New Mexico Rolls Out Work Rules For Food Stamps – Associated Press
New Mexico is pushing back the timeline for certain low-income adults who will have to meet work and job-training requirements to remain eligible for food stamps.
State Human Services Secretary Brent Earnest told The Associated Press on Tuesday his department decided to delay implementation of the requirements and make some changes in response to concerns voiced during recent public meetings.
Social service advocates have argued that many people stand to lose their benefits because there aren't enough jobs or meaningful training opportunities in the poverty-stricken state.
The final rules will be published Friday, and Earnest says the delay in implementation will give the state and the 60,000 recipients who will be affected more time to prepare.
The requirements will be phased in starting Jan. 1 for adults without children. Adults who are responsible for children under the age of 13 will be exempt.
Ex-New Mexico School Administrator Booked Into Denver Jail – The Associated Press
A former Albuquerque, New Mexico, school administrator who faces child sex abuse charges in Colorado has been booked into a Denver jail a day after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
Denver County Jail records show Timothy Jason Martinez was booked Wednesday on a no-bond hold. Authorities say he violated the terms of an earlier bond agreement when he left the state without court permission.
Martinez worked for Denver Public Schools for 10 years, ending in 2012. He was hired as Albuquerque's deputy schools superintendent in June before a background check was completed, and he resigned last week.
Martinez was arrested in Denver in the sex abuse case in 2013. Neither of the alleged victims was connected to his employment at the district.
A hearing has been set for Thursday on a motion to revoke Martinez's bond.
Emails Show Santa Fe Officials Planned To Fire Police Chief – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Santa Fe's former police chief says he voluntarily retired 13 months into the job, but emails show officials were planning to fire him.
The Santa Fe New Mexican obtained the emails through a records request related to Eric Garcia's departure. The newspaper reports City Manager Brian Snyder was getting ready to fire Garcia, and that he and Mayor Javier Gonzales agreed on a plan to replace him with Patrick Gallagher, the current interim chief.
Matt Ross is the mayor's spokesman who emailed a draft news release and accompanying talking points memo that lists issues that may arise, including a statement from four police lieutenants accusing Garcia of wrongdoing.
Instead, a July 28 news release was published saying Garcia was retiring.
Both Garcia and Ross maintain that the former chief left voluntarily.
Governor Orders Review Of NM School Districts' Hiring – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez has ordered an immediate review of whether New Mexico school districts are conducting timely criminal background checks of new employees in light of revelations that a high-level Albuquerque district administrator was hired despite facing child sex abuse charges in Colorado.
Martinez has tasked compliance investigators from the state education and public safety departments with launching the across-the-board review of personnel policies. She says the agencies will make sure all districts and charter schools are complying with state law.
Martinez says they also will release a report on their findings once the review is complete.
Jason Martinez resigned abruptly last week from his position as deputy superintendent for Albuquerque Public Schools before reports surfaced of the child sexual assault charges and a domestic violence accusation he is facing in Colorado.
Troubles For An Albuquerque Superintendent Not New - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
Embattled Albuquerque Schools Superintendent Luis Valentino is facing calls for his resignation for hiring an administrator facing child sex charges.
He follows a long line of school chiefs in the troubled district ousted over favoritism, contentious tenures, and allegations of drug addiction.
Before Valentino took over in June, former superintendent Winston Brooks abruptly resigned last year over a secret personnel issue. His tenure was marked controversy after he insulted state Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera on social media using farm animal sounds.
Former superintendent Beth Everitt left her post following a controversy over the changing a student's failing grade and former superintendent Joseph Vigil died in a bizarre one-car rollover involving alcohol. Vigil was not the driver.
Former school chief Brad Allison resigned in 2002 amid allegations of drug abuse.
Suspect In Chase Dead After Police Shooting In Santa Fe – Associated Press
A driver who led authorities on a high-speed chase along Interstate 25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe before being fatally shot by officers was wanted on felony warrants.
New Mexico State Police say 30-year-old Marvin Maestas had two outstanding felony warrants at the time of the shooting early Tuesday.
One was for aggravated assault upon a peace officer for another officer involved shooting in Las Vegas, New Mexico on Aug. 7.
The other was for three counts of aggravated assault, shooting at or from a motor vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm from an incident handled by the Las Vegas Police Department on July 22.
State Police say the Mora man was shot after running away from his disabled pickup truck with a firearm and exchanging gunfire with officers.
Road Dispute Imperils Water System Funds – Santa Fe New Mexican
Funds for a regional water system now hinge on settling legal disputes over roads with four Native pueblos.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Santa Fe County commissioners voted against providing funds for a water system until the legal status of roads is resolved.
The water system is supposed to settle a longstanding suit over water rights. It’s also supposed to import water from the Rio Grande to replace water from wells.. The county’s share of construction costs for the effort would be about $23 million.
Members of San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Nambe and Tesuque pueblos opposed the resolution, which passed on a 4 to 1 vote. But many county residents supported the move and said their property values have declined because of the disputes over roads.
Investigation: EPA, State Underestimated Spill Potential - The Associated Press
An internal government investigation has found that federal and state regulators underestimated the potential for a blowout from a Colorado mine.
The disclosure was contained in documents released Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Investigators concluded that EPA and state regulators underestimated how much water pressure had built up inside the inactive mine before a government cleanup crew triggered the release. The EPA previously offered only impartial information on events leading up to the spill.
The Aug. 5 spill involved 3 million gallons of waste from the idled Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, unleashing a torrent of toxic water that fouled rivers in three states.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that EPA managers knew that a large spill was a possibility yet had drafted only a cursory plan for responding to a spill.
New Mexico Monitoring Wildfires' Impact On Air Quality – The Associated Press
State health and environment officials are closely monitoring New Mexico air quality in the wake of wildfires still burning in the Pacific Northwest.
Officials from the state Department of Health and Environment Department say the air quality may change on a daily basis.
They are advising residents, especially in areas where this no air quality monitoring equipment, to check out the visibility in the air.
They say those with respiratory conditions such as asthma as well as young children and the elderly should minimize outdoor activities if visibility is below 5 miles.
Those same groups should avoid outdoor activity completely if air visibility is below 3 miles.
But all residents should stay inside if visibility is below 1 mile.
Scratcher Tickets Help Boost Sales For New Mexico Lottery – The Associated Press
A nationwide decline in Powerball ticket sales is affecting the bottom line for the New Mexico Lottery.
Lottery officials are reporting a nearly 14 percent decline in the sale of Powerball tickets and other big jackpot drawing games for the last fiscal year. Nationally, Powerball sales have declined by more than 17 percent.
But the head of the New Mexico Lottery, David Barden, says overall sales for the 2015 fiscal year were up by $1 million thanks to more success with the lottery's scratcher games. Those sales increased by more than 14 percent, representing nearly $80 million in net sales.
Barden also reported that money raised for the lottery scholarship program increased this year to $41.1 million.
State officials have been concerned in recent years because lottery proceeds haven't kept pace with raising college tuition and demand for financial assistance.