Sen. Bernie Sanders Set To Make A New Mexico Swing – Associated Press
Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming to New Mexico. Santa Fe Community College spokeswoman Janet Wise confirmed that the Democratic presidential candidate will hold a rally on that campus Friday afternoon.
An earlier report stated that an Albuquerque rally was planned for Thursday, but according to Sanders’ campaign website, he’ll hold an Albuquerque event on Friday at 5pm at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Despite trailing Hillary Clinton in the delegate count, Sanders has vowed to stay in the race until primaries in New Mexico and California on June 7th.
Sanders is the only presidential candidate to publicly campaign in New Mexico this year.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Bernie Sanders was planning a rally in Albuquerque on Thursday. The story has been corrected.
Media Ban Reversed At State GOP Convention – The Associated Press
The Republican Party of New Mexico says a ban on journalists at the state GOP convention has been reversed by tribal leaders overseeing a Native American casino where the event will be held.
State GOP spokesman Tucker Keene says Sandia Pueblo on Wednesday reversed a policy of not allowing news media at Sandia Resort & Casino.
Republican officials say they were caught by surprise earlier when pueblo officials announced that allowing journalists on resort property was against tribal council policy.
The state convention on Saturday will resolve a heated contest for one seat on the Republican National Committee. Republicans also are naming delegates to the national convention.
Authorities Commended In Incident That Led To Man's Death – The Associated Press
Commendations are in personnel files of deputies and sergeants whose encounter with an elderly man led to his death.
KOB-TV reports 88-year-old Fidencio Duran was in a mental health crisis when he met Bernalillo County authorities in September. He was walking shirtless in his neighborhood and carrying a knife the day after his wife's death.
Authorities eventually fired 60 pepper balls at Duran and released a muzzled K-9.
The commendations were issued before Duran died of pneumonia brought on by broken bones he suffered when the dog knocked him down.
A medical investigator classified Duran's death as a homicide.
The family filed an excessive force lawsuit.
Deputy Felicia Romero said in a statement that Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales signed the commendations based solely on information presented to him.
Feds: Law Aimed To Stop Abuse Of Indian Women Has Gaps – The Associated Press
A U.S. Justice Department official says there are significant gaps in a federal law aimed at combatting violence against Native American women.
The 2013 Violence Against Women Act allows tribes authority to prosecute non-Native Americans in domestic violence and dating cases within their jurisdictions that involves assaults on women. But under the law, tribal authorities don't have the power to charge a non-Native American who assaults or batters children, even in cases where the abuse went hand-in-hand with an attack on the child's mother.
Tracy Toulou, the director of the department's Office of Tribal Justice, says the law should be expanded to include protections for children, and other measures.
His comments came during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday in Washington for several bills, including one to protect Native American children.
New Mexico Health Insurers Propose Rate Hikes For 2017 – The Associated Press
New Mexico regulators have unveiled details about the health insurance premiums proposed by insurers for next year and there are indications the state will not escape the hefty increases expected nationwide.
Rate hikes for 2017 could reach well into the double digits as insurers deal with the financial drain resulting from President Barack Obama's health care law.
More than 12 million people get coverage though the health law's markets, which offer subsidized insurance. But the increases could also affect several million who purchase policies outside the government system.
In New Mexico, several insurers have filed proposals that include average increases ranging from a half-percent to more than 83 percent.
Those initial estimates may change. Regulators must review the proposals and public hearings will be held before a final decision comes later this year.
Albuquerque Officer Pleads No Contest In Kneeing Case – The Associated Press
A former Albuquerque police officer charged with kneeing a law student in the groin during a traffic stop has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.
Court records say District Judge Briana Zamora sentenced Pablo Padilla to 364 days of unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service for misdemeanor aggravated battery. He was originally charged with felony aggravated battery and tampering with evidence.
Padilla retired before being disciplined for the April 2014 incident. University of New Mexico law student Jeremy Martin had to have a testicle removed during emergency surgery.
Special prosecutor Henry Valdez says Martin agreed with the plea and wanted the case behind him.
Padilla would not comment on the case. His attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
WisePies Eyes Sale To Out-Of-State Company – Albuquerque Journal
WisePies is selling a majority interest of its company to an out-of-state buyer, but owners say that will likely not impact a naming deal on the University of New Mexico basketball arena.
The Albuquerque Journal reports WisePies co-owner Mike Baird declined to name the possible buyer or say if the company headquarters will stay in Albuquerque. But he says they would take over operations and honor the WisePies’ naming rights agreement for the arena, known as The Pit.
Baird says the potential buy has the resources to help the pizza chain grow and also help the current owners clear some of the tax liens against the company.
Watchdogs File Lawsuit Over Cleanup At Federal Nuke Lab – Associated Press
A watchdog group is suing the federal government and managers of one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratories over missed deadlines for cleaning up hazardous waste left behind by decades of research.
Nuclear Watch New Mexico filed its lawsuit in federal court, naming the U.S. Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Security LLC as defendants.
The lawsuit points to a dozen violations. It says the defendants are liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for failing to comply with a 2005 cleanup agreement with state officials.
The Department of Energy did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. The agency typically doesn't address pending litigation.
The state recently proposed changes to the cleanup plan. The public has through the end of May to comment.
KUNM-FM Public Health, Poverty Project Gets More Funding – The Associated Press
A public health and poverty coverage project for KUNM-FM, an NPR member station in Albuquerque, has received another round of funding.
The University of New Mexico announced this week that the public station will continue to receive funding for the Public Health New Mexico project.
The project, which kicked off in 2012, was awarded a $380,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan for the Public Health New Mexico project.
