New Lab Contractor To Pay New Mexico Gross Receipts Taxes- Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A management group that will soon take over Los Alamos National Laboratory will pay gross receipts taxes, easing concerns that millions of dollars in revenue could evaporate if the group was deemed to have nonprofit status.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reportsa representative of Triad National Security LLC confirmed this week state officials responded to a recent inquiry saying they believed the tax would apply to Triad.
Nonprofits generally are exempt from gross receipts taxes on most business transactions. The tax makes up a major source of revenue that the state collects and shares with local governments.
Triad is led by nonprofits — Texas A&M system, the University of California and the Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute.
Scott Sudduth, assistant vice chancellor with the Office of Federal Relations for the Texas A&M University system, addressed the tax issue Wednesday during a meeting of community members. He said Triad will take over in November and will begin paying the tax.
Audit Finds Agency Misspent $118K Meant For Senior Services- Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A state audit has found that a contractor improperly spent about $118,000 dollars in taxpayer money that was meant for senior services.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the state audit released Thursday shows that the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging spent the taxpayer dollars on fancy meals, alcohol, hotels and employee bonuses over a 2 1/2 period.
State Auditor Wayne Johnson said in a statement that the money was intended to feed and help low-income seniors.
Tim Armer, the executive director of the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, which runs the agency, has denied that the spending was improper.
He says a staff team-building retreat in 2017 was paid for with non-taxpayer funds in an internal account and the bonuses were paid with savings from vacant positions and unused overtime.
Another New Mexico County Files Lawsuit Over Opioid Crisis – Associated Press
An eastern New Mexico county is the latest to sue over the opioid crisis. This week, lawyers for Roosevelt County filed the challenge against numerous pharmaceutical companies and distributors in U.S. District Court.
The county is seeking relief for the costs of combatting a public nuisance that lawyers say stemmed from deceptive marketing campaigns that misrepresented the safety of long-term opioid use.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office sued major manufacturers and distributors last year over allegations that they exacerbated the state's drug addiction crisis.
Santa Fe, San Juan, and Mora counties also sued, and the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit in April, arguing that Native Americans suffer disproportionately from opioid dependency and abuse.
Navajos Choose From Record Number Of Presidential Hopefuls - Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press
Navajo voters have a record number of candidates to choose from in Tuesday's presidential primary election.
The race drew 18 candidates. The top two vote-getters move on to the November general election.
The candidates have touted plans for economic development and securing water rights, providing services to veterans and the elderly, and bringing younger Navajos back home.
The reservation is the largest in the country, extending into New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
More than 93,000 Navajos are registered to vote in the election.
New Mexico Republican Seeks Solutions To Child Abuse – Associated Press
Republican candidate for governor Steve Pearce wants New Mexico child-protection authorities to have greater powers to keep children in custody while investigating allegations of abuse.
Pearce announced plans on Thursday to reform the state Children, Youth and Families Department and other measures to better protect children from physical abuse and neglect if he’s elected governor.
A series of brutal deaths linked to child abuse in New Mexico have stoked public concern and calls by politicians for reform.
Pearce says New Mexico should join states that permit runaway children to be placed in protective care if they are determined to be in danger.
He also indicates support for higher pay at the state's child-welfare and protection agency and disciplinary action against officials who fail to properly investigate signs of child abuse.
Habitat For Southwest Snakes Spurs Legal Threat – Associated Press
Environmentalists are threatening to sue the U.S. government in an effort to set aside hundreds of square miles of habitat they say is necessary for the survival of the northern Mexican garter snake and the narrow-headed garter snake.
Once found in New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Mexico, biologists say the snakes have been limited to isolated populations due to nonnative species and the loss and degradation of their riverside habitats.
The Center for Biological Diversity contends in a notice made public this week that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to finalize the protection of more than 650 square miles of habitat for the snakes as proposed in 2013.
The agency has not published any recent updates regarding the status of the proposal.
Native American Activist Accused Of Assaulting 3 Women – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A Native American activist accused of raping women has arrived at the Santa Fe County jail after losing a fight against his extradition from Phoenix.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports 41-year-old Redwolf Pope is accused of raping a Seattle-area woman while she was visiting Santa Fe in 2017.
According to a criminal complaint and search warrant affidavit, Pope's roommates told police that they found videos that appeared to show Pope sexually assaulting unconscious women.
Pope was arrested in Phoenix in July on suspicion of criminal sexual penetration and other crimes.
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Rios says Pope was booked in the local jail Tuesday. Pope’s lawyer has previously said that Pope did not rape the women shown in the videos.
Body Of Boy Found At New Mexico Compound Returned To Georgia – KOB-TV, Associated Press
The body of a boy, whose remains were discovered at a New Mexico compound, was flown to Georgia.
KOB-TV reports the casket of Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, who was reported missing in December, was on board a flight Wednesday night from Albuquerque to Atlanta.
Authorities say his father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, says he was going to take Abdul-Ghani to the park, but never returned. Prosecutors say Siraj Ibn Wahhaj instead brought Abdul-Ghani to live on a compound in Taos County.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and four other adults were arrested after a raid on the compound in early August.
The adults were charged with child abuse because there were 11 children found living in squalor.
More charges could be filed after the office of the medical investigator determines how Abdul-Ghani died.