US Forest Managers Want Judge To Clarify Tree-Cutting Ban - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The U.S. Forest Service is asking a federal judge to reconsider an earlier order that banned tree-cutting across thousands of square miles of Southwest forest.
The ruling stemmed from a 2013 case that alleged the agency failed to consider the effects of thinning and logging on the threatened Mexican spotted owl and its habitat.
The Forest Service says without clarification, efforts to mitigate wildfire threats will be compromised until at least 2023 when data on the owl population is expected.
Environmentalists say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service have failed to track the bird's numbers.
The ban excludes personal firewood cutting permits that rural residents rely on, but it does prohibit thinning projects, prescribed burns and commercial wood cutting across all five national forests in New Mexico and the Tonto National Forest outside Phoenix.
Albuquerque Casts Focus On Missing Native Americans – Associated Press
Police data shows there have been 42 Native Americans who have been reported missing in Albuquerque so far this year and 36 in 2018.
Dawn Begay, the city's Native American affairs coordinator, says the figures represent open missing persons cases in Albuquerque. Figures from U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show the metro area is home to roughly 50,000 Native Americans.
Of the 36 missing in 2018, 15 were women.
Begay shared the numbers Friday at an event held to highlight the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in New Mexico's largest city.
An Urban Indian Health Institute study last year listed Albuquerque among cities with the highest number of missing Native American women. Authors of the report had counted 37 missing and homicide cases total for Native American women and girls.
Man Resentenced To Life In Prison In 1994 Killing – Farmington Daily Times, Associated Press
A man sentenced to death in the 1994 strangulation killing of a 17-year-old Flora Vista girl has been resentenced to life in prison in response to a New Mexico Supreme Court decision that set aside his death sentence.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that Timothy Allen was resentenced Thursday in the death of Sandra Phillips.
Allen also was convicted of kidnapping and criminal sexual penetration.
This summer, the state Supreme Court set aside Allen's death sentence and explained that his punishment was disproportionate in comparison with similar murder cases.
Sandra's mother, Darlene Phillips, says it was injustice that Allen's death sentence was thrown out.
Allen had been among New Mexico's last two inmates who were awaiting execution.
The state repealed the death penalty in 2009.
New Mexico Offers New Window Into Infrastructure Spending – Associated Press
New Mexico is making it easier to monitor progress on local government construction projects through a new public webpage.
Launched Friday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration, the capital outlay online dashboard aims to encourage efficiency and financial accountability as the state goes on a major spending spree on everything from sewers to cemeteries, museums and baseball fields.
Lawmakers this year approved a $933 million infrastructure spending bill amid a surge in state government income. Most expenditures come directly from the state general fund.
The new website uses color-coded charts and data spreadsheets to indicate progress on local construction as spending deadlines approach.
Capital Outlay Bureau Chief Wesley Billingsley hopes that greater public scrutiny will ensure that state dollars are put to use quickly.
Albuquerque Keeps Pursuing Panhandling Ordinance – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Albuquerque is continuing its pursuit of an ordinance that would restrict panhandling despite a judge's ruling that the city's law is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the city filed a notice of appeal last month.
The measure prohibited panhandlers from standing on sidewalks and medians in the city's streets to solicit motorists.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the 2017 ordinance on behalf of four people.
The ACLU represented a woman who was homeless and regularly sought donations on the street, a couple who handed out donations from their vehicles and a woman who distributed fliers to drivers at red lights.
Trudy Jones, the city councilor who sponsored the ordinance, says she thinks the community wants action.
Torres Small Comes Out In Support Of Impeachment Inquiry – Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small is now supporting the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
The first-year congresswoman from southern New Mexico initially was among a small group of Democrats who were either undecided or opposed to the inquiry.
Torres Small in an opinion piece published Thursday in the Las Cruces Sun-News said she decided to back the inquiry after the White House halted cooperation with what the administration termed an "illegitimate" probe.
The White House insists that a formal vote is necessary to start the impeachment process. But Democrats are moving ahead, confident for now that they're backed by the Constitution.
Torres Small wrote that she has not reached judgment on the president's actions or the appropriate response and that she needs the facts before making such weighty decisions.
