New Mexico AG Seeks To Void Hispanic Land Grant Transfer- Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said Wednesday he is seeking to void a 2003 land transfer from an historic Hispanic land grant on grounds it was illegal.
Balderas's office filed a complaint against the Greeley, Colorado-based nonprofit group Al Frente de Lucha over a title transfer of property belonging to La Merced de Los Pueblos de Tierra Amarilla in northern New Mexico.
The complaint contends a nonprofit created to manage the La Merced land grant transferred about 216 acres to Al Frente de Lucha, but says the people representing the La Merced group were not elected board members.
In addition, the board representing La Merced also did not approve the transfer, the complaint said.
Balderas said whoever signed the agreement did so without the authorities of the board, making the agreement void.
"My office will fight to preserve the history and culture of land grants throughout New Mexico," Balderas said in a statement. "This land must be returned immediately, and placed in a trust for the benefit of Merced de Los Pueblos de Tierra Amarilla."
New Mexico Stops Taking Fees From Nonunion State Workers- Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
New Mexico has stopped deducting union fees from the paychecks of more than 1,800 nonunion state workers following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month.
The Albuquerque Journal reports State Personnel Director Justin Najaka told employees in a memo earlier this month that the agency would immediately cease the payroll deductions.
The court had struck down the practice of "fair share" fees, ruling that non-union government workers cannot be required to financially support union activity.
Carter Bundy, the political and legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, says the state memo is the latest jab at labor unions. The union has about 10,000 members in New Mexico.
Bundy says more state workers have become union members since the court ruling last month.
Judge Rules No Law Enforcement Duties For County Sheriff-Los Alamos Monitor, Associated Press
A judge ruled in favor of Los Alamos County, supporting the county's request to bar Sheriff Marco Lucero from performing law enforcement duties.
The Los Alamos Monitor reports Lucero's attorney, A. Blair Dunn, says he plans to appeal last Wednesday's decision.
Lucero sued the county last August, demanding the New Mexico First District Court decide whether state law takes precedence over the county's charter, which allows the county council to divide duties between the sheriff's office and the county police department as it sees fit.
The county council opted last year to reduce the sheriff's budget to about $7,000 a year and transfer process serving duties and Lucero's executive assistant to the Los Alamos Police Department. Lucero's undersheriff and two deputies were laid off, leaving Lucero with one duty to perform — maintaining the Los Alamos sex offender registry.
Records Show State Reached Quick Settlement With Officer- Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Documents show the state quickly reached a $200,000 settlement in 2015 with a New Mexico State Police officer who recently has been accused by a former colleague of having gambled while on duty.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the state settled with now-former officer Ruben Maynes two months after his attorney informed Gov. Susana Martinez and the police chief that he was investigating claims of harassment and retaliation against them. The documents didn't detail the claims.
Maynes recently was referenced in a lawsuit unrelated to the settlement and filed by a sergeant and two former officers against state police. The lawsuit alleges Maynes owed debts to other officers and the governor.
Martinez's office has dismissed suggestions that her administration settled with Maynes so he could pay his debts.
His lawyer declined comment to the newspaper.
New Mexico's Child Abuse Tracking System Has Become Obsolete- Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Officials say New Mexico's child-abuse tracking system has become obsolete since it was launched more than 20 years ago.
Officials tell the Albuquerque Journal that the computer system is so difficult to access that they need to take printouts to court or on family visits.
Rep. Gail Chasey, who works as a court-appointed attorney in abuse and neglect cases, compares the system to a dinosaur.
Chasey says she sometimes loses time crossing out irrelevant data on the printouts by hand.
Lawmakers suggested upgrading the case management system during a Tuesday meeting where they brainstormed ways to help the New Mexico agency responsible for protecting children from abuse.
The state's Children, Youth and Families Department has been criticized after a few shocking abuse cases came to light.
Businesses In New Mexico Counties Eligible For Drought Help – Associated Press
Businesses in five southern New Mexico counties are now eligible for low-interest federal disaster loans to help offset losses caused by a drought that began earlier this year.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced the loans Tuesday, saying the focus is the economic effects on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered production losses due to the dry conditions.
Eligibility is based on financial effects of the disaster and not on property damage. Businesses in Doña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna and Sierra counties have until March 2019 to apply.
There have been showers and thunderstorms across northern and central New Mexico through the past week, but forecasters say not everyone has received abundant rainfall since monsoon season has kicked in.
Parts of southern New Mexico are in moderate to severe drought.
