News

Tweets from Latino activists, writers and artists are being credited for pushing Disney into withdrawing a "Dia de los Muertos" trademark request.

Advocates say anger and ridicule expressed on social media forced the company to retreat Tuesday as word of the move to copyright the holiday spread.

Online petitions were created and organizers discussed plans to boycott the planned Pixar movie and products that would have been linked to the trademark.

Critics say Disney has no right to trademark cultural holidays.

A prosecutor says an Albuquerque police officer acted in self-defense and won't be charged for fatally shooting a man who had rammed his car into the officer's vehicle in March 2012.

Police had said that Daniel Walter Tillison was a known gang member and that Officer Martin Smith first shot out tires of Tillison's vehicle and only shot at Tillison after he kept driving toward Smith.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sylvia Martinez says prosecutors didn't' find probable cause that Smith broke the law.

Track officials at Ruidoso Downs say they are sticking with standards that will ensure integrity during this summer's racing season.

That means no trainers who have been suspended by the American Quarter Horse Association, The Jockey Club or any racing jurisdiction will be allowed to compete at the southern New Mexico track.

Track officials included a list of 17 trainers with Wednesday's announcement.

The track acknowledged that the trainers have certain appeal rights within their racing jurisdictions and Ruidoso Downs will continue to monitor their status.

Gov. Susana Martinez's administration plans to open a new juvenile detention center in southern New Mexico.

A spokesman for the Children, Youth and Families Department said Tuesday the juvenile center near Fort Stanton should open in October and will be at the location of the former Camp Sierra Blanca, a state facility for juvenile offenders that was closed four years ago.

A budget measure signed into law by the governor provided $900,000 for improvements to juvenile facilities in Albuquerque and at Fort Stanton, which is northeast of Ruidoso in Lincoln County.

Gila Regional Medical Center has downgraded 70 full-time hospital employees to part-time status as part of new cost cutting measures.

The Silver City Sun-News reports (http://bit.ly/13ugHEQ) that the hospital says the measures were needed after it saw an increase in the numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients. The hospital also is facing a cash crunch because of the shift from inpatient care to outpatient care, and reduced reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.

The Bureau of Land Management is planning to enact fire restrictions across more than 6 million acres of federal land in New Mexico.

Officials say the restrictions will take effect Saturday. They will cover 15 counties that span parts of eastern and southern New Mexico.

Little rainfall, low humidity levels and above-average temperatures are prompting the need for restrictions. Officials say they're aimed at preventing wildfires and ensuring public and firefighter safety.

U.S. senators from Wyoming and New Mexico say they'll roll out legislation this week to try to restore about $110 million in cuts to a federal minerals payment program that hit their states the hardest.

Wyoming, the nation's biggest coal-producing state, stands to lose more than $50 million this year, while New Mexico faces a loss of about $25 million.

Another space industry heavyweight will use New Mexico's Spaceport America.

Gov. Susana Martinez announced Tuesday that Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, has agreed to a three-year lease to do testing of its "Grasshopper" reusable rocket in southern New Mexico.

SpaceX is one of the leading developers of rockets and spacecraft and is one of the companies the Spaceport project has been trying to recruit.

Santa Fe County has issued an emergency ordinance declaring hazardous fire conditions and imposing restrictions.

Open fires, the burning of trash or vegetation and throwing cigarettes out a vehicle window are prohibited under the restrictions. Smoking is also limited to certain locations.

Authorities say violators can face a fine up to $300 or 90 days in jail.

Jurors were not able to reach a verdict in the case of a man accused in a driver's license scam that involved Chinese foreign nationals who were in the U.S. illegally.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/16eUgY9) that a hung jury was declared Tuesday in the case of 24-year-old Gordon Leong. Jurors began deliberations Friday.

Leong faced 110 felony counts in connection with a scheme that involved securing New Mexico driver's licenses for more than 60 people.

  KUNM Call In Show Thu. 5/6 8a: What do you get when you combine students who have artistic vision with artists who have serious skills? We'll hear from the folks at Meow Wolf, an arts organization, and the high school students they've paired up with about the transformative experience of making multi-media installations as part of the Albuquerque Museum's Lead With The Arts after school arts program. 

An Arizona escapee who is accused of killing a couple in New Mexico is seeking to have a key piece of evidence thrown out.

Lawyers for John Charles McCluskey are in federal court in Albuquerque this week asking the judge to toss out DNA evidence they say is tainted.

An Intel employee says in a federal lawsuit that co-workers secretly taped a "Kick Me" sign on his back as part of a pattern of abuse he faced at a Rio Rancho, N.M., Intel plant.

Harvey Palacio says in a lawsuit he went to a senior staffer in August to ask if something was taped on his back and staffer then kicked Palacio in his buttocks. Court papers say another staffer also kicked him.

The lawsuit filed in Albuquerque says other co-workers laughed and Palacio "felt demoralized and assaulted and he began to cry during the drive home."

New Mexico's 1st Judicial District Court will be closed for several work days in early June and its paper records unavailable to the public for about three weeks as the court moves into a new courthouse in Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe New Mexican (http://bit.ly/12auIHs ) reports that the Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex will be closed to the public June 5-7 before its scheduled opening on Monday, June 10.

Paper records will be unavailable for inspection from May 20 to June 10 as they're moved from the current courthouse to the new one.

Heightened security measures following the Boston bombings have led to the cancellation of one of New Mexico's largest triathlons.

The Jay Benson Triathlon had been scheduled Sunday at Kirtland Air Force Base.

The sponsor has told the hundreds of expected participants that it's canceled and is offering full refunds.

