Officer In Boyd Shooting Seeking Reinstatement – Associated Press
One of the Albuquerque officers slated to stand trial for shooting a mentally ill homeless man wants his job back.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Dominique Perez appealed his termination last year. A hearing is scheduled for March 1. Perez and former detective Keith Sandy were officers when they shot James Boyd after a lengthy standoff in the Sandia foothills in March 2014.
The two will stand trial for second-degree murder in August. The Albuquerque Police Officers Association filed an appeal in Perez’s case arguing APD should have waited until the results of the trial before firing him.
City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said the city will argue for upholding the termination. She told the Journal that Perez was fired for violating a policy that states officers can face discipline, including termination, if they are indicted or face formal criminal charges.
University Of New Mexico Temporarily Prohibits Hoverboards – Associated Press
The University of New Mexico says hoverboards are potential hazards and is temporarily banning possession, use and storage of the transport devices on its campuses.
The university says it's imposing the interim ban until their safety can be assessed. A committee will convene in February to discuss options that include a permanent ban.
Hoverboards are self-balancing, battery-powered transport devices on which riders stand.
According to the university, the ban applies to entire campuses, including the interior of residence halls and other buildings.
President Robert Frank says the hazards include a risk of fire and a possibility of injury to other people if riders lose control.
The university says its police officers initially won't confiscate hoverboards but will issue warnings to people with hoverboards on a campus.
Department Of Defense Announces New Mexico ID Restrictions – The Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Defense says it will no longer accept New Mexico driver's licenses at its installations nationwide.
Defense Department officials announced Wednesday that driver's licenses from New Mexico — along with those from Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Washington state — can't be used as proof of identity to enter its bases.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to give New Mexico an extension on complying with tougher rules under the federal REAL ID Act. Those rules require proof of legal U.S. residency in order for state driver's licenses and IDs to be valid for some federal purposes.
Sandia Labs, White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss also said this month it would stop accepting New Mexico IDs.
New Mexico lawmakers are set to begin debate Thursday on a REAL ID fix.
New Mexico Rescue Worker Discovers Fallen Climber Is Ex-Wife – The Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican
A member of a New Mexico rescue team received a shock when he discovered the climber's body he was sent to recover belonged to his ex-wife.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Scott Hicks was volunteering with the Santa Fe County Fire Department technical rescue team Monday afternoon when they were sent to retrieve the body of a 59-year-old female. The woman had been climbing in Diablo Canyon and had fallen 175 feet to her death.
Upon arriving at the canyon, Hicks discovered the dead climber was Susan Sarossy. He was married to Sarossy for 19 years before they separated. They have a 25-year-old daughter together, and Sarossy has a 41-year-old son from a previous marriage.
Hicks says Sarossy took up climbing to face her fear of heights.
Oil Plunge Upends State Budget Session In New Mexico – The Associated Press
New Mexico legislators are conferring with energy experts about plunging oil prices as they craft a new state budget.
The price of U.S. crude sank almost seven percent to below $27 a barrel Wednesday amid a glut in oil supplies.
New Mexico may put plans for $77 million in salary increases on hold because of falling revenues from taxes and royalties linked to oil production. The salaries represent about one-third of new spending under a $6.5 billion state budget recommendation from Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
New Mexico's sales-type taxes also are lagging despite cheap retail gasoline prices that ordinarily boost other economic activity.
Low fossil fuel prices are squeezing budgets in several states that rely heavily on severance taxes such as Alaska, Texas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.
New Mexico Sues Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal – The Associated Press
The state of New Mexico is suing Volkswagen over an emissions cheating scandal that involves millions of cars worldwide.
Attorney General Hector Balderas filed the lawsuit in state district court in Santa Fe late Tuesday. He alleges Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and their U.S. subsidiaries violated state air quality regulations and engaged in deceptive trade practices.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued on behalf of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That action alone could potentially expose VW to more than $20 billion in fines under the Clean Air Act.
Hundreds of private class-action lawsuits filed by VW owners in many states also are pending.
VW has admitted to installing software on cars that turns on pollution controls during government tests and shuts them off on the road.
Lawyers For Gallup Diocese Say They Will Submit Settlement – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
Attorneys for a New Mexico diocese say they plan to submit a proposed settlement plan next month for a bankruptcy case that has lasted two years.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that attorneys for the Diocese of Gallup on Tuesday told a U.S. Bankruptcy judge that they will submit a proposal in the 26-month-old case.
