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Governor-Elect Picks Three Cabinet Secretaries, State Clears Rape Kit Backlog

Marisa Demarco/KUNM

Democratic Governor-Elect Of New Mexico Begins AppointmentsAssociated Press

Democratic New Mexico Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed Cabinet secretaries at three major agencies that oversee state finances, Medicaid and subsidized nutrition programs, and the regulation of energy and mining industries.

Lujan Grisham on Friday emphasized commitments to expanding the state's clean-energy economy and shoring up health care access in announcing the Cabinet appointments.

Sarah Cottrell Propst will lead the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department that oversees oil and natural gas regulation and incentives for renewable energy.

Olivia Padilla-Jackson moves from Albuquerque city government to lead the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.

University of New Mexico medical professor David Scrase will lead the Human Services Department that administers some $7 billion in federal and state funds for Medicaid other services for low-income individuals and families.

Incoming New Mexico Governor To Name First Cabinet Picks - Associated Press

New Mexico Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to name the first of her appointees as she builds her executive cabinet in preparation for taking over the state's top post in January.

The Democrat has scheduled a news conference Friday at the State Capitol.

Lujan Grisham in November selected a panel of experts to help identify potential cabinet leaders and to make recommendations. She said at the time that the goal was to set the state on a new path.

She has talked about growing the economy and reforming education.

Lujan Grisham will follow Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, whose second consecutive term wraps up at the end of the year. She will inherit a significant budget surplus for the coming fiscal year — most of which is linked to the state's oil and natural gas sector.

New Mexico Crime Lab Clears Rape Kit Backlog, Governor SaysAssociated Press

Gov. Susana Martinez says the state crime lab has cleared its backlog of nearly 1,400 rape kits ahead of schedule.

In her announcement Friday, the governor said a combination of $1.2 million in grant funding and the hiring of two temporary forensic scientists helped officials clear the backlog of evidence kits that had been in the state's lab.

A 2015 audit of New Mexico law enforcement agencies found at the time that there were 5,300 total untested rape kits in the state. Three-quarters of them, however, were in Albuquerque police's crime lab, which operates separately from the state lab.

Martinez says remaining grant funding will be provided to Albuquerque to help clear its backlog of rape kits. Experts say each kit can cost law enforcement $600 to $1,000 to examine.

New Mexico To Pay $63M More For Medicaid Next Year - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press

New Mexico's Medicaid program will cost state taxpayers an additional $63 million next year.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the federal government is scaling back the share it pays to cover many New Mexican residents under the health insurance program.

The federal government covered 93 percent of costs this year but will pay 90 percent in the budget year that begins in July.

Human Services Secretary Brent Earnest says that alone will cost the state an extra $32.5 million.

The total cost of the program will rise for other reasons, too, such as the federal government rolling back some financial support for children's health insurance and rising enrollment.

With all of this, Medicaid's cost to the state general fund is projected to increase to a total of $997 million in the next fiscal year.

Man Linked To Baby Shooting Had Previous Gun Charges –  Gallup Independent, Associated Press

A man facing child abuse charges after a 3-year-old boy allegedly shot his 8-month-old sister in a New Mexico motel also is facing gun charges in another case involving the same children.

The Gallup Independent reports Tyrell Bitsilly was arrested in October after police say he fired a gun during an argument inside a car in downtown Gallup, New Mexico. Police say the 3-year-old boy, the baby, and the children's mother, Shayanne Nelson, were inside the car.

The 21-year-old Bitsilly was charged with child abuse and aggravated assault in that case and ordered to stay away from the children and the 18-year-old Nelson.

Nelson told police she and Bitsilly were in a motel shower on Saturday when her boy found a gun and accidentally shot the baby in the face.

Bitsilly was ordered Wednesday held on $70,000 bail.

Migrant Girl's Dad Said She Was Ill On BusAssociated Press

The U.S. Border Patrol says a 7-year-old girl who died while she was in custody appeared to be in good health when she was first detained along a remote stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.

An intake form signed by the girl's father said she wasn't sick, wasn't sweating and seemed mentally alert. The form was obtained by The Associated Press.

Immigration officials briefing reporters say the girl's father told officials that she was sick and vomiting when they were on a bus heading to a Border Patrol station. When they arrived 90 minutes later, the girl wasn't breathing.

