Amid surge at UNM Hospital, feds send relief for staff — Associated Press
The federal government is dispatching a medical team to assist the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital, which has been overwhelmed with patients.
The Albuquerque hospital announced a 14-member disaster response team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will begin seeing children Saturday.
The medical professionals will include a nurse practitioner, registered nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists. They will relieve staff and fill in gaps where needed.
UNM Hospital officials say they are operating at over full capacity. The staff, many who worked through the holidays, have been stretched thin. The hospital requested the extra support through the state Department of Health.
Hospitals across New Mexico have been dealing with the triple threat of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus—also known as RSV. Some doctors say they are busier than the past two winters when COVID-19 was the main factor increasing hospital admissions.
Earlier this month, UNM Hospital resorted to erecting a tent outside the emergency room to triage adult patients.
US bankruptcy court approves $121M clergy abuse settlement - Associated Press
A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a $121 million reorganization plan for one of the oldest Roman Catholic dioceses in the U.S. as it tries to stem financial losses from clergy abuse claims that date back decades.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma confirmed the agreement during a hearing in which he commended the parties for working through what had been an arduous process.
In a statement, Archbishop John C. Wester thanked the panel of abuse survivors who represented fellow survivors in their claims against the archdiocese. He described it as challenging work as the group continued to deal with the aftermath of their own abuse.
"While I hope and pray that the bankruptcy outcome will bring a measure of justice and relief to the victims of clergy sexual abuse, I realize that nothing can ever compensate them for the criminal and horrendous abuse they endured," Wester said.
He also pledged that the archdiocese will remain vigilant in upholding its zero tolerance policy by promptly responding to allegations and cooperating with local authorities.
The global priest abuse scandal has plunged dioceses around the world into bankruptcy and has cost the Roman Catholic Church an estimated $3 billion or more.
Aside from providing monetary payments to nearly 400 claimants, the terms of the settlement in New Mexico require the establishment of a public archive of documents showing how decades of abuse occurred around the state.
The result of nearly four years of legal wrangling, the reorganization plan effectively halted more than three dozens civil lawsuits in state court that alleged abuse of children by clergy and negligence by church hierarchy. Court records show the accusations dated from the 1940s to the 2010s.
The plan calls for the archdiocese, aided by contributions from parishes, to put up $75 million toward the total settlement fund, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Insurance companies agreed to pay $46.5 million.
In a side agreement, five religious orders that faced pending lawsuits will pay an additional $8.4 million to be shared by certain claimants. The orders include the Servants of the Paraclete, which ran a now-defunct treatment center for troubled priests and was accused of furnishing the archdiocese with priests and other clergy who preyed on children and teens.
Archdiocese attorney Thomas Walker said that of 376 survivor claimants who cast ballots on the plan, four voted to reject and three did not indicate acceptance or rejection. At least two-thirds of the abuse survivors who filed claims had to approve the plan.
Albuquerque attorney Brad Hall said his legal team has dealt with more than 250 clergy abuse survivors over the decade leading up to the bankruptcy filing in December 2018 and have talked with family members of others who had heart-wrenching stories.
"As for the actual survivors, it is our hope that some small compensation, however inadequate it might feel like to some of them, will help with a sense of closure and some accountability," Hall said.
The archdiocese sold numerous properties to come up with the final negotiated contribution, including the archbishop's house in Albuquerque. The archdiocese also took out a mortgage on the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe.
Terence McKiernan, president of the nonprofit BishopAccountability.org, told the Journal that other dioceses in similar bankruptcy actions have had more survivor claimants and paid out less. He described settlement amounts during the mid-1990s as "terribly unfair."
McKiernan said a key part of the settlement plan is the disclosure of documents, with redactions, by the archdiocese that will help the public understand how the clergy sexual abuse crisis occurred in New Mexico.
The archdiocese has said the document disclosure to a special library archive at the University of New Mexico will be unprecedented.
"It is highly significant that documents are included in such a massive way to be made available to everyone who wants to read them. It's utterly remarkable," said McKiernan, "It's going to change our understanding (of the crisis) in a major way."
