State's Ski Season Wraps Up With More Than 938,000 Visitors – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
New Mexico saw an increase in the number of skiers who hit the slopes this past winter, with more than 938,000 people visiting the state's ski areas in the 2015-16 season.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that this season's totals marked a 20 percent increase from the previous five-year average of 783,000 visits and a 3 percent increase from the 2014-15 season.
Ski industry figures show that visits to the state's ski areas contributed $524 million to the local economy, nearly $17 million more than the previous season.
Although the economic impact was above average, Ski New Mexico Executive Director George Brooks says the 2015-16 season could have reached the 1 million-visitor mark if snow levels seen in the early winter months would have lasted throughout the season.
Councilors Propose Funding For West Mesa Memorial Park – Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque City Councilors are proposing to make good on a promise to family members of murdered women to create a memorial park on the city’s West Mesa.
The Albuquerque Journal reports councilors Klarissa Peña and Ken Sanchez are seeking $350,000 to build what they say will be a spectacular memorial on the site where the remains of 11 women - one of whom was pregnant - were buried.
Nobody has been charged in the crime, which remains the largest unsolved homicide case in Albuquerque’s history. KB Home, which owns the land, will donate the site.
So far only temporary memorials have been placed there by family members, who have criticized KB and the city for not acting on promises for a more formal memorial.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story referred to the "unborn child" of one of the women whose remains were found on the West Mesa. The correct term is "fetus." We've changed the story to reflect that she was pregnant.
Albuquerque Officials Consider West Mesa Murder Memorial – The Associated Press
Albuquerque officials are considering a proposal that would fund a permanent memorial park at the site where the remains of 11 women and an unborn child were found seven years ago.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the City Council next week will consider a proposal to approve $350,000 to build a memorial to the victims of the so-called "West Mesa murders" on land donated by KB Home.
Albuquerque police discovered the remains of the 11 women in February 2009. Since then the police have named some suspects, but no one has ever been charged in the crime. The victims' families have for years called on the city and KB Home to build a memorial on the site.
A final vote on the proposal is expected Monday.
Emissions On Agenda For PNM Resources Shareholder Meeting – The Associated Press
The holding company for New Mexico's largest electric provider has opted to host its annual shareholders' meeting in Texas this year, and on the ballot is a proposal that would require Public Service Co. of New Mexico to adopt goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The PNM Resources shareholders meeting will be Tuesday in Lewisville, where the company's other subsidiary Texas-New Mexico Power is headquartered.
Company officials say this marks the first time in the 11 years since PNM Resources acquired TNMP that the meeting will be held in Texas.
Shareholders from New Mexico will travel to Texas to present a series of proposals, including the greenhouse gas measure. They say PNM should be ready for the threat of climate change and the effects future regulations could have on ratepayers.
Feds Seek Transportation Services For Nuke Waste Repository – The Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Energy has started the search for contractors that can provide transportation services for the federal government's only underground nuclear waste repository.
The agency released its draft request for proposal on Wednesday.
It's also planning a tour of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for those companies that are interested along with one-on-one sessions in the coming weeks.
The current contracts held by CAST Specialty Transportation Inc. and Visionary Solutions LLC will expire next year.
The contracts cover the operation of a local terminal and carrier services for hazardous and radioactive wastes from federal sites across the country to the repository in southeastern New Mexico.
A radiation leak forced the repository's closure in 2014, but federal officials plan to resume some operations by the end of the year.
Universities Seek Participants For Study On Mine Waste Spill – The Associated Press
Researchers studying the aftermath of a massive spill from a Colorado mine are looking for participants from three communities in the Navajo Nation.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that researchers from the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University began studying the San Juan River last year but now are looking to create focus groups to study short-term exposure and perception of risk of residents who were impacted by the mine spill.
Last August 3 million gallons of tainted wastewater was released from the inactive Gold King Mine. The waste polluted the Animas and San Juan rivers in three states and two reservations.
Researchers are seeking participants from Shiprock and Upper Fruitland and in Aneth, Utah. Community meetings to explain the study are planned for all the communities.