Elaine Baumgartel, the station's news director, says the project now is receiving funding from other sources.
KUNM General Manager Richard Towne says the project has helped change the conversation about public health and poverty in New Mexico.
Public Health New Mexico covers the elected officials, policies and agencies responsible for overseeing public health and tackling poverty.
Law Giving Judges Access To Juvenile Records Takes Effect – Associated Press
A handful of New Mexico laws are set to take effect Wednesday, including one allowing judges to review some crime suspects' juvenile court histories when making sentencing and bail decisions.
Jaydon's Law, named for an Albuquerque teen who was shot and killed last year, was one of the more high-profile, tough-on-crime measure to win approval in the Legislature this year after House Republicans introduced a slate of enhanced sentencing measures.
Judges can access youth records of defendants younger than 30 under the law. The measure will not apply to crimes committed by a defendant before age 14.
A law to create a more comprehensive criminal database for courts and law enforcement to access also is among laws set to go into effect Wednesday.
State Health Dept: San Juan County Man Dies Of Hantavirus – Associated Press
State health officials say a 30-year-old man from San Juan County has died of hantavirus.
New Mexico Department of Health officials also announced Tuesday that an 84-year-old man from Santa Fe County currently is hospitalized with hantavirus.
It's the third and fourth cases of hantavirus in New Mexico this year.
An environmental investigation will be conducted at each patient's home to help reduce the risk to others.
Hantavirus is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings or saliva.
Authorities say the deer mouse is the main carrier for the hantavirus strain found in New Mexico.
The other hantavirus cases in the state this year include a 54-year-old Cibola County man and a 37-year-old Sandoval County woman.
Authorities say the man died last month while the woman recovered.
Ex-APD Officer Who Kneed Student In Groin Gets Probation – Albuquerque Journal
A former Albuquerque police officer received probation in a case where a law student lost a testicle after being kneed in the groin.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Pablo Padilla pleaded no contest to misdemeanor aggravated battery in a plea agreement. Padilla, who retired before he was disciplined, had been facing charges of felony aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and tampering with evidence.
Padilla stopped University of New Mexico law student Jeremy Martin in April 2014 on suspicion of drunken driving. While taking him into custody, Padilla kneed him in the groin. Martin later required emergency surgery to remove a testicle.
Padilla also deleted footage of the confrontation on a cell phone owned by one of Martin’s friends.
Lawyer Says Indian Land Buy Effort To Need Money – Associated Press
An attorney for an American Indian group says U.S. officials will need more money from Congress to cover the costs of an initiative to return land on reservations to tribal ownership.
John Dossett with the National Congress of American Indians says the U.S. Interior Department program is working well. But he says the $1.9 billion put into it under a 2009 legal settlement won't be enough to get the work done.
The program consolidates individual parcels of land with multiple owners and turns the property over to tribes to be put to beneficial use. It expires in 2022.
Interior officials on Tuesday added 63 reservations in 16 states to the initiative, bringing the total number involved to 105.
Public Records Audit Details Response Of New Mexico Offices – Associated Press
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government says it took anywhere from two days to several weeks for many government offices to respond to public records requests and more than a dozen failed to respond at all.
The open government advocacy group released the findings of its audit Tuesday.
The group — through a private citizen — filed requests under the Inspection of Public Records Act to gauge the responsiveness, attitudes and practices of more than 120 state agencies and boards and the state's 33 counties.
They asked for logs of all the record requests that had been submitted to the offices between 2014 and 2016.
Not all agencies, including the governor's office, keep such logs.
The state Sentencing Commission and the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission were among the agencies that failed to respond.
Irrigation Ditch Breach Cuts Off Water For New Mexico City – Daily Times, Associated Press
A breach in an irrigation ditch has cut off the water supply a northwestern New Mexico community.
The Daily Times reports that Bloomfield city officials are urging residents to take conservation measures after an 80-foot stretch of bank along the Bloomfield Irrigation Ditch collapsed Monday morning.
The ditch fills the city's reservoir with water from the San Juan River. City Manager Eric Strahl says there is enough water in the reservoir to last up to 15 days, but repair work could take longer than that. He says the city has stopped watering its parks and sports fields.
Andrew Dean, chairman of the irrigation district's board, says between 10,000 and 20,000 tons of dirt and rock washed away. He estimates that rebuilding the bank will take at least two weeks.
Ex-Navajo Lawmaker Sentenced To Jail Time – Associated Press
A former Navajo Nation lawmaker convicted in a scheme to divert tribal funds to his children has been sentenced to three years in jail.
Mel Begay was taken into custody immediately following Tuesday's hearing in Window Rock District Court.
His sentence also included nearly $38,000 in fines and restitution and 1,000 hours of community service.
A jury convicted Begay earlier this year on 10 criminal counts in an investigation into the Navajo Nation Council's use of a now-defunct discretionary fund.
He's the only Navajo official to go on trial in any of the criminal and ethics cases.
Begay plans to appeal his conviction and ask the courts to release him from jail until the tribe's Supreme Court rules on the challenge.
KUNM-FM Public Health, Poverty Project Gets More Funding – Associated Press
A public health and poverty coverage project for KUNM-FM, an NPR member station in Albuquerque, has received another round of funding.
The University of New Mexico announced this week that the public station will continue to receive funding for the Public Health New Mexico project.
The project, which kicked off in 2012, was awarded a $380,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich.
Elaine Baumgartel, the station's news director, says the project now is receiving funding from other sources.
KUNM General Manager Richard Towne says the project has helped change the conversation about public health and poverty in New Mexico.
Public Health New Mexico covers the elected officials, policies and agencies responsible for overseeing public health and tackling poverty.