New Mexico Still Plans Lawsuit Over Mine Spill – Associated Press
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is acknowledging the concerns of officials in New Mexico and elsewhere that spring runoff could stir up contaminants left behind by the Gold King Mine spill in southern Colorado.
EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry wrote in a letter to the state's congressional delegation that the federal agency is providing $2 million for long-term monitoring and planning. States and tribes can apply their share to monitoring this spring.
Curry also confirmed the agency is reviewing the state's most recent request to be reimbursed $1.5 million for expenses related to the August 2015 spill.
But that will not dissuade state officials from pursuing a lawsuit against EPA. The Albuquerque Journal reports Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn said he wants to see a long-term monitoring program and that’s the biggest stumbling block right now.
At issue are levels of contaminants such as lead. EPA wants to allow higher level than state officials believe is safe.
In early March, the New Mexico congressional delegation told the EPA it had concerns over delays in compensation for expenses and damages caused by the spill, which fouled rivers in three Western states.
Fundraisers For Governor Fearful After Cooperating With FBI – The Associated Press
Two former political fundraisers for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez have told the U.S. Justice Department they fear reprisals after cooperating with a federal grand jury investigation regarding a top adviser to the governor named Jay McCleskey.
An attorney for McCleskey says the investigation into campaign finance activities has been terminated and no charges are forthcoming.
Republican campaign fundraisers Andrea Goff and Cecilia Martinez have sent letters to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque saying they are fearful for their safety after experiencing harassment linked to the federal probe. Goff confirmed her concerns Friday and the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office had no immediate response.
Gov. Martinez has characterized complaints against McCleskey and concerns about reprisals as smear tactics by disgruntled political operatives.
NM Delegates Want Guidelines For Mental Health Funding – The Associated Press
New Mexico's Democratic members of Congress are pushing for federal legislation that would establish guidelines for the funding of Medicaid services when allegations of fraud are raised.
The elected leaders introduced the measure Friday, saying it would protect consumers while affording health care providers due process.
The bill follows the upheaval of New Mexico's behavioral health care system.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration froze payments to 15 nonprofit providers in 2013 after an audit raised questions about fraud and abuse. The audit alleged $36 million in Medicaid funding was mishandled by the providers.
An investigation by the state attorney general found regulatory violations but no pattern of fraud.
State officials have vowed to recoup what they classify as misspent funds, but some nonprofits have fired back with legal challenges.
Escaped Prisoner Says Ex-Con Helped Him Flee To Albuquerque – The Associated Press
Authorities are investigating claims that two prisoners who escaped from a transport van in rural New Mexico got a ride from a passing driver who happened to be a former convict.
Court documents show that one of three women charged with aiding Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah once they arrived in Albuquerque told authorities that Clah said the pair were walking along the road after the escape when a man drove up to them.
The man supposedly told the convicts that he had served time himself and wanted to help, so he gave them a ride to Albuquerque.
Authorities have yet to say how Clah and Cruz were able to slip by the two transport guards.
Cruz and Clah were apprehended last weekend in Albuquerque after a dayslong manhunt.
Data Suggests Downtown Albuquerque Deadliest Area In State – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
State data in premature deaths suggests that a pocket of downtown Albuquerque is the deadliest place in New Mexico.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that when measured by the rate of premature deaths weighted by age, the pocket of Albuquerque bordered by Interstate 25, Cesar Chavez/Bridge, the Rio Grande and Interstate 40 is the most deadly. Premature death is defined as before age 75.
Department of Health data shows that 60 percent of premature deaths in the area are caused by drug overdoses.
Other regions with the highest premature death rates are western San Juan County, western McKinley County, Rio Arriba County around Española, and Sierra and Catron counties in western New Mexico.
Areas with the lowest premature death rates are found on New Mexico's military installations.
NMSU Regents Resisting Tuition Hike Plan Amid Budget Woes – The Associated Press & The Las Cruces Sun-News
New Mexico State University regents are resisting pressures to raise tuition in response to budget woes linked to reduction in state funding and declining enrollment.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that Regent Kari Mitchell was among several regents who signaled this week that there is little interest among regents to raise tuition for the coming year.
Mitchell suggested university administrators suffered from complacency and lack of innovation.
School officials say millions of dollars in recurring costs had been cut from the university's budget in recent years. They say the university has also reduced staff and faculty by 585 employees in the past six years.
Regent Jerean Hutchinson suggested a broadening of NMSU's marketing and outreach strategies, in order to attract students from other states.
NMSU Eyes Helping Farmers Control Unwanted Trees – The Associated Press
New Mexico State University wants to help farmers control unwanted trees.
The school's Rio Arriba County Cooperative Extension Service is holding a workshop later this month on how to tame elm, willow and Russian olive trees sprouting along the acequias, streams and fence line.
Rio Arriba Extension agricultural agent Donald Martinez says farmers need to learn more about safe practices and treatments to secure good water flow.
Clay Guck, of Helena Chemicals-New Mexico Specialty in Albuquerque, will give a demonstration on controlling the trees with herbicide using hand-held or backpack sprayers during a field demonstration on May 30 in Abiquiu.