Judge David Thuma says he hopes to schedule a confirmation hearing in April to finalize the settlement.
The Gallup diocese filed Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy in November 2013 in response to lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of children by clergy. The bankruptcy proceedings pertain to insurance policies the diocese reportedly had in the 1960s and '70s.
Aerial Operations For Mexican Wolf Population Survey Begins – The Associated Press
Aerial operations for the annual Mexican gray wolf population survey have begun in Arizona and New Mexico.
The reintroduction project is a multi-agency cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, White Mountain Apache Tribe and others.
The aerial operation started Tuesday and is scheduled to run until Feb. 3, weather permitting.
Survey flights will occur on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the Apache and Gila national forests in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico and possibly on some areas outside the forests.
Biologists also will try to capture some of the wild-born wolves that haven't been fitted with a radio telemetry collar, those having a collar that needs a battery replacement or any wolf appearing to be sick or injured.
Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty In Fatal Crash In New Mexico – The Associated Press
An Arizona woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault charges in a car accident last year in New Mexico.
Prosecutors say 40-year-old Miranda Rentz of Red Valley entered her plea Wednesday in a federal court in Albuquerque.
Rentz was arrested in January 2015 and indicted the following month.
Prosecutors say Rentz was driving under the influence of alcohol in New Mexico's San Juan County on Jan. 17, 2015.
They say her car collided head-on with another vehicle that had two occupants. One person was killed and the other seriously injured.
At sentencing, prosecutors say Rentz faces up to eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and up to a 10-year prison term for assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Her sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
House GOP Leader Says REAL ID Reform Top On List – Associated Press
New Mexico House Majority Leader Nate Gentry says Republicans will strongly push for a revision to the state's immigrant driver's license law.
Gentry said Tuesday that House Republicans hope to come to an agreement with the Senate, controlled by Democrats, to make New Mexico compliant under the federal REAL ID Act.
The GOP House is pushing to revise a state law that allows immigrants suspected of being in the country illegal to obtain New Mexico driver's licenses. Under the proposal, those immigrants could get driver's permit cards and residents would get REAL ID compliant driver's licenses.
Marcela Diaz, executive director of the Santa Fe-base immigrant advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, says the House proposal is "unacceptable." She said driver's permit cards opens up immigrants to discrimination.
Pima County Approves $15 Million Incentive For Space Company – Associated Press
The Pima County Board of Supervisors has approved a $15 million incentives package to bring a balloon spaceflight company to the Tucson area.
The board approved the measure 4-1 on Tuesday that will bring World View Enterprises to southern Arizona.
The incentives include building a 120,000-square-foot headquarters facility that the company will lease, along with a spaceport and manufacturing space.
World View Enterprises is expected to support 400 jobs.
World View's announcement that it will locate in Tucson comes as a blow to Spaceport America in New Mexico, which had negotiated with the company.
Spaceport officials say the state of New Mexico and the city of Las Cruces had offered a very competitive proposal for hosting a manufacturing facility for the company at several sites around Las Cruces.
New Mexico Dems Wear 'Pizza' Socks To Mock Governor – Associated Press
Around 20 New Mexico Democrats wore "pizza" socks at the start of the New Mexico Legislature in an apparent mocking of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, sported the blue and yellow socks during the governor's State of the State speech and showed them off to supporters.
The socks were in reaction to a holiday hotel party thrown by the governor that drew scrutiny after police were called to investigate a noise complaint.
Martinez was heard telling officers on a police recording that attendees were not causing any trouble and were only eating pizza. She then tells officers to call off the investigation.
Sanchez says the socks were a gift and he wore them because "it was appropriate."
A Martinez spokesman declined to comment.
Aerial Operations For Mexican Wolf Population Survey Begins – Associated Press
Aerial operations for the annual Mexican gray wolf population survey have begun in Arizona and New Mexico.
The reintroduction project is a multi-agency cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, White Mountain Apache Tribe and others.
The aerial operation started Tuesday and is scheduled to run until Feb. 3, weather permitting.
Survey flights will occur on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the Apache and Gila national forests in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico and possibly on some areas outside the forests.
Biologists also will try to capture some of the wild-born wolves that haven't been fitted with a radio telemetry collar, those having a collar that needs a battery replacement or any wolf appearing to be sick or injured.