Feds: Drug Investigation In Shiprock Area Nets 6 Arrests – The Associated Press
Authorities say a crackdown on narcotics trafficking in northwestern New Mexico has led to arrests of multiple people charged in federal indictments.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for New Mexico says the multi-agency investigation was launched in response to an increase in methamphetamine trafficking in the Shiprock area of the Navajo Nation.
The office says six people who were arrested Wednesday made initial appearances Thursday in federal court in Farmington. Two other people named remain at large.
The indictments stem from undercover agents' drug purchases.
In addition to the arrests, operations Wednesday included searches of residences in Shiprock and Kirtland.
The office says authorities seized more than 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 10 guns, $1,600 in cash and a vehicle.
Numerous federal, state, tribal, county and municipal agencies participated in the investigation.
Santa Fe City Councilors Approve More Short-Term Rentals – Santa Fe Mexican
Santa Fe City Councilors approved expanding the number of permits for short-term rentals in the city to capture more revenue from rentals operating outside existing regulations.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the council took a cue from a study that found there were far more rentals operating than the 350 allowed under city ordinance. They boosted that cap to 1,000 and revised the ordinance to allow councilors to authorize more permits if there is more demand.
Many expressed support of the council’s decision. But others said it would exacerbate the shortage of affordable housing in Santa Fe and change the character of neighborhoods.
Concerns Arise Over Fundraisers After Navajo Girl's Death – Associated Press
The family of an 11-year-old Navajo girl who was kidnapped and killed last week has raised concerns about unauthorized fundraising accounts online.
The concerns led the Navajo Nation's San Juan Chapter to pass a resolution Tuesday calling for halting fraudulent and unauthorized fundraising since Ashlynne Mike was found dead May 3. Authorities say a stranger lured her into his van the day before.
Chapter president Rick Nez says Ashlynne's father, Gary Mike, will hold a press conference Thursday at 7 p.m. at the San Juan Chapter House east of Shiprock, in part, to thank the community and others for their support in the wake of his daughter's death.
About $11,000 raised to support the family has been placed in a Wells Fargo account that the Mikes set up after last week's tragedy.
New Mexico Proposes Changes For Dealing With Polluters – 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.
US Won't Appeal Court Rulings On Lesser Prairie Chicken – Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. government won't appeal recent court rulings that stripped the lesser prairie chicken of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Fish and Wild Service said Wednesday that the Justice Department filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss its appeal of rulings in Texas. The rulings found that Fish and Wildlife failed to make a proper evaluation of a multi-state conservation plan when it listed the lesser prairie chicken as threatened.
Fish and Wildlife says that despite dropping the appeal, it "intends to reassess the status of the species based on the court's ruling and the best available scientific data."
Oil and gas groups opposed the threatened listing, saying it would cost companies millions.
The lesser prairie chicken lives in Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Emergency Services To Get Funding Under Nuclear Settlements – Associated Press
Southeastern New Mexico emergency services will receive $800,000 under settlements stemming from 2014 a radiation leak that forced the closure of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository.
The state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resource Department says Eddy County will get $510,000 for training and equipment for emergency personnel and for radiological preparedness training for hospital staff. Lea (lee) County will get $260,000 to buy medical kits, sanitizing systems and radios for responders. The city of Hobbs will get $30,000 for medical kits.
The federal funding is being provided under previously announced agreements between the state and the U.S. Department of Energy to settle permit violations involving the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the Carlsbad area.
A waste container from the Los Alamos National Laboratory burst and released radiation.
Department Of Corrections Outlines Pay Raise Structure – 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.
New Mexico Weighs Federal Funding For Home Visits – Associated Press
A Medicaid policy analyst is urging New Mexico officials to seek out federal matching funds to help pay for state-sponsored home visits by nurses and educators to families with infants and toddlers.
Policy analyst Kay Johnson told state lawmakers and the Secretary of Children, Youth and Families Department on Wednesday that New Mexico could receive as much as 70 cents in federal funding for every dollar spent on home visits by nurses and councilors on early-childhood development. The state is directly spending $7.7 million on home visits next year.
The Thornburg Foundation hired Johnson to study access to Medicaid funding for New Mexico's home-visit program that contracts with private providers. She found as many as 15 states receive federal matching funds for their home visit efforts.
Ex-New Mexico Jail Officer Gets Prison For Inmate Sex Abuse – 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.