Emergency personnel revived her twice, and she was sent to an El Paso hospital via helicopter at 7:40 a.m. She died Dec. 8. An autopsy is pending.

7-year-old Immigrant Girl Dies After Border Patrol Arrest - Associated Press

Federal immigration authorities have confirmed that a 7-year-old girl who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with her father last week died after being taken into the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol.

The Washington Post reports the girl died of dehydration and shock more than eight hours after she was arrested by agents near Lordsburg, New Mexico. The girl was from Guatemala and was traveling with a group of 163 people who approached agents to turn themselves in.

It's unknown what happened to the girl during those eight hours before she started having seizures and was flown to an El Paso hospital.

In a statement, Customs and Border Protection said the girl had not eaten or consumed water in several days.

The agency did not provide the Associated Press with the statement it gave to the Post, despite repeated requests.

High Court Rules Taxpayer-Funded Textbooks For Private Schools OKAssociated Press

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that taxpayer money can be used to buy non-religious textbooks for students in all types of private schools.

The decision reversed an earlier call that said doing so was unconstitutional. But the New Mexico high court was told to reconsider that earlier decision by the U.S. Supreme Court after the justices ruled on a somewhat similar religious case in Missouri.

The case began in 2012 when two parents sued to stop the state from using taxpayer money for books and computer programs at private schools.

That state's public education department had stopped funding textbooks for students in private schools following the state Supreme Court's 2015 ruling.

Construction Work On Massive Cavity Expected To Last 2 YearsCarlsbad Current-Argus, Associated Press

Construction work on a 600-foot-deep cavity in Carlsbad began this month as crews re-positioned access routes and brought materials to the site ahead of February's predicted remediation start date.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the Carlsbad Brine Well, located directly underneath the South Y junction of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 62/180, was deemed unstable in 2008, and its collapse was estimated to cause potentially $1 billion in damages and litigation.

The Wood Group was contracted earlier this year to design and implement a project to fill the cavity with grout, while pulling out the remaining brine water.

Records show the cavity is 720 feet long, 450 feet wide, 200 feet deep and lies about 425 feet beneath the surface.

Officials expect the entire process to take two years.

US Sets Jan. 31 Deadline For Colorado River Plan - Associated Press

Federal water managers are setting a Jan. 31 deadline for the seven Southwestern states that depend on the Colorado River to finalize unprecedented voluntary drought contingency plans they expect to have to enact in 2020.

Otherwise, top U.S. water official Brenda Burman says the federal government will announce in August the unspecified water restrictions it will impose on users in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada,Utah and Wyoming.

The river and the huge Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs provide drinking water to 40 million people and irrigation for crops in arid parts of the U.S. and Mexico.

Most states met Burman's goal to reach agreements on plans to use less water.

Burman told a water users conference in Las Vegas that California and Arizona are the holdouts.

Record Number Of Mexican Gray Wolves Found Dead In 2018 - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

Wildlife managers have confirmed a record number of Mexican gray wolves have been reported dead this year, fueling concerns about the decades-long effort to return the endangered predator to the southwestern U.S.

Officials say five wolves were found dead in New Mexico in November, bringing the total for the year to 17. It marks one of the deadliest months in the history of the wolf reintroduction program.

The U.S. government began releasing Mexican wolves in 1998. The latest annual survey indicated at least 114 wolves were roaming parts of New Mexico and Arizona in early 2018.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating but hasn't said how the animals died.

Environmentalists critical of the program's management say losses need to be stemmed and more captive wolves should be released.

US Nuclear Repository Turns Focus To Maintenance Projects - Associated Press

Work to dispose of tons of radioactive waste from defense sites around the United States will be put on hold next month so maintenance can be done at the federal government's only underground nuclear waste repository.

Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant announced during a meeting Thursday that the three-week work stoppage will begin Jan. 7.

The maintenance will include work on electrical substations and the refurbishing of areas where waste is stored until it's taken below ground to be disposed of in rooms carved from an ancient salt formation.

The facility receives between five and 10 shipments weekly. That's not expected to increase much until a new $135 million ventilation system is installed.

Repository managers say they've made progress this year but that air quality remains an issue.