Residents Near Trinity Test Want Obama To Visit Village – The Associated Press
Residents of a historic Hispanic village in New Mexico are praising President Barack Obama's plan to visit Hiroshima — the Japanese city where the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb.
But residents also want Obama to visit their village of Tularosa next to where U.S. government tested the first atomic bomb. Residents say generations of descendants have suffered from various cancers and health problems resulting from the Trinity Test in a remote stretch of New Mexico desert.
The White House announced Tuesday that Obama this month will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima. The bomb decimated the city and shot the world into the Atomic Age.
Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders, says the U.S. government has never acknowledged how the Trinity Test hurt Tularosa residents.
Department Of Corrections Outlines Pay Raise Structure – The Associated Press
The Department of Corrections has outlined minimum pay increases for officers that it says will help with recruitment within the department beset by staffing shortages.
Spokeswoman Alex Tomlin says the raises will go into effect in July.
State lawmakers this year allocated $4.5 million to the department to address correctional officer pay, after officials raised concerns about low-staffing levels and overworked officers.
The escape of two inmates March 9 from a prison van further highlighted concerns amid revelations the two transport officers in charge of taking the men across the state had worked about 18 hours that day.
Under the new pay structure, the minimum compensation for a correctional officer will be $16.43 — up from $12.61.
Farmington Officials Reverse Denial Of Hospital Solar Farm – The Associated Press & The Daily Times
San Juan Regional Medical Center's proposed solar farm is moving forward with the Farmington council's approval of a previously-denied zoning change.
The Daily Times reports a 3-1 vote on Tuesday pushed the hospital closer to using 12.3 acres for 6,000 solar panels.
The council had denied the zoning change over concerns that the solar farm's industrial nature didn't fit with the area.
Plans put the project on land with industrial zones on three sides.
Councilor Linda Rogers motioned to reconsider the zoning decision, saying the use of the 12.3 acres would not clash with neighboring properties.
Hospital vice president of professional and support services Doug Frary said installation will start once a building permit is secured.
The panels are expected to save the hospital $300,000 to $500,000 annually.
Ex-New Mexico Jail Officer Gets Prison For Inmate Sex Abuse – The Associated Press
A former tribal corrections officer in New Mexico has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sexually abusing a female inmate and violating her civil rights.
Prosecutors say 22-year-old Trevor Hunt, of Paguate, also was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
He'll be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years after completing his prison term.
Hunt was a detention officer at the Laguna Pueblo Detention Facility when he was accused of sexually assaulting the woman in the jail's laundry room last May 23.
He pleaded guilty in the case in January.
Prosecutors say Hunt admitted the victim was in detention and under his custodial and supervisory control when he sexually assaulted her.
Hunt also admitted willfully violating the victim's constitutional rights when he assaulted her.
New Mexico Proposes Changes For Dealing With Polluters – The Associated Press
New Mexico regulators are proposing changes to a policy that governs civil penalties levied against certain polluters and how those fines can be used to benefit local communities.
The state Environment Department wants to clarify the decades-old policy to ensure the money goes directly to projects in communities most affected by the pollution.
New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn says that didn't always happen in the past and the proposed changes are meant to keep any of the civil fines from being used for political agendas or pet projects.
The policy was last updated more than a decade ago.
The public will have until June 10 to comment on the proposal.
Between 2011 and 2016, the state approved 21 supplemental environmental projects totaling more than $80 million.
Businessman To Lead Roswell's UFO Museum – The Associated Press
A Roswell businessman has been tapped to lead Roswell's UFO museum.
The Roswell Daily Record reports Jim Hill was named this week as the executive director of the International UFO Museum and Research Center. It's the city's biggest tourist destination and one of the world's largest sites for research on extraterrestrial sightings and investigations.
Hill says his top priorities include evaluating advertising methods to increase visitors for the museum and the city and overseeing several redesign and improvement projects for the organization's properties.
Created in 1991, the center is in the initial plans of redesigning the exhibit space for the museum and expanding both the collections and size of the library.
The UFO Museum and Research Center is one of the sponsors of the upcoming UFO Festival.
New Mexico State Revenues Lag – The Associated Press
New Mexico budget analysts say state revenues continue to trail last year by about 10 percent amid low energy prices and weak tax receipts.
The Legislative Finance Council is reviewing its estimates Wednesday that show the state collecting revenues of $3.6 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. The state had collected $4 billion a year earlier.
Committee staff say the revenue decline is a reflection of a bust in the oil industry and a related downturn in the economy, though crude prices have risen recently. Revenue from mineral production declined $113 million during period ending in February, and money from federal mineral leases dropped $123 million.
Revenue from gross receipts taxes declined $117, and corporate income taxes fell $108 million.
Famed New Mexico Artist Betty Sabo Dies – Albuquerque Journal
Well-known artist Betty Sabo died Tuesday in Albuquerque. She was 87.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Sabo’s sculptures dot numerous places around New Mexico, including her St. Francis piece at the Basilica of Santa Fe and her grouping of figures near Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. She also did “La Jornada” in front of the Albuquerque Museum with Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera.
Sabo began as a painter in the 1960s after graduating from UNM and her works have been collected around the country, but she turned to sculpture when she became ill from paint fumes.