Duane Kinsley is the owner of Sports Systems, the title sponsor of the event. He says the retail store couldn't meet increased requirements to get participants on base. Those included submitting Social Security and driver's license numbers for athletes.

New Mexico authorities have conducted another roundup of people sought on warrants.

State officials say the latest roundup was conducted in central New Mexico's Torrance County, with State Police arresting 71 people and taking them before a judge.

A similar operation conducted last week in Roswell resulted in 30 arrests.

Former Republican Gov. Garrey Carruthers has been named New Mexico State University's new president.

The NMSU Board of Regents voted Monday 3-2 in favor of Carruthers to lead the state's second-largest four-year university.

Carruthers has been dean of NMSU's College of Business since 2003. He was governor from 1987 to 1990.

Other finalists were former Texas Tech University president Guy Bailey, former University of Nevada, Las Vegas president David Ashley, former Texas A&M University president Elsa Murano and University of Colorado Denver Dean Daniel Howard.

Researchers are studying if strawberries could be a new cash crop for farmers in northern New Mexico.

The New Mexico State University scientists currently are testing whether the sweet red fruit could survive the area's early spring freezes.

Fruit specialist Shengrui Yao (ZHEN-grew-EE YAO) says late frosts won't kill all of the flowers or buds in a cluster so the fruit may be a good alternative for growers.

The study also is designed to determine which treatment will help strawberry plants adapt to high pH soil.

New data shows that of the $32.2 million Dona Ana County residents have paid in a spaceport tax that took effect five years ago, $1 in $4 has been routed to local education.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports (http://bit.ly/13VMZIt) that new county data says $8 million in total, or 25 percent of all sales tax revenues, has been sent to the three county school districts.

During the 2007 referendum, a main argument touted by tax proponents was that the money would help to train future engineers and technicians who'd be qualified to work at future Spaceport America facilities.

JetBlue co-founder Ann Rhoades is scheduled this week to give the keynote address at the University of New Mexico's commencement.

Rhoades is slated Saturday to address graduates at the Pit.

The JetBlue director is a human resources executive with more than 25 years of experience in a variety of industries.

More than 3,000 students are projected to receive degrees from UNM's Albuquerque and extended university campuses.

Rhoades has an MBA in management from UNM.

The city of Santa Fe's release of water from a reservoir is sending a trickle of water down the Santa Fe River.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican (http://bit.ly/106krMn , the release that began Friday and continued over the weekend should help hundreds of recently planted cottonwoods and willows.

The city's ability to release water through municipal reservoirs and flow downstream is limited by the amount of inflow from snowmelt during the current drought.

Gov. Susana Martinez on Monday is announcing the state Tourism Department's 2013 summer promotion for New Mexico tourism.

Martinez will be making the announcement at the governor's tourism conference at an Albuquerque hotel.

According to the governor's office, the promotion is intended to increase tourism and travel throughout the state.

The popular, free-roaming horses of a New Mexico mountain hamlet may have outstripped the ability of the land to support them.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/124PS9Z) that the some residents are complaining that horses of Placitas are tearing up yards and causing public safety risks because of its rising population numbers.

Last month, a horse was killed when it was hit by a vehicle on N.M. 165 in Placitas.

The New Mexico State University Board of Regents is set to pick a new president Monday afternoon.

The regents are scheduled to go into a closed session at 3 p.m. to vote, then meet in public at 4 p.m. to announce their pick.

Former Gov. Garrey Carruthers is among the five finalists. Also being considered are former Texas Tech University president Guy Bailey, former University of Nevada, Las Vegas president David Ashley, former Texas A&M University president Elsa Murano and University of Colorado Denver Dean Daniel Howard.

State officials plan to launch a campaign against underage drinking in New Mexico.

The state Department of Transportation and Gov. Susana Martinez are scheduled to unveil a public service campaign on Monday that includes television advertising to help prevent underage drinking.

The department says a website has been designed to educate young people about alcohol problems and encourage alternatives to drinking.

The new campaign is to be announced at a middle school in Bernalillo.

In response to a lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently inspected a slaughterhouse in southern New Mexico and approved the facility.

But the approval of the general public has been harder to come by for the owners of the Valley Meat Company in Roswell. They plan to prepare horse meat for human consumption and ship it to Mexico and overseas. 

State and federal biologists in New Mexico and Arizona are being recognized for rescuing threatened Gila trout during a massive wildfire last summer.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership recently presented the 2012 Extraordinary Action Award to the game and fish departments in Arizona and New Mexico, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 Santa Fe Mayor David Coss says he won't seek a third term.

Coss made his announcement Thursday in a statement.

He has spent the past eight years as the city's mayor after being a Santa Fe city council member for four years.

Coss says he wants to spend more time with his wife and family and looks forward to travelling and pursuing other interests.

New Mexico is teaming up with other states as part an effort to get drivers along historic Route 66 to wear their seat belts.

The crackdown begins Friday and will last 24 hours.

The effort started in 2010 with a handful of law enforcement agencies in central Oklahoma. It has now expanded to include highway patrol troopers, state police officers and other agencies in eight states along the famed "Mother Road."

New Mexico State Police Chief Robert Shilling says seat belts are the best way for drivers and passengers to protect themselves.

Gov. Susana Martinez's administration is tightening controls over capital improvement financing by requiring that local governments, school districts and others in New Mexico have a current audit before state money is released for a project

Martinez issued an executive order on Thursday to ensure that capital project financing goes only to governmental organizations that have completed their annual audits and corrected any problems identified by auditors.