Authorities Probing Cyber Attack Against City Of Alamogordo – Alamogordo Daily News, Associated Press
Authorities are investigating a possible cyber attack against the city of Alamogordo.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports Alamogordo City Administration discovered that the city's finance department was the victim of fraudulent emails after city finance employees were misled by official looking emails from a contractor.
Officials say the fraudulent emails asked to make changes to account information that led to payments being redirected to a fraudulent vendor account.
City Attorney Petria Schreiber says no resident's information was compromised or given out.
Schreiber says city officials turned over the case to the police department, FBI and IRS.
3 Albuquerque Jail Inmates Are Sickened, Taken To A Hospital – Associated Press
Authorities say three jail inmates in Albuquerque have been taken to a hospital after being sickened by an unknown substance.
Bernalillo County officials say six inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center complained of being sick around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The jail's medical contractor determined at least one of the inmates needed to be transported to University of New Mexico Hospital by ambulance.
County officials say three inmates were transported to the hospital and their conditions are not immediately known but their ailments aren't considered life-threatening.
The housing area where the incident occurred has been evacuated and an investigation into the incident is being conducted by jail staff and the county Sheriff's Office.
Secretary Perry Alma Mater Says He Didn't Tilt Nuke Lab Bid - By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press
Texas A&M University leaders say Energy Secretary Rick Perry wasn't involved in a $2.5 billion nuclear weapons lab contract that partly went to his alma mater.
Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said Tuesday the National Nuclear Security Administration had favorably scored their proposal to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico, before the former Texas governor signed off. Sharp and Perry were college friends at Texas A&M.
Texas A&M will help manage the birthplace of the atomic bomb along with the University of California and Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute. The NSSA awarded the contract last month and previously said Perry played no role in the evaluation or selection.
The contract is a big step as federal officials look to get the lab back on track after safety lapses and missed goals.
State Warns Medical Pot Dispensaries On Cannabidiol Sales – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
State health officials are warning medical marijuana dispensaries against selling cannabidiol produced outside of New Mexico or from plants grown outside the state.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Medical Cannabis Program director Kenny Vigil wrote to dispensaries June 7 that the practice is "in violation of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act and must cease."
The act forbids businesses licensed in New Mexico from bringing cannabis or cannabis-derived products into New Mexico. The New Mexico Department of Health says cannabidiol, or CBD, falls into that category.
Ultra Health CEO and President Duke Rodriguez says the CBD question in New Mexico is headed for further legal challenges, along with limits on the number of plants licensed growers are permitted and limits on dispensary locations.
Remington Bid Provides Insight Into US Tribe's Aspirations – New York Times, Associated Press
Remington management has turned down an offer by one of the largest American Indian tribes in the U.S. to buy the storied gun maker as the company rebuilds itself after emerging from bankruptcy.
The Navajo Nation submitted a bid in May, offering between $475 million and $525 million. The tribe planned to pay cash.
A columnist with The New York Times was first to report on the bid Monday.
The Navajos had proposed shifting away from public consumers to police and defense contracts. Profits would then be invested in research and development of "smart guns" — those outfitted with technology to ensure they can only be used by their owners.
To address high unemployment, Navajo leaders have long sought to bring manufacturing jobs to the reservation, which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
New Mexico Prisons Expected To Fill Up As Population Grows – Associated Press
A forecast from the state sentencing commission says New Mexico's prison system will have more inmates in the next few years than it currently has cells to hold them.
The head of the commission presented the forecast this week to members of a legislative committee focused on the courts, corrections and criminal justice.
While the growth of New Mexico's prison population has slowed, the state is bucking the national trend as its total prison population continues to grow.
The correction system is projected to hold 7,192 men by the 2024 fiscal year. That will exceed current capacity by more than five dozen. The number of women in the system is expected to surpass capacity that same year.
The report shows many New Mexico inmates are in for violent crimes and drug offenses.
City Pays $212K To Settle Suit Over Police Officer Shooting – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The city of Santa Fe has paid more than $212,000 to settle a lawsuit over a police officer's shooting of a neighborhood watchman when both responded to a late-night burglar alarm.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the payment settles claims against the city, Officer Charles Laramie and former Police Chief Ray Rael over Laramie's shooting of Robert Dominguez in March 2013.
Dominguez, a former Santa Fe police officer and Santa Fe County sheriff's deputy, died at age 78 the following January from what family members said were complications from his three gunshot wounds.
Court documents indicate a settlement in the wrongful death suit was reached last fall. But there was a legal tussle over who would receive the money.
Cammie Nichols, attorney for Dominguez's children, says the settlement is fair.