Local News

One out of every five senior citizens in New Mexico isn't getting enough to eat, according to a report from United Health Foundation. The America's Health Ranking Senior Report looks at this and other issues facing the aging population. 

A New Mexico county has paid $125,000 in attorney fees to a weekly newspaper for violating open records laws in a lawsuit over Billy the Kid's death.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/17DVeOu) that a De Baca County News attorney says the settlement agreement represents only the payment from Lincoln County to the newspapers, which sued along with East Mountain resident Gale Cooper in 2007.

The lawsuit sought documents relating to an investigation into Billy the Kid's death and whether he was buried in Fort Sumner.

An independent political subdivision in New Mexico has ordered the state Livestock Board to immediately remove all the free-roaming horses from a mountain hamlet.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/17DVf4N) that the Coronado Soil and Water Conservation District agency issued the order Monday to prevent damage to the land and to ensure public safety in Placitas, N.M.

Royalties from leases and oil and natural gas production on New Mexico trust land netted nearly $48 million in revenue in May.

The revenue coming into the State Land Office each month supports public schools, universities and hospitals.

New Mexico Land Commissioner Ray Powell says the goal is to create jobs while protecting the state's working lands.

In May, more than $42 million went to public schools alone. Special schools, such as the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamogordo and the School for the Deaf in Santa Fe, received nearly $2.3 million.

State water officials say the prospects are bleak that seasonal rains will provide much relief from the drought gripping New Mexico.

Legislators were told Monday by the State Engineers Office that the precipitation outlook for June to August is likely below normal for the eastern two-thirds of New Mexico and the odds favor above normal temperatures for most of New Mexico.

UPDATE 6/11 3p: The City of Albuquerque has opened cooling centers for residents affected by downed powerlines. Temperatures are expected to peak in the upper 90s and low 100s today.

KOB-TV reports the centers will offer air conditioning and water and are free to the public.  There are four locations. 

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The US fish and Wildlife Service proposed multiple changes to the mexican gray wolf recovery program late last week. Both ranchers and environmentalists say they aren’t happy with the proposal in it's current form.

Under the new provisions, the Mexican gray wolf would be officially recognized as an endangered sub-species and receive federal protections. The Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area would also be enlarged.

New Mexico's highest court has ruled that police can obtain search warrants over the telephone from a judge.

The state Supreme Court said Monday that judges don't have to see in writing the sworn statement from authorities that provides the probable cause for issuing a search warrant.

The ruling overturned a decision by the state Court of Appeals in a case involving Lester and Carol Boyse of Mesilla, who were sentenced in 2010 to probation for five years after pleading no contest to more than 100 charges of animal cruelty.

The Southwest has some of the highest rates of childhood hunger in the country. That's according to a new study that says New Mexico is the most food insecure state in the nation.

More crews and a higher-level management team are being assigned to a fire burning in extremely rugged terrain in the Gila National Forest in southeastern New Mexico.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered early Monday for the small community of Kingston but there's no word of any structures being burned. An evacuation center has been established at the community center in Hillsboro.

The New Mexico Lottery says it has provided more than a half billion dollars for education since starting in 1996.

The lottery's latest annual report says it generated about $462 million from 1996 through the 2012 fiscal year for a program that pays for college tuition of New Mexico students.

Almost $67 million went for public school construction from 1996 to 2001, and then the law was changed to direct all lottery proceeds to the scholarship program.

The City Council in Las Cruces is scheduled on Monday to consider a proposed tax hike.

The proposal is a response to a new law that will phase out the "hold harmless" payments the state currently makes to cities and counties.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports (http://bit.ly/11p4Kwk) that city officials are considering a three-eighths of 1 cent increase in gross receipts taxes.

The increase would amount to 37.5 cents on a $100 purchase.

City officials say Las Cruces stands to lose about $8.5 million a year in hold stipends.

UPDATE 2p: Smoke from the Jaroso Fire in the Pecos Wilderness has created a 20,000 foot column in the New Mexico sky. 

The wildfire has grown to over 1200 acres and fire officials say crews are developing plans to fight the blaze. 

Because of the fire's extreme behavior- it's burning in an area with a lot of trees killed by bark beetles- all air resources were pulled off the fire Monday.