ACLU Lists Concern Over Treatment Of New Mexico Journalist – Associated Press
Attorneys have taken an initial step toward filing a lawsuit against a New Mexico sheriff's office accused of retaliating against a journalist.
Leon Howard, of the American Civil Liberties Union, says a tort claims notice has been sent to the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office.
The notice outlines concern that Sheriff James Lujan and his department infringed on the free press rights of Tabitha Clay, a reporter for the Rio Grande Sun, as she reported on a deputy who deployed a stun gun on a special needs student in May.
Former Deputy Jeremy Barnes is charged with child abuse and false imprisonment in that case.
Howard says the ACLU continues to investigate several accusations, including one that Barnes and another deputy parked outside of Clay's home in September.
The county attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Department Of Public Safety To Pay $28,000 In Records Case – Farmington Daily Times, Associated Press
A judge has ordered the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to pay $28,000 in a public records lawsuit filed by a man whose brother was fatally shot by a Farmington police officer.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that a judge ruled the agency had released skewed information on the 2017 shooting that favored the officer and was against the interests of Frankie Anchondo's family.
A panel of prosecutors concluded that the shooting just north of U.S. Highway 64 in Farmington was justified.
The investigation was handled by the Department of Public Safety, which had cited an exception to public records law when Anchondo's brother asked for records.
The judge says the agency didn't hand over records until more than nine months after the case was turned over to prosecutors.
High Winds Cancel Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta's Evening Event - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
High winds Thursday forced officials to cancel the Special Shapes Glowdeo at the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.
Thursday's competition flying was also canceled.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that although winds above Balloon Fiesta Park were too strong for flight, event officials decided conditions near the ground Thursday morning were safe enough for crews to inflate without lifting off.
After Dawn Patrol pilots inflated around 6 a.m. and then promptly brought down and packed up their balloons, a safety officer announced the special shapes would inflate but not launch.
Fiesta officials say winds were expected to die down overnight.
They're hoping for a crisp, clear sky ahead of Friday's Special Shapes Rodeo.
The nine-day event started last Saturday.
It draws pilots from around the world and from 41 U.S. states.
New Mexico Farmers, Ranchers To Get Some Tax Relief - Associated Press
The Internal Revenue Service is extending tax relief for farmers and ranchers in many New Mexico counties who were forced to sell livestock due to drought and other severe weather in recent years.
The IRS made the announcement Thursday, saying the extension affects drought sales that occurred during 2015 as the normal drought-sale replacement period is four years.
The agency says qualifying farmers and ranchers whose drought-sale replacement period was scheduled to expire at the end of 2019 now have until the end of their next tax year to replace the livestock and defer tax on any gains from the forced sales.
Officials say sales of poultry or other livestock, such as those raised for slaughter or held for sporting purposes, are not eligible.
Wildlife Managers Investigate Mexican Gray Wolf Death - Associated Press
Wildlife managers are investigating the death of a Mexican gray wolf found last month in Arizona.
Officials with the wolf recovery team say the uncollared juvenile wolf was possibly a member of the Hoodoo Pack, which typically roams the northeastern portion of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
Officials did not release any details about the circumstances of the animal's death.
In all, there have been nine documented wolf deaths since the beginning of the year.
A subspecies of the Western gray wolf, Mexican wolves have faced a difficult road to recovery that has been complicated by politics and conflicts with livestock.
Survey results released earlier this year indicated there were at least 131 wolves in the mountain ranges spanning southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.
Mine Waste Discolors River That Saw 2015 Gold King Spill – Durango Herald, Associated Press
Wastewater from a mine in southwestern Colorado has spilled into a river that was the site of a major spill caused by a government cleanup crew four years ago.
Christina Progress with the Environmental Protection Agency told The Durango Herald on Thursday the scope of the spill north of Silverton was still being determined.
Progress says the agency was notified Wednesday night that the Animas River was being discolored by wastewater from the Silver Wing Mine. The mine is within the federal government's Bonita Peak Superfund cleanup area, but work on it has not yet begun.
In 2015, an EPA-led crew accidentally triggered a blowout at the Gold King Mine that sent a 3-million-gallon torrent of mustard-colored wastewater into the Animas, contaminating rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.