Meeting To Address Ballot Questions On Sick Leave, Campaign Finance – Albuquerque Journal
Bernalillo County Commissioners will meet Thursday to discuss adding questions to the Nov. 8 ballot on public financing for campaigns and an ordinance mandating paid sick leave for workers.
The Albuquerque Journal reports officials are debating whether they must place the full seven-page sick leave ordinance on the ballot or if a summary is sufficient.
City attorneys say the entire ordinance must be on the ballot and opponents to the ordinance say they may sue if it’s not. Advocates used a petition drive to get the question on the ballot and they contend only a summary is necessary.
The public financing question is not overly long so it should fit on the ballot. It would boost funding for candidates running for mayor who choose to use public financing.
Ex-Curry County Jail Officer Is Accused Of Sexual Assault – The Associated Press
New Mexico State Police say a former Curry County Detention Center officer is accused of sexually assaulting a female inmate last month.
They say 27-year-old Christopher Riviers is being held on suspicion of two counts of sexual criminal penetration and voyeurism.
Police say the inmate told authorities that a corrections officer fondled and raped her while she was jailed from Aug. 11 to 17.
The detention center fired Riviers when police started their investigation and the inmate was moved to another detention facility.
Police say their investigation found that Riviers pursued the female inmate for voyeurism and committing unlawful sexual assault.
They also say Riviers passed notes to the inmate expressing interest in a relationship after her release from jail.
It was unclear Tuesday if Riviers has a lawyer yet.
Oil Downturn Ripples Through City Finances In New Mexico – The Associated Press
Hard times are turning more worrisome for cities and small towns in the heart of New Mexico oil and natural gas territory as state officials contemplate reclaiming dollars pledged to local construction projects to fill a budget gap.
New Mexico lawmakers are confronting a $458 million budget shortfall this fiscal year and may try to reel in money from public works projects before they're built.
Efforts by the state to sweep together idle cash worry Phillip Burch, the mayor of Artesia.
The southeastern New Mexico community already has cut its wages by 10 percent in an effort to close its own revenue shortfall, and Burch fears state budget remedies could freeze local projects that include plans for a new municipal water tower.
13-Year-Old Dies In Suspected Drug Overdose In Albuquerque – Associated Press
Police say a 13-year-old boy was found in an RV dead from a suspected drug overdose.
The Albuquerque Police Department says the boy's death was discovered late Monday morning.
The boy didn't live in the location where his body was found.
Police believe the boy died from an overdose of a narcotic or prescription drug.
It's unknown how the child got hold of the drugs.
Mora Superintendent Resigns After Just Three Months – Santa Fe New Mexican
The latest person to step into the superintendent job at Mora Independent School District is stepping down after only three months.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports LeAnne Salazar-Montoya was under pressure from the American Federation of Teachers-New Mexico after she fired three teachers over the summer.
She contends the employees did not sign their annual contracts by a set deadline. Salazar-Montoya said her decision was prompted by a desire to focus on her family and her graduate studies.
The Mora district serves about 400 students and has faced turnover in leadership. That included former superintendent Charles Trujillo, who is facing charges he falsified his education credentials.
Netflix TV Western Series Starts Production In New Mexico – The Associated Press
A new Netflix television series starring Jeff Daniels is in production in New Mexico.
New Mexico Film Office Director Nick Maniatis announced Tuesday that filming for the limited television series "Godless" has begun in Santa Fe.
He says the production will employ 280 crew members from the state.
"Godless" is set in the expansive landscape of the great western frontier.
The six-episode period drama is scheduled to premiere worldwide on Netflix in 2017.
Steven Soderbergh, director of "Traffic," is one of the series' executive producers.
Santa Fe County Looks To Overhaul Animal Control – Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe County is proposing changes that would require leashes for dogs, ban tying up pets on private property and increase licensing fees.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the new rules run contrary to traditions of more rural neighborhoods where dogs roam freely. The new rules would require a fence or a secure kennel area to prevent that.
Prohibitions against chaining animals on property, rather than putting up a fence, are likely to have the biggest impact on pet owners. The license fees would go to $25 from $10 annually for dogs not neutered or spayed. That would rise to $10 from $3 for dogs that are spayed or neutered.
Efforts to revamp rules met with backlash in 2012 and the County Commissioned abandoned the plans.
Missing Kentucky Teen Found Unharmed In New Mexico – Associated Press
Kentucky State Police say a teenager has been found unharmed in New Mexico two days after being reported missing.
State police say in a news release that 15-year-old Jenna Oakley of Danville was located in a motel parking lot in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
The statement says Oakley and 20-year-old Kenneth R. Nigh of Arlington, Indiana, were found sitting in a car that had been reported stolen Thursday following the death of Oakley's stepmother.
The statement says Nigh was charged with one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
15-Year-Old Dies In Sleepover At Home In Northern New Mexico – Los Alamos Monitor, Associated Press
Authorities say a 15-year-old Los Alamos student has died after a sleepover at a house in northern New Mexico.
The Los Alamos Monitor reports that Arleigh Huff was flown to an Albuquerque hospital on Aug. 28 from the home in the Jemez Mountain area after experiencing what authorities have said was a "medical incident."
Authorities declined to disclose the cause of death. Some youths brought liquor to the sleepover.
Lt. Allen Mills, investigations supervisor for the sheriff's department, says it will be probably a month or so before authorities can determine exactly what happened. Toxicology results are pending.
Mills says no charges have been filed and probably never will be filed, because only juveniles were at the party where he said alcohol was being served.
Investigators Release Account Of Officer's Shooting Death – Associated Press
A man who investigators said fatally shot an Alamogordo police officer had pointed a gun at officers as they were trying to take him into custody during a foot chase for having outstanding arrest warrants.
New Mexico State Police released a detailed account Sunday in the investigation into the death of Officer Clint Corvinus.
The chase began Friday morning after Corvinus and another officer recognized Joseph Moreno as being a fugitive who had outstanding arrest warrants.
Investigators say Moreno reached into a bag during the chase, pulled out a revolver and pointed it at the two officers at the scene.
The second officer shot Moreno, who then fatally shot Corvinus.
Moreno then resumed the foot chase and fired shots at the second officer, who then fatally shot Moreno.
Hitchhiker Explains What Led Up To Fatal Shooting Of Officer – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
A hitchhiker who authorities say jumped into a car with two Ohio fugitives before one of them fatally shot a New Mexico police officer says he had no way of knowing that the two men were suspects in a killing halfway across the country.
Tony Jones also told the Las Cruces Sun-News that he couldn't have imagined how the encounter would have ended up with all three being jailed in New Mexico.
Authorities say the car's driver, 38-year-old Jesse Hanes of Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot Hatch police Officer Jose Chavez during an Aug. 12 traffic stop.
Hanes and another passenger in the car, 36-year-old James Nelson of Newark, Ohio, are accused in the July 25 shooting death of a 62-year-old man just outside Chillicothe, Ohio.
On Road To 270, Arizona Is Home To Best Chance For A Spoiler – Associated Press
If Hillary Clinton carries Arizona in November, there's a good chance it's not because Democrats on their own have flipped a reliable GOP state they hope to win consistently someday.
Instead, Clinton and Democrats may have Gary Johnson to thank.
The Libertarian Party nominee's best chance to influence the presidential race may come in Arizona, where the former New Mexico governor appeals to a group of finicky conservatives who make up part of the GOP base.
About a dozen of the most contested states will help determine which candidate gets the 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. In Arizona, where the Republican nominee has carried the state in 11 of the past 12 presidential elections, Johnson could play the spoiler, potentially putting 11 electoral votes in Clinton's column.