Associated Press

New Mexico has been awarded $500,000 in federal funding as part of a national project that aims to get states ready for more alternative fuel cars and trucks.

The Santa Fe National Forest is starting a restoration project along the Rio Grande near the old town of Buckman.

Forest officials say the project involves recreation enhancement and habitation restoration, including the removal of non-native species such as salt cedar and Russian olive trees on 34 acres.

Trailheads will also be designated.

The decision to move forward with the project stems from years of collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management and the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

Regulators in New Mexico are negotiating with eight pueblos and two tribes over whether slot machine wagers started with "free play" or "bonus point" credits should be included when the casinos report their total quarterly wagers.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/UczmS9) that Gaming Control Board officials maintain the tribal casinos are paying the state less than they should by not adding the value of "free" or "bonus" play to the total amount of cash wagered and reported to the state.

New Mexicans can buy permits to cut Christmas trees on national forest land in the state.

The permit prices vary depending on the forest, but are available through Dec. 24.

The Gila and Lincoln national forests are selling $5 permits, and the tags are free for pinon trees in the Gila.

The permits are $10 in the Santa Fe and Cibola national forests for trees up to 10 feet.

A foundation backed by professional golfer Notah Begay III has identified New Mexico as "ground zero" for finding better ways to address obesity and diabetes in Native American children.

In a report released Monday, Begay's foundation pointed to New Mexico's large Native American population and what it describes as dramatic health and educational disparities.

The foundation has spent the past year discussing with tribal leaders, health experts and others the challenges of dealing with obesity and diabetes. More than 250 stakeholders participated in the discussions.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico says it plans to push for a new state law that would give pregnant teenagers maternity leave from school.

KRQE-TV reports (http://bit.ly/SJPPtp) that ACLU of New Mexico says it will push for the proposal in the next legislative session in January. In addition under the proposal, pregnant and parenting students, boys and girls, would get up to 14 days of absences a semester. Currently, students typically get up to 10 days per semester.

PORTALES, N.M. (AP) — Dairy farmers are hoping for federal help after severe drought and high feed prices have closed around 40 dairies in New Mexico.

The Portales News-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/SZdS7U) that experts believe the U.S. Farm Bill could give dairy farmers relief by ending old price support systems.

New Mexico State University Extension Dairy Specialist Robert Hagevoort (HAYG'-vohrt) says the proposal would create a regulated producer-paid insurance program. He says the program would make sure that if margins are upside down, insurance will pay out.

New Mexico's ski season kicked off Saturday with the opening of the Sipapu resort and at least two more resorts are expected to open later this week.

Taos Ski Valley and Red River Ski Area are expected to open by Thanksgiving Day. Ski Santa Fe officials say they won't open until after the Thanksgiving weekend but could open within 48 hours of significant snowfall.

A federal agency's proposal to use helicopters to gather hundreds of wild horses in northwestern New Mexico has drawn criticism from animal advocates who are urging the government to use gentler tactics.

The Bureau of Land Management office plans to round up more than 270 wild horses off the Jicarilla/Carracas Mesa area near Navajo Dam.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (http://bit.ly/TTmvCe) that the federal agency's preferred option includes using helicopters.

Jobless New Mexicans will be able to apply online for unemployment benefits under a new state system that will be launched in early January.

The Workforce Solutions Department said the computer system also will help employers by allowing them to electronically submit required wage reports as well as pay taxes and track their accounts.

The system will be launched Jan. 6, and is intended to eliminate the use of mail for much of the business involving unemployment compensation.

A coyote hunting contest organized by a New Mexico gun shop that set off protests from animal rights activists has ended without problems.

Gunhawk Firearms business manager Rick Gross says the hunt ended at noon Sunday and all hunters had checked in with the shop's owner by 2 p.m. Gross didn't have a count for the number of coyotes taken. But he says the last count he had from Saturday was 23 and he expected no more than 60 would be shot in all.

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico has moved up in the leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The caucus announced Thursday in Washington, D.C. that Lujan was elected first vice chair for the next congressional session.

Lujan, a Democrat, represents the 3rd Congressional District of northern New Mexico and has been the second vice chair of the caucus.

New Mexico's newly elected member of Congress, Michelle Lujan Grisham, will be caucus whip.

New Mexico's state land commissioner says participants in a commercial coyote killing contest run by a gun store in Los Lunas won't be allowed to use state trust land.

Commissioner Ray Powell says in a letter to the owner of Gunhawk Firearms that a permit or lease is needed for commercial use of the state lands and none has been issued. The letter obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican (http://bit.ly/QLFIZw ) on Thursday says anyone participating in the hunt who kills coyotes on state land will be considered a trespasser.

Republican Governor Susana Martinez has pushed unsuccessfully for two years for legislation to protect spacecraft manufacturers from legal liability.

She'll now have help from the Save Our Spaceport Coalition, a group of aerospace-related companies and business associations.

A conservative political group is criticizing Governor Susana Martinez for deciding to establish a state-run health insurance exchange.

A new initiative has been launched aimed at getting more recruits into the Albuquerque police academy.

