Sprint To Cut Nearly 400 Jobs In New Mexico- Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Business First
Sprint is shutting down the Rio Rancho customer call center next month.
The Albuquerque Journal reportsthat the cut will result in the loss of nearly 400 jobs. Employees were notified of the closure yesterday.
According to Albuquerque Business First, the call center was opened in 1998, and was the second largest employer in Rio Rancho with 800 employees
Sprint is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the United States.
US, New Mexico Ink Settlements Over Nuclear Radiation Leak- Associated Press
New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Energy have inked $74 million in settlements over dozens of permit violations stemming from a radiation leak that forced the closure of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository.
The settlements are the largest ever negotiated between a state and the Energy Department and come after months of negotiations.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014, when a container of waste burst and released radiation that contaminated parts of the underground facility. The container came from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The settlements call for the Energy Department to funnel millions of dollars toward road improvements and environmental projects in New Mexico.
The state initially proposed more than $54 million in penalties against the federal agency and its contractors for numerous violations at the lab and waste dump.
Sunland Horse Park Virus- Associated Press
The New Mexico Livestock Board and state Racing Commission are working with Sunland Park Racetrack to control a virus found in five horses. Several barns at the racetrack are under quarantine following confirmation of Equine Herpes Virus this week. The virus is not transmissible to humans.
Bandelier Falling Trees- Associated Press
Bandelier National Monument officials are warning cross-country skiers and others going into forested areas of the Los Alamos-area monument to be aware of hazards from falling trees. Stewart Robertson of the monument's staff says there's been a dramatic increase of trees killed in the 2011 Las Conchas Fire breaking and falling, particularly on windy days but even on calm ones.