by Gov. Susana Martinez's administration to boost base pay by $2,000 was approved by the Legislature during the 2015 session.
Skandera on Thursday urged members of the Legislative Finance Committee to combine the increase in base pay with strategic salary increases for the state's top performing teachers.
Skandera is proposing to double funding for one performance-based incentive program to $15 million.
Residents Want To Dissolve Troubled New Mexico Border City – KVIA-TV, Associated Press
Residents in a troubled New Mexico border town want voters to disincorporate their scandal-plagued city and turn services over to the county.
KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, reports petitioners say they have collected enough signatures this week to dissolve Sunland Park. Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins will have 10 working days to verify the petition once signatures are submitted and county commissioners could then order a special election.
Earlier this year, a former mayoral candidate in Sunland Park pleaded guilty to extortion for secretly recording an opponent receiving a lap dance from a topless woman.
The city drew national attention in 2012 after news of the recording became public.
Last week, a Sunland Park city councilor was indicted for giving alcoholic beverages to a minor.
Suit: New Mexico Jail Let Inmate Get Drugs, Hang Himself - Russell Contreras, Associated Press
A lawsuit says a New Mexico jail failed to stop an inmate from getting heroin and didn't provide proper psychiatric care before he killed himself.
The family of Joseph Barela says in a new lawsuit a private prison company operating Torrance County jail let the inmate get access to suboxone and lethal black tar heroin. Court documents say when Barela was moved to solitary confinement in November 2013 for refusing a drug test jail officials ignored suicidal signs and left him without treatment for a week.
The lawsuit, now in federal court, says Barela later hanged himself using a shredded bed sheet.
Jonathan Burns, a spokesman for the Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, says the company's lawyers are reviewing the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
Audit Points To Weaknesses In Oversight Of Los Alamos Lab – Associated Press
Investigators are raising flags about weaknesses in the way federal officials keep track of deficiencies, concerns from employees and contractors and other problems at one of the nation's premiere nuclear weapons laboratories.
The findings of the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general were outlined in an audit released Thursday.
Investigators say the National Nuclear Security Administration's office that oversees operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory has failed to implement an effective management program that includes tracking actions taken to fix problems at the lab.
Watchdogs say the findings are serious since the NNSA's field office serves as the primary check on the lab's safety and operational integrity.
The lab has been docked in recent years for operational and safety violations.
NNSA officials plan to address the recommendations in the audit.
New Mexico Lawmakers Consider Infrastructure Spending – Associated Press
New Mexico lawmakers are wading through some $1.8 billion in funding requests for infrastructure projects submitted by state and local agencies for next year.
The state's Legislative Finance Committee meets Friday in Santa Fe to weigh capital spending priorities.
Government watchdogs want the state to reconsider the way it selects and pays for public works projects. A recent review by legislative analysts identified more than $1 billion in funds that went unspent for projects approved over the last several years.
Funding will be made available to only a small fraction of the new request for improvements to prison facilities, foster care housing, medical centers, roads and bridges. Appropriations for the current year were $294 million.
Authorities Arrest NM Suspect Wanted In 1984 Murder Case – Associated Press
A New Mexico man who police say fled the state three decades ago after shooting and killing his brother-in-law, and injuring his wife and another man has been arrested in Illinois.
Albuquerque police said Thursday that 62-year-old Valentin Vasquez was arrested more than a week ago in Moline, Illinois, where he got into a traffic accident.
According to police, Moline officers ran a check on Vasquez and learned he was wanted in Albuquerque on a murder charge in the March 1984 shooting death of Juan Gutierrez.
Officer Tanner Tixier, an Albuquerque police spokesman, says Vasquez had been living in Moline under an assumed identify since 1988.
He is expected to be extradited to Albuquerque next week.
State Officials Expect Spike In Insurance Enrollment – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Though many New Mexico residents have been slow to obtain health insurance through the government's online exchange, officials say they expect a spike in enrollment as deadlines near.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Dec. 15 is the deadline for those who need health insurance starting Jan. 1 and the second deadline is Jan. 31.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Andy Slavitt says the federal healthcare.gov call center has received millions of calls in the past week and some 65,000 people are visiting the website a day.
New Mexico is one of 37 states that use the federal portal for individuals to purchase insurance.
Statistics indicate New Mexico had 14,675 enrollees as of Dec. 5 compared to 17, 556 on Dec. 15, 2014.
Judge: Albuquerque Police Must Release Fatal Shooting Video – Associated Press
A judge has ordered Albuquerque police to release the videos the department says shows a teenager being fatally shot during an altercation at the Los Altos Skate Park last March.
Bernalillo County District Court Judge Victor Lopez on Thursday ordered the police department to fully produce all items sought by Jaquise Lewis' mother and her attorney in April.
Munah Green filed a civil lawsuit against Albuquerque and its police department over the shooting, accusing police of her 17-year-old son's wrongful death and civil rights violations.
The non-jury trial began on Nov. 20.
At the heart of the records request is a cellphone video that police say shows Lewis firing into the crowd and being killed in self-defense.
Some witnesses to the shooting have disputed that it was self-defense, however.
Swearing-In Ceremony Set For NM Supreme Court Justice – Associated Press
Justice Judith K. Nakamura who was appointed to the state Supreme Court last month is expected to be sworn in Friday during a ceremony in Albuquerque.
Gov. Susana Martinez selected the Second Judicial District Court judge to fill the seat of retiring Justice Richard Bosson.
Nakamura is a longtime Albuquerque resident and a University of New Mexico law school graduate who previously served as chief judge in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court before moving to the Second Judicial District Court in 2013.
She will have to seek election next year if she wants to keep her seat on the five-member Supreme Court.
Her swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday will be held at Sid Cutter Pilots' Pavilion on the Balloon Fiesta Park launch field.