Mayor Richard Berry and Albuquerque Police Chief Raymond Schultz announced Wednesday an initiative that will give each cadet a $5,000 bonus for completing the academy and $500 for city employees who refer qualified candidates. The city has also launched a new campaign aimed at attracting more recruits.

The U.S. Postal Service says it's looking for a few good men and women.

Postal officials say dozens of long-time employees are expected to retire so they're accepting applications for various positions at mail facilities around New Mexico.

The jobs are described as transitional and postal support positions. None of the jobs offer benefits, but some come with the potential of permanent employment with the agency.

The pay ranges from $12.38 to $16 per hour.

A new study says the gap between wealthy households and low-income families in New Mexico continues to grow, and it is now the widest in the nation.

The report was released Wednesday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. It says that from 2008 to 2010, the richest 5 percent of New Mexico households had average incomes nearly 17 times higher than the bottom 20 percent of households.

That's a jump from two years earlier, when the gap was around 14 times higher.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's administration is moving ahead to establish a state-run clearinghouse to help small businesses and tens of thousands of individuals find affordable health insurance they currently lack.

However, a fight over the health insurance exchange could break out in next year's Legislature. Attorney General Gary King's office is reviewing whether new legislation is needed to implement an exchange or whether it can be done as the Martinez administration plans without a change in current law.

The Bernalillo County Commission has voted to post the names and salaries of all its workers online as a transparency measure.

The commission voted 3-2 Tuesday evening to adopt the online postings as part of an openness and transparency measure.

Bernalillo County has been posting public salaries but not along with the workers' names.

Measure sponsor Commissioner Wayne Johnson says in a statement that transparency in government is the foundation for good government and allows citizens to hold public workers and elected officials accountable.

Lowe's plans to expand its New Mexico call center and add 300 jobs in the next year.

The home improvement giant says it will expand its current operations in Albuquerque by taking over an adjacent 32,000-square-foot building.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/SnyKoO ) that the customer support center will employ 900 people after the jobs announced on Tuesday are added. The call center opened last December.

Some of New Mexico's top judges are trying to make a case for more court funding.

Albuquerque television station KOB-TV reports (http://bit.ly/RSIsCS) that judges came from across New Mexico on Tuesday to testify before the Legislative Finance Committee in Santa Fe.

The downturn in the economy has meant leaner government budgets and the courts are among affected. The judges are pushing for about a 3 percent increase in funding for the next budget year.

A New Mexico State Police sergeant who complained about a lack of diversity among leaders of the State Police and Department of Public Safety has claimed in a lawsuit that he was retaliated against.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/ZBlZMq) that Henry Trujillo filed a lawsuit against DPS in state court in Santa Fe last week that alleges the agency violated laws against racial and age discrimination and retaliated against him.

New Mexico's business-related bankruptcies dropped to a six-year low during the 12 months ending with September.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/ZlyT1V) that petitions were filed for 185 bankruptcies in which the majority of the debt was from business activities.

That's a 19 percent drop from 229 petitions with mostly business debt over the same federal fiscal year period in 2010-11.

Business-related bankruptcies across the country dropped about 16 percent over the same period.

The New Mexico peanut butter plant linked to a salmonella outbreak remains idle as officials wait for federal approval to reopen.

Sunland Inc. spokeswoman Katalin Coburn declined Monday to estimate when operations at the country's largest organic peanut processing plant may resume, saying only that officials are awaiting a response from the Food and Drug Administration.

A bipartisan commission will meet next month in Albuquerque to consider applicants for three vacancies on the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

The Judicial Nominating Commission will make recommendations to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez for possible appointments to the 19-member court.

The vacancies will occur in January because three Metro Court judges were elected to the district court in the 2nd Judicial District of Bernalillo County — Judges Christina Argyres, Benjamin Chavez and Briana Zamora.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Nearly a third of the 112 members of Legislature will be new to the House and Senate when lawmakers convene in January, and that could end up helping Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her push to end driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

There will be at least 15 new senators and the election appears to have added more supporters of the governor's license proposal, which has been a centerpiece of her legislative agenda.

Santa Fe didn't meet its goal of doubling its recycling tonnage over the past year, but the amount of recyclable materials delivered to a regional processing facility is rising.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (http://bit.ly/ZezLWj) that city leaders have been focused on getting more businesses to recycle and to distribute more recycling bins to residential customers.

Since July, the city has signed up 24 businesses for recycling collection and has a goal of adding a new account every week.

Authorities say the origin of a substance that led to the evacuation of an industrial park near the New Mexico-Texas state line and sickened about 200 people remains unknown.

Capt. Rich Libicer of the New Mexico State Police tells the Las Cruces Sun-News (http://bit.ly/Sep8MW) that investigators are trying to pinpoint a possible location for where the substance may have come from at the complex of factories and warehouses in Santa Teresa, N.M., near the Mexican border just northwest of El Paso, Texas.

Gov. Susana Martinez has signed an order to support the deployment of New Mexico resources to northeastern states that need help in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Friday's executive order makes $200,000 available to the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to coordinate the deployment and support of New Mexico resources for relief efforts.

The storm made landfall on the East Coast on Oct. 29 and has caused an estimated $50 billion in damages.