Her daughter, Mary Sabo, says her mother did a great deal of philanthropic work, supporting other artists and donating art to charitable causes.
She says her mother died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Details of a memorial being planned with the Albuquerque Museum will be forthcoming in the next few days.
Study Finds New Mexico Has Country’s Worst Graduation Rate – Santa Fe New Mexican
A new study finds New Mexico has the worst graduation rates in the country.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Building a Grad Nation put the state’s four-year adjusted rate for the 2013-2014 year at 68.5 percent. That compares to the top state, Iowa, with a graduation rate of 90.5 percent.
One of the report’s authors, Jennifer DePaoli, recommends that the state focus on subgroups and high schools that are lagging. Hispanic-Latino and African-American students made the greatest gains around the country according to the report, but they were still behind the national average.
DePaoli also said demographics differ from state to state. New Mexico has the highest percentage of English language learners in the country, she said.
The report is by Civic Enterprises, which worked with the Everyone Graduates Center at the School of Education at Johns Hopkins to create the study.
UNM To Sell Beer And Wine At Lobo Stadium – Albuquerque Journal
Plans are in the works to sell beer and wine at Lobo Stadium at the University of New Mexico this fall.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Athletic Director Paul Krebs is pushing for the change to increase revenue and attendance. Alcohol has been available only at certain venues in the stadium, such as some suites.
The plan has the support of President Bob Frank and Rob Doughty, president of the Board of Regents, who said it may curb binge drinking in parking lots and illicit alcohol brought in by fans.
The university plans to monitor sales and limit the number of drinks fans can purchase.
Krebs says the university has state licenses to sell alcohol at the stadium at Wise Pies Arena, known as The Pit, although he said plan for sales at The Pit are still under discussion.
Businessman To Lead Roswell's UFO Museum – Roswell Daily Record, Associated Press
A Roswell businessman has been tapped to lead Roswell's UFO museum.
The Roswell Daily Record reports Jim Hill was named this week as the executive director of the International UFO Museum and Research Center. It's the city's biggest tourist destination and one of the world's largest sites for research on extraterrestrial sightings and investigations.
Hill says his top priorities include evaluating advertising methods to increase visitors for the museum and the city and overseeing several redesign and improvement projects for the organization's properties.
Created in 1991, the center is in the initial plans of redesigning the exhibit space for the museum and expanding both the collections and size of the library.
The UFO Museum and Research Center is one of the sponsors of the upcoming UFO Festival.
Rio Rancho Psychologist Gets Probation For Health Care Fraud – Associated Press
A New Mexico psychologist has been sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to health care fraud.
Prosecutors say 61-year-old Julee K. Huggins, of Rio Rancho, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Albuquerque.
She also was ordered to pay nearly $158,000 in restitution to Medicare and two private insurance carriers — Presbyterian Health Plan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico.
Huggins pleaded guilty in the case in November 2015.
She admitted that between January 2011 and February 2014, she submitted claims to the three health care benefit programs for counseling services that were never performed and by overbilling the programs.
At the time, Huggins was a licensed and practicing clinical psychologist who provided mental health counseling out of a practice in Rio Rancho.
New Mexico Students Miss A Third Of Instructional Time – Associated Press
A survey of available instruction time at public schools in New Mexico has found that almost a third of the hours are lost to a combination of standardized assessments, test preparation, re-teaching distracted students, absences and disciplinary actions.
Staff at the Legislative Finance Committee announced the findings Tuesday at the state capitol. They found that late starts, recess and subsidized breakfasts also offset instructional time while being counted as productive learning hours.
Elementary students lose well over a third of instructional time, while their school year can be nearly 10 percent shorter.
New Mexico has increased teaching time in high-poverty schools by extending the school year for 25 days in Kindergarten through third grade. More than 19,000 students participate.
About 340,000 students are enrolled in New Mexico public schools.
Preliminary Hearing Set For Ex-Senator In Fraud Case – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A former legislator charged in a fraud case is set for a week-long preliminary hearing split between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Albuquerque-based Judge Brett Loveless scheduled the hearing for July 5.
Former state Sen. Phil Griego has pleaded not guilty to charges including bribery and fraud.
Griego had a role in the state's sale of a building in 2014, receiving commissions topping $50,000.
A Senate ethics committee investigated the sale and Griego resigned from the Legislature a week before the end of the 2015 session.
A June 14 hearing will deal with the state attorney general's subpoena for documents related to the investigation.
The Legislative Council Service is pushing against handing over the documents.
Flags Lowered On Reservation For Navajo Code Talker – Associated Press
Flags will be lowered Wednesday on the Navajo Nation in honor of a man who used his native language to outsmart the Japanese in World War II.
Bill Henry Toledo died May 5 in Grants, New Mexico. The 92-year-old was one of hundreds of Navajos recruited from the reservation and trained as Code Talkers.
Navajo President Russell Begaye has ordered flags flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.
Toledo never told his family of his role as a Marine in the war. They found out when looking over his honorary discharge papers in 1972.
Toledo served in the Pacific corridor and spent three years transmitting messages based on the Navajo language.
He later became active in the Navajo Code Talkers Association.