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Winter Named Interim Secretary Of State, APD To Put More Officers In Neighbhorhoods

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CREATIVE COMMONS

Martinez Names Winter As Interim Secretary Of State – Associated Press

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has named Albuquerque City Councilor Brad Winter as the state's next secretary of state.

Winter fills the vacancy left by Dianna Duran, who was sentenced Monday for funneling campaign donations to personal accounts to fuel a gambling addiction. She resigned in October after pleading guilty to the charges.

The governor's office confirmed Winter's selection after reviewing a number of applications. Spokesman Chris Sanchez says Winter will begin working as New Mexico's top elections official starting Tuesday.

Winter will serve at least through November's general election, when New Mexico voters will elect a new secretary of state.

Elected in 1998, Winter is Albuquerque's longest serving city councilor. He worked with Albuquerque Public Schools for more than 20 years before being named an interim superintendent in 2014.

APD Reorganization Will Put More Officers in NeighborhoodsAlbuquerque Journal

The Albuquerque Police Department will undergo a restructuring that will put more officers into neighborhoods.

The Albuquerque Journal reports Chief Gorden Eden is creating policing teams in six area commands around the city and plans to move more than 80 officers out of the central office in Downtown. He says it’s the first such reorganization at APD in years.

The plan is the result of a study by a national consultant and is part of reforming APD after a federal investigation found a “culture of aggression” in the department.

Eden says the number of officers would grow by 20 percent to 1,000. Officers would spend at least three years in a neighborhood and more experts in things like narcotics, burglaries and gangs would be part of each area command as well.

Albuquerque Police Chief Announces Reorganization EffortThe Associated Press

The Albuquerque police chief has announced a major reorganization that will move more than 80 officers from downtown into neighborhoods throughout the city

Chief Gorden Eden announced Tuesday that the moves could start early next year.

Eden says the plan is based on recommendations in a staffing study that was part of the effort to reform the police department after a federal investigation found there was a "culture of aggression."

The proposed realignment would send more detectives and specialists with expertise such as narcotics, gangs and burglaries into area commands, rather than in centralized downtown offices.

Eden says he also plans to grow the department by 20 percent to 1,000 officers.

Police Release Interviews With Accused Road Rage ShooterThe Associated Press

The Albuquerque man accused of opening fire during a road rage dispute and killing a 4-year-old girl told police he didn't mean to hurt anybody when he fired his gun.

Albuquerque police on Monday released lapel camera video, interviews and documents relating to the investigation that led to the arrest of Tony Torrez in connection to the shooting death of Lilly Garcia.

Torrez has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, assault and tampering with evidence in the Oct. 20 shooting.

In recordings from police, Torrez said he fired warning shots and did not mean to hurt anyone. He said hurting Lilly was a "total accident" and asked police to tell her family that he is sorry.

Senators File Proposal To Reform New Mexico's Bail SystemThe Associated Press

A bipartisan contingent of state senators is sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at reforming New Mexico's bail system.

The senators prefiled the resolution Tuesday. If approved by the Legislature and voters, it would amend the New Mexico Constitution to give judges more authority to deny bail for dangerous defendants.

Supporters say the proposal would address the threat to public safety resulting from language in the Constitution that requires courts to permit bail for virtually all defendants, no matter the threat they may pose if released.

The change would also allow pre-trial release of low-risk defendants who are being held simply because they don't have the means to make bond.

The lawmakers behind the effort are Democrats Peter Wirth and Linda Lopez and Republicans Sander Rue and William Payne.

AG Seeks Protections For Some El Paso Electric CustomersThe Associated Press

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas says he wants to see a decrease in the monthly bills for a majority of residential customers who depend on El Paso Electric.

Balderas made the comments as state regulators weigh a rate hike proposed by the southern New Mexico utility.

A public hearing on the proposal was held last month and briefs are due this week. It's unclear when the hearing officer could make a recommendation to the full Public Regulation Commission.

El Paso Electric is asking for an increase of its base rate for thousands of customers in southern New Mexico. The revenue that would result would pay for infrastructure that already has been built.

Balderas says he wants to ensure that low-income residents don't see increases larger than high-use customers.

Chaves County To Convene Temporary Grand JuryThe Associated Press & The Roswell Daily Record

Chaves County will convene a temporary grand jury, though not for as long as petitioners requested.

