Santa Fe Deputies To Receive Naloxone Training – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
By the end of this week, all 80 Santa Fe County deputies will be trained in how to use naloxone and will carry the overdose remedy in their patrol cars.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that it is the first law enforcement agency in New Mexico to train officers to administer naloxone, a powerful drug that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
The state Department of Health has been trying to expand the use of naloxone in the medical community for several years. And as of 2014, pharmacists can now prescribe and dispense to those patients or family members taking pain medicine.
Law enforcement has been slower to embrace the drug, but Law Enforcement Training International president A.G. Sonny Leeper says that attitude is changing.
Mandated Police Reforms Begin To Add Up For Albuquerque - The Associated Press & KOB
The costs of overhauling Albuquerque's police force and paying for a federal monitor to oversee the work are beginning to mount for the city.
Albuquerque television station KOB-TV reports crisis intervention training, recruitment efforts, support staff to implement the federally-mandated reforms and costs related to body cameras totaled more than $668,000 for the first three months of the year.
That's on top of fees charged by federal monitor James Ginger. The first U.S. Department of Justice invoice shows Ginger's services cost nearly $400,000 for the first quarter.
City officials have estimated the reforms could cost up to $6 million a year for the next several years.
The DOJ started the monitoring as part of an agreement reached after Albuquerque police drew scrutiny over more than 40 shootings involving its officers since 2010.
New Mexico Gov. Martinez Signs Tax Incentives – The Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has signed into law a package of tax incentives recently approved by legislators during a special session.
The Republican governor signed the legislation during a visit to the Bioscience Center in Albuquerque.
She says the incentives will help recruit new businesses to New Mexico, make it easier for small businesses to grow and boost trade and commerce along New Mexico's southern border.
With Martinez's signature, roughly a half-dozen tax incentives already on the books are being expanded. Two new tax breaks are being created.
Last week, the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate raced through a four-hour special session following an agreement that called for a compromise on capital spending.
The tax incentives were among the three pieces of legislation that passed both chambers.
New Mexico Supreme Court Sides With Unions In Wage Case – The Associated Press
Siding with a group of unions, the New Mexico Supreme Court has ordered state labor officials to revamp the way they set wages and benefits for certain public works projects.
The court issued its ruling Monday, saying a 2009 change in the law clearly requires wages and benefits for public projects to be based on collective bargaining agreements.
The New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council along with unions representing electricians and sheet metal workers first raised concerns in 2011. At the time, state officials told the court they would be able to set prevailing wages and benefits within months.
When that didn't happen, the unions filed another petition.
Albuquerque attorney Shane Youtz says thousands of New Mexico trade workers stand to get a pay raise thanks to the ruling.
More Than 3,000 Names Taken Off Curry County's Voter Roll – The Associated Press & The Clovis News Journal
More than 3,000 names were purged last week from Curry County's voter roll.
The Clovis News Journal reports that a document obtained through a public records request shows that people were purged if they hadn't voted before August 2012.
Curry County Clerk Rosalie Riley says she had to purge the names to comply with state law, and only eight people re-registered to vote out of 3,324.
Riley said she's placed ads in local papers and made announcements online and on radio stations in an attempt to notify voters being purged that they can still re-register before elections begin.
Riley said people have started calling her office after her ads began to appear.
Santa Fe Prepares For Change In Shopping-Bag Rules – The Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican
The city of Santa Fe gave away more than 1,000 reusable bags over the weekend as the city moves closer toward enforcing a new requirement that stores charge shoppers 10 cents for paper bags.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that officials will continue setting up tents at locations across the city throughout the month to prepare residents for the change.
In late April, the City Council approved the fee after a ban on plastic grocery bags didn't motivate enough people to bring reusable totes. The change takes effect later this month.
The money collected on paper bags will go toward environmental educational efforts and giving out free reusable tote bags to people in Santa Fe.
City officials believe the fee will produce $336,000 in its first year.
Doña Ana County Using Polygraph To Probe Work Allegations – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
Doña Ana County road workers have been undergoing polygraph testing as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoing.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that Doña Ana County Manager Julia Brown confirmed the testing last week.
Brown says she has received numerous complaints in the last several months of misconduct, retaliatory activity, and theft of equipment and supplies.
Some of the roads department's nearly 40 employees say polygraph testing is demoralizing.
Brown says a polygraph test is one of the strategies they are using since nobody has stepped forward to confirm any allegations.
She says even managers are subjected to the testing and that they got permission from the employees' union.
The testing took place between December and May.
Brown says she is still waiting on the results.
New Mexico Supreme Court Asked To Review 'Copper Rule' – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
New Mexico's attorney general and environmentalists want the state's highest court to review an appellate court's upholding of regulations that govern groundwater pollution by copper mines.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that Attorney General Hector Balderas and several watchdog groups are asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on a previous ruling maintaining the "copper rule."
The regulations, which were approved in September 2013, include new engineering requirements for handling leftover rock, leach piles, tanks and pipelines.
Clean water advocates say the regulations give copper-producing companies too much leeway to pollute groundwater.
Supporters say overturning the rule at this point could threaten the state's copper industry.
The state Court of Appeals ruled in April that the regulations do not violate the state's Water Quality Act.
San Juan County Jail Named In Wrongful Death Lawsuit – Farmington Daily Times, Associated Press
A San Juan County prison has been named in a wrongful death lawsuit for the second time this year.
The Daily Times in Farmington reports that Charles Carter filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the San Juan County Adult Detention Center and its contracted health care provider.
In the complaint, Carter says his brother, William "Billy" Carter," was denied a prescription inhaler before his Feb. 13 death.
Mitch Burns, the attorney representing Carter, says the 57-year-old inmate likely died from a respiratory issue.
Charles Carter is asking for compensatory and punitive damages and court-mandated changes in prison policy and training.
Billy Carter was being held on charges that he molested several children.
Tom Havel, a detention center administrator and co-defendant, said Friday he had no comment on the suit.
Bernalillo County Settles Lawsuit Over Inmate's Alleged Rape – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A female inmate has settled a lawsuit with Bernalillo County over her alleged rape by a jail guard.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that court documents show the civil lawsuit was settled earlier this month.
Documents did not include the amount but the newspaper reports a settlement of $680,000.
Laura Schauer Ives, an attorney representing the plaintiff, declined to discuss settlement terms.
In the suit, the inmate alleges Metropolitan Detention Center corrections officer Andres Verdugo took her to a closet and raped her in June 2014. He also allegedly threatened inmates if they complained about him.
Verdugo was arrested on suspicion of criminal sexual penetration and intimidation of a witness. He resigned two months later.
An attorney for Verdugo did not respond to a request for comment.
Santa Fe, Espanola Sue To Stop County Tax Hike – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Santa Fe and Española are suing Santa Fe County as well as the state to stop a tax hike from taking effect next month.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the two city governments and several Española businesses have joined in the lawsuit over a county gross receipts tax.
The suit, which was filed Thursday in state District Court in Santa Fe, says the increase would lead to a "tax disincentive for businesses to locate or expand" in parts of the county.
A 2013 state tax package allows local governments to impose a higher gross-receipts tax rate within their jurisdictions.
The two cities claim the new tax doesn't apply within their boundaries. They say county ordinances should only apply to unincorporated areas belonging to the county.