Public Education Department Fined for Withholding Records – Santa Fe New Mexican
The Public Education Department must pay $14,000 in fees for failing to respond to a public records request.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports a state district judge ruled against PED in a case dealing with teacher evaluations. The National Education Association sought documents that PED used to bolster its arguments that the former evaluation methods did not work because they gave nearly all teachers a rating of effective.
The department used those figures to argue for a new evaluation system based largely on standardized testing, which it rolled out in 2013.
Judge Sarah Singleton of Santa Fe awarded most of the attorney fees sought by the teachers’ union in the case.
A PED spokesman called the ruling unfortunate because he said it takes money away from New Mexico students.
New Mexico AG Calls On Feds To Address Natural Gas Waste – The Associated Press
New Mexico's attorney general is calling on the federal government to move quickly in adopting new rules to curb the waste of natural gas and the resulting loss of millions of dollars in royalties that could benefit education and other public programs.
Attorney General Hector Balderas sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this week, saying New Mexico has lost nearly $43 million in royalties since 2009 because of leaks and the venting and flaring of gas wells on federal lands.
Balderas says the technology is available and both industry and states stand to benefit.
The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees oil and gas development on federal and Indian lands, has indicated that a proposed rule to address the issue will be released later this year.
People In Pre-Hispanic US Southwest Loved Caffeine – By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
A new study says inhabitants in the pre-Hispanic American Southwest often drank caffeinated drinks and traded to get them more than 1,000 years ago.
The study led by University of New Mexico anthropology professor Patricia Crown says researchers found caffeine on sherds from jars, bowls, and pitchers located at archaeological sites throughout the present-day American Southwest.
According to the study, American Indians in the region got their caffeine fix through holly and cacao-based chocolate beverages. Neither plant species grew in the Southwest.
Researchers believe inhabitants traded with groups in Mexico to get the drinks and that trade lasted for around 700 years.
Crown says it is probable the caffeine was consumed as part of rituals.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Federal Prosecutors Meet To Discuss Public Safety For Tribes – Associated Press
The top federal official for Native American affairs says new laws have helped improve a legal system that left tribal communities especially vulnerable to violent crimes.
But challenges remain.
Kevin Washburn, head of the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs, spoke Wednesday at a meeting of some 75 federal prosecutors and tribal law enforcement officials held in Santa Ana Pueblo, north of Albuquerque.
Washburn says the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act and 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act gave tribes new authority to address crimes within their jurisdictions. He also says the Obama administration's effort to close tribal justice gaps is unmatched.
Still, Washburn says, detention centers on reservations are understaffed, and jury trials for Native Americans take place in federal courts sometimes hundreds of miles from the community where the crime occurred.
New Mexico MVD Warns Computer Systems Are Down – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department says technical difficulties have left field offices throughout the state without the ability to process tax or motor vehicle computer-based transactions.
Agency spokesman Ben Cloutier says IT crews are working to identify the source of the problem. It was first reported Thursday morning.
The websites operated by Taxation and Revenue Department and Motor Vehicle Division were also down, and the outage was affecting MVD Express and other independent providers that process driver's license renewals and other motor vehicle transactions.
Cloutier says the agency is asking all customers and taxpayers for their patience.
It wasn't immediately clear how long the computer systems would be down, but Cloutier said Motor Vehicle Division field offices are still able to conduct road tests.
Martinez: State 'Falling Short' On Higher Ed, Reforms Needed – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez says the state is "falling short" on graduating college students on time and universities should consider a number of reforms to battle poverty.
Speaking at her Summit on Higher Education on Wednesday at the University of New Mexico, the Republican governor said universities need to increase counseling efforts and reduce all undergraduate degree programs to 120 hours.
Martinez also said state colleges should consider locking tuition rates for students who stay on a 4-year schedule and work to keep students from "wandering" through various career options.
She says high schools should do a better job to prepare students since many enter college needing remedial work.
The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education says the state's six-year college graduation rate 46 percent. Nationally, it's 69 percent.
Violent, Busy Weekend For Albuquerque Police Officers – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Albuquerque police officers are recovering from a busy Labor Day weekend after responding to a string of violent incidents and more than 3,000 calls.
The Albuquerque Journal reports police spokesman Tanner Tixier said Tuesday the department was stretched thin as officers responded to about 3,400 calls and detectives launched three homicide investigations in a 24-hour period.
An incident Saturday involved a man who police found with multiple gunshot wounds near an apartment complex.
Police say a man stabbed another man to death on Sunday night, and on Monday two possible burglars were shot and killed by a homeowner.
Tixier says police also investigated a man's death that may have been a suicide.
Tixier says officers were trying to keep their "heads above water" during the busy weekend.
Military Vehicles Loaned To Las Vegas Police In New Mexico – Las Vegas Optic, Associated Press
The federal government is lending three military vehicles to the New Mexico city of Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Optic reports the department has gotten some criticism for the vehicles, but Police Chief Juan Montano says the objective is to protect people, not intimidate.
He said one will be used as a mobile command post. The department previously shared a post with the Las Vegas-San Miguel Office of Emergency Management.
Officials are drafting a grant to equip the vehicle with a generator.
Montano says the vehicles will be useful in flood situations.
Production Of Romance Film To Begin At Spaceport America – Associated Press
Shooting for an intergalactic love story is to begin at Spaceport America.
The New Mexico Film Office says production of STX Entertainment's "The Space Between Us" begins Sept. 16 at the commercial spaceport located north of Las Cruces and continues through early November in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Truth or Consequences.
Directed by Peter Chelsom and produced by Richard B. Lewis, the film features Gary Oldham, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson, BD Wong and Janet Montgomery.
In a statement released by the Film Office, Oren Aviv of STX Entertainment's motion picture group said a diverse array of New Mexico landscapes lend authenticity to technical elements of space travel.
The office said the production will employ at least 100 New Mexico crew members and approximately 30 New Mexico principal actors.