The Roswell Daily Record reports that Judges of the Fifth Judicial District on Thursday denied a petition requesting a grand jury in the county for 18 months, but instead exercised their authority to convene one for a three-month period.

The state Constitution allows citizens to create a grand jury if at least 2 percent of a county's registered voters request it.

The grand jury will convene for three months beginning in February to consider criminal cases.

Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh, who filed paperwork last month to create a grand jury, said Monday it was unclear if the grand jury ordered by the judges would be extended beyond three months.

Troubles With Ventilation System Slow Progress At Nuke Dump Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press

Federal managers working to reopen a nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico have faced several setbacks in trying to increase air flow at the underground facility.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the Nuclear Waste Partnership has planned to improve air flow at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant with an interim ventilation system and a supplemental system since the plant closed following a radiation release in February 2014.

But a November federal status report found that the partially installed supplemental system could prove problematic when it comes to emergency access. The interim ventilation system, expected to be operating next year, is months behind schedule after its components were damaged.

Operations at the plant won't resume until air flow has improved to allow for more workers to be underground.

Duran Sentenced To 30 Days In Jail Associated Press

After making a tearful plea for leniency, former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for siphoning money from her election account to fuel a gambling addiction.

Duran pleaded guilty in October to a felony embezzlement charge and four misdemeanor counts while resigning from office under an agreement with state prosecutors.

District Judge T. Glenn Ellington handed down the final sentence Monday in a packed Santa Fe courtroom. He suspended all but a month of the 7.5-year sentence and ordered Duran to report to jail Friday, denying a motion that would have allowed her to spend time with her family over the holidays.

Ellington also ordered Duran to pay nearly $14,000 in restitution, serve five years of probation, write numerous letters of apology and make regular public appearances for the next three years to educate school children and others about her career and the crimes she committed.

Albuquerque Police Report Spending On Use Of Force Issues KOB-TV, Associated Press

A quarterly report shows that a large portion of the money Albuquerque police are spending to fix use of force issues is going to the Department of Justice's independent monitor.

KOB-TV reports that the report shows that the department has spent more than $700,000 on those efforts in the past three months, with the largest chunk going to DOJ monitor James Ginger.

Ginger has been credited with fixing use-of-force issues at several police departments. He told KOB in November that his team is expensive because he brings in people at the top of their fields.

The spending report shows that money also went toward changing procedures, tracking the use of force, crisis intervention programs and recruiting.

Officials say the process is expected to take at least four years.

New Mexico Gov. Martinez Eyes Tougher Penalties For DWIsAssociated Press

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has announced proposals aimed at toughening penalties for those who have four or more drunken driving convictions.

Martinez unveiled Monday in Albuquerque another legislative push to increase mandatory minimum sentences for repeat drunk drivers.

The Republican governor has blamed the Democratic-controlled Senate for failing to act on similar GOP proposals to strengthen New Mexico's drunken driving penalties. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez says Martinez is attacking the Senate to distract voters from her efforts to ignore poverty.

Martinez announced new executive orders last week aimed at arresting repeat drunken drivers.

She toured the state to discuss plans for increased patrols on the state's most dangerous highways and an aggressive effort to arrest drunken driving suspects who violate their parole or probation.

New Mexico Campus Bans Gun Sales, Raffles At Its Facilities Alamogordo News, Associated Press

The Alamogordo branch of New Mexico State University will no longer allow groups to rent its facilities to sell or give away guns.

The Alamogordo News reports that NMSU-A Interim President Dr. Ken Van Winkle announced the ban. It puts an end to the fundraiser gun shows that the Alamogordo Evening Lions Club and Western Frontier Gun Shows have been holding on the campus since 2011.

The new policy will also prohibit National Rifle Association banquets if the NRA has a gun raffle with the firearms present at the banquet.

In a statement, Van Winkle cited recent acts of mass violence, including the attacks in Paris and shootings at an Oregon college.

He said a college campus isn't an appropriate place for gun sales.

University Of New Mexico Regent Koch To Retire On Dec. 31 Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press

A University of New Mexico regent says he's retiring at the end of this year.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Monday that Jamie Koch is leaving to work at an insurance company in Santa Fe.

Koch has been on the UNM Board of Regents for 13 years.

Before that, he served in the state House of Representatives and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

Koch also has served as state chair of the Democratic Party and authored New Mexico's Inspection of Public Records Act.