Sonia Sotomayor To Visit St. John’s College – Santa Fe New Mexican
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will appear at St. John’s College in Santa Fe next month as part of a lecture series.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Sotomayor will engage in a conversation with St. John’s President Mark Roosevelt on April 6 and then take questions.
Sotomayor was born in the Bronx in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. Signed copies of her memoir, “My Beloved World,” will also be available at the event.
The news comes on the heels of President Obama’s announcement that he will nominate Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, which has set of a political battle with Senate Republicans.
Environmentalists File Complaint Against New Mexico Official – Associated Press
An environmental group is accusing a New Mexico utility regulator of misconduct for asking the state's largest electric provider to make a political donation to a Democrat running for the state treasurer's office.
New Energy Economy filed the complaint against Public Regulation Commissioner Karen Montoya with the Secretary of State's Office on Thursday.
The Santa Fe-based group had called out Montoya last year and questioned her relationship with Public Service Co. of New Mexico.
The group argued that Montoya was not impartial toward the utility and should have recused herself from a major case that involved the future of PNM's coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico.
Montoya previously dismissed the criticisms. She did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday about the new complaint.
Bond Set For Woman Accused Of Harboring Convict – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A judge has set a $5,000 bond for one of the women accused of helping two convicts after they escaped from a prison transport van last week.
Michelle Abeyta appeared before Metropolitan Court Judge Sandra Engel on Thursday.
A public defender argued police didn't have probable cause to arrest Abeyta and suggested she was probably scared for her well-being.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the judge dismissed the claim and imposed the bond after hearing from prosecutors about Abeyta's criminal history.
Abeyta is accused of letting escaped convict Lionel Clah stay at her apartment for two nights before turning him in.
Police have also charged Olivia Cruz, sister of the other escaped convict, Joseph Cruz, with aiding the men.
Albuquerque Schools Weighs Policy For Transgender Students – Associated Press
Albuquerque Public Schools is considering adopting new policies designed to protect transgender students from discrimination.
The APS Board of Education on Wednesday held a public forum to hear outside opinions on the proposed procedural directive, which would allow students who identify as transgender to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
The policy would also allow transgender students to dress according to their chosen gender identity and be addressed by the name and gender pronoun of their choosing.
Critics of the policy mainly focus on the bathroom issue, saying students may feel uncomfortable sharing a locker room with a transgender student, but supporters of the directive say transgender people aren't trying to expose themselves when they use the toilet.
The board is still considering the policy.
Sacred Wind Gets $13.8M Loan For Internet Improvements – Associated Press
A New Mexico telecommunications company is getting a $13.8 million loan from the federal government to improve Internet service.
Members of the state's congressional delegation announced the loan for Sacred Wind Communications on Thursday.
The low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service is being awarded under a program that aims to improve infrastructure in underserved tribal communities.
With the money, Sacred Wind plans to extend fiber optic cable from Gallup to the Navajo community of To'hajiilee west of Albuquerque.
The project will take three years to complete.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall said extending the cable will open new opportunities for education, health care and business. Right now, he says only one in five people living on tribal land in New Mexico have access to wired broadband.
New Mexico Regulators Decline To Investigate Power Plant – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
State regulators will not investigate the Public Service Company of New Mexico's role in financing the purchase of a coal mine.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday voted to permanently table a motion filed in February by New Energy Economy. The nonprofit had sought an investigation into the details of a PNM subsidiary that loaned Westmoreland Coal Co. $125 million to purchase the San Juan Coal Mine.
PRC general counsel said commissioners likely didn't have the authority for such an investigation since the financing occurred through a parent company and subsidiary of PNM, not through the utility.
A New Energy Economy official called the PRC vote irresponsible.
A PNM spokeswoman says customers will benefit from the savings of the new coal agreement.
New Mexico Disqualifies 8 Legislative Candidates – Associated Press
New Mexico election regulators have disqualified at least eight aspiring legislative candidates after reviewing applications and signature petitions, leaving several certified candidates unopposed in primary or general elections or both.
The New Mexico Secretary of State's Office confirmed the disqualifications Thursday.
The developments are unlikely to tip the balance of power in the Legislature because they mostly concerned districts dominated by one party or a popular incumbent. Republicans currently control the House by a 37-33 seat advantage. Senate Democrats outnumber Republicans 24 to 18.
Democratic Sen. Benny Shendo of Jemez Pueblo is running unopposed after former state Rep. Sandra Jeff was disqualified for failing to follow state campaign finance rules.
Home-address discrepancies knocked out Democrat Dell Washington of Belen, who sought to challenge Republican House Speaker Don Tripp of Socorro.
Report Outlines Disrepair At Native American Schools – Associated Press
A government watchdog report says federal officials have failed to ensure dozens of Native American schools undergo standard safety building checks each year.
The Government Accountability Office says its review of federally run schools for Native American children found safety hazards ranging from exposed electrical wires to aging dormitory boilers that were blamed for high carbon monoxide levels. The findings were included in a report presented to a congressional subcommittee Wednesday.
The schools under scrutiny are among 180 in some 20 states that fall under the oversight of the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Education, which has requested $1 billion from Congress in the next budget to overhaul the schools and further improve classroom conditions.
The watchdog report also found 69 schools did not undergo building inspections in 2015 — up from 55 schools in 2012.
