Roswell Groundwater Plume Considered For Superfund Status – Associated Press
An area of contaminated water in downtown Roswell is being considering for addition on the Superfund National Priorities List.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says several dry cleaning businesses operated there between 1956 and 1963. It's now a mix of residential and commercial use.
The agency says the contaminant of concern is a colorless, nonflammable liquid used by the dry cleaning industry. It's been detected in the alluvial aquifers underlying a portion of downtown Roswell.
The agency says it poses a threat to the municipal and private drinking water supplies but not anytime in the near future.
The EPA said Monday that it will work closely with the state of New Mexico and seek public comment before determining whether to list the Roswell site.
Big Utilities Enter Market For Small Rooftop Solar – The Associated Press
Big utility companies interested in solar power are now competing for the space on your roof.
The move comes as traditional utilities and newcomer competitors fight over the future of the energy system.
Power industry executives have long acknowledged that small-scale solar panels spread across the land could eventually compete with their big power plants, which are designed to cheaply churn out large amounts of energy.
In some cases, the move by big utilities is worrying smaller solar installers who fear they could be unfairly shut out of markets.
Utilities in Arizona and Texas are offering to pay customers to install utility-owned panels on customer rooftops. Other power companies in Michigan and Georgia are trying to make money matching customers with solar installers.
Ex-New Mexico Sheriff Appeals Conviction In Road Rage Case – The Associated Press
Attorneys for a former New Mexico sheriff who pulled a gun on a motorist and struck him with his badge say he was wrongfully convicted of rights violations because the motorist wasn't seriously injured.
Attorney John Cline, who represents ex-Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella, told the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that improper jury instructions created an unfair trial.
Rodella was sentenced in January to 10 years in prison for abusing the motorist in a bizarre, off-duty traffic stop in March 2014. Prosecutors said Rodella held the driver at gunpoint in a fit of road rage because he had cut him off in traffic.
The motorist, Michael Tafoya, told jurors he feared for his life.
Cline says the traffic stop was legal because Tafoya was driving carelessly.
Lawsuit Says Company Discriminated Against Pregnant Women – The Associated Press
A lawsuit filed by a federal agency accuses a New Mexico-based convenience store company of violating civil rights laws by refusing to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women with disabilities.
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission said Clovis-based Allsup's Convenience Stores Inc. also subjected pregnant women to forced leaves and terminations because of their disabilities, pregnancies, childbirth or related medical conditions.
The EEOC said it filed the lawsuit Tuesday after unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate a settlement with the company.
The agent said the company refused to modify work duties and shifts of women and to make other accommodations that would have allowed the women to continue working during their pregnancies.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the EEOC lawsuit.
Protesters Gather At State Office After Day Care Shut Down – The Associated Press & KOAT
Dozens of concerned parents, children and staff from an Albuquerque day care being investigated over allegations of child mistreatment have called on state officials for answers in the case.
KOAT-TV reports the group held a protest at the state Children, Youth and Families Department office Monday. A CYFD employee told protesters that details of the open investigation cannot yet be released.
Eastern Child Development Center was shut down Friday after reports surfaced of a video appearing to show an employee mistreating a child. The employee was fired, but CYFD Secretary Monique Jacobson says there are more videos of the same woman that are being investigated.
While an investigation is ongoing, state officials are working to find alternate day care options for about 300 kids.
New Mexico Supreme Court Rules In Contested Rate Case – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court is backing up state regulators' decision to allow an electric utility to consider renewable energy costs and employee pension assets when seeking a change in customer rates.
The court ruled Monday in the case of Southwestern Public Service Co.
The state attorney general's office appealed after regulators approved the utility's 2012 request to change rates and add a surcharge for certain customers to recoup the costs of adding more renewable energy to its portfolio.
The AG argued that the utility was shifting costs to different classes of customers and including too much of its pension assets in the rate base.
The court found that utilities can recover the costs of financing business operations by including working capital that is funded by investors rather than ratepayers.
Drones Again Banned From Balloon Fiesta – The Associated Press & KOAT
The Federal Aviation Administration will monitor the Balloon Fiesta again to make sure drones are kept out.
KOAT-TV reports officials are continuing to ban recreational drones within the three miles of the event's airspace radius.
Balloon Fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity said a couple of people pushed the envelope last year. Those individuals were contacted and spoken to, and Garrity said the unauthorized drones were taken out of event airspace.
An FAA spokesman said he was unaware of any citations or penalties issued last year. He said education has been the main focus.
State Wildlife Panel To Decide On Mexican Wolf Permit Appeal – Associated Press
New Mexico Game Commission is expected to decide an appeal by federal officials who are seeking to release endangered Mexican gray wolves as part of recovery efforts in the Southwest.
The commission is meeting Tuesday in Albuquerque.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially sought permits that would allow the agency to release a pair of wolves and their pups onto federal land in New Mexico and allow for up to 10 captive pups to be raised by foster wolves in the wild.
The requests were denied in June by the state game director.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has said that delaying releases could compromise the genetics of the wild population in New Mexico and Arizona.
There are at least 109 wolves roaming parts of the two states.
New Mexico Supreme Court Rules In Contested Rate Case – Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court is backing up a decision by state regulators to allow an electric utility to consider renewable energy costs and employee pension assets when seeking a change in customer rates.
The court's ruling came Monday in the case of Southwestern Public Service Co.
The state attorney general's office appealed after state regulators approved a 2012 request by the utility to change rates and add a surcharge for certain customers to recoup the costs of adding more renewable energy to its portfolio.
The AG argued that the utility was shifting costs to different classes of customers and including too much of its pension assets in the rate base.
The court found that utilities can recover the costs of financing business operations by including working capital that is funded by investors rather than ratepayers.
Appeal Hearing Set For Former Sheriff In Civil Rights Case - Associated Press
A federal appeals court will hear arguments over whether to overturn the conviction of a former New Mexico sheriff serving 10 years in prison for abusing a driver in a bizarre, off-duty traffic stop.
Lawyers for ex-Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella will argue during a Tuesday hearing that the March 2014 traffic stop was legal. Rodella was convicted of brandishing a firearm and depriving a motorist of his rights in what prosecutors described as road rage.
Prosecutors said Rodella pulled a gun on the motorist and struck him in the face with his badge because he cut him off in traffic. The motorist, Michael Tafoya, told jurors he feared for his life.
Rodella's attorney wrote in court documents that improper jury instructions and some evidence that was permitted created an unfair trial.