AG says teen's death in Albuquerque standoff was avoidable — Associated Press
New Mexico's top prosecutor says a teenage boy's death in an Albuquerque house fire, which broke out after authorities tried to arrest a man inside, could have been avoided.
Attorney General Hector Balderas announced today, a day before he leaves office, the results of a review of the July death of 15-year-old Brett Rosenau.
Balderas says "less-lethal tactics to detain the suspect earlier would have mitigated fatal risks."
He called on Police Chief Harold Medina and incoming Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen to work together on effective, non-lethal options when it comes to apprehending suspects.
Medina had asked Balderas to lead a probe of the incident, promising that if police are found to have indirectly contributed to Rosenau's death, QUOTE "we will take steps to ensure this never happens again."
New Mexico governor appointed a new top health official — Morgan Lee, Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Oregon's top health official will be taking the reins of New Mexico's Health Department as the state builds a new veterans home and grapples with the enduring hardships of COVID-19 and the toll of alcoholism, drug-overdose deaths and gun violence.
The appointment of Patrick M. Allen was announced Friday in a news release from Gov. Michelle Lujan's office.
"Patrick is a regulator and public health professional with a proven record in improving health care systems, and I have full confidence he will do the same here in New Mexico," Lujan Grisham said. "He shares my vision of a New Mexico that fosters better health outcomes for every resident of our beautiful state."
Allen will oversee an agency of more than 2,000 employees at the forefront of efforts to blunt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic while attending to longstanding public health issues aggravated by poverty and limited access to medical care in remote areas.
At the same time, lawmakers are funding or considering initiatives that expand the agency's mission to address gun violence and possibly climate change as a matter of public health.
The governor's office said Allen has spent more than 30 years in public service, most recently serving as the director of the Oregon Health Authority under outgoing Gov. Kate Brown. He also worked with Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Lujan Grisham is starting a second, four-year term on Jan. 1 amid a series of departures and new appointments of leaders at crucial state agencies.
The governor has relied on Human Services Secretary David Scrase to oversee the Health Department for the past 18 months since the departure of Tracie Collins, a dean at the University of New Mexico College of Population Health who led the agency on temporary basis in early months of the pandemic until July 2021.
Scrase will continue in his role as head of the Human Services Department.
Recent performance evaluations by the Legislature's budget and accountability office give the Health Department mixed marks for programs aimed at combating drug overdose deaths in the midst of a nationwide fentanyl crisis. Statewide drug overdoses and alcohol-related deaths reached an all-time high in 2020, amid increased spending on treatment and prevention programs.
The agency's scientific laboratory has been praised for its efficiency in monitoring drinking water for contaminants including lead and so-called forever chemicals — and short processing times for blood alcohol samples for law enforcement as they combat drunken driving.
The Health Department operates on a budget of nearly $350 million annually in state general funds, which acts as a conduit for federal public health spending.
The agency operates seven residential treatment centers that have been flagged in recent evaluations by state and federal authorities for inadequate oversight, inefficiencies, staffing shortages, poor facility conditions and serious deficiencies in care for patients.
A recent evaluation of state-operated hospitals for veterans, the mentally ill and older adults in September described inadequate oversight that threatens the ability to provide quality care, including harmful conditions at the State Veterans' Home.
In July, the state began construction of new residences at the State Veterans' Home — a health care facility for military veterans in the town of Truth or Consequences that had been criticized for substandard conditions by state and federal evaluators.
Roswell zoo reopens day after 4 animals die in dog attack — Associated Press
A popular zoo in Roswell reopened Friday, a day after four animals were killed by wild pack of dogs.
City officials announced Friday that three barbary sheep, also known as aoudads, and one wallaby were found dead at Spring River Zoo.
They say the killings happened late Wednesday night after three dogs managed to get into the zoo by digging under new fencing.
The zoo closed Thursday as several employees mourned the loss.
Juanita Jennings, the city's public affair director, told the Roswell Daily Record that the zoo's other animals were undergoing welfare checks to make sure they weren't traumatized by the incident.
Jennings says the fencing had only been put up recently.
Animal control officers are searching for the dogs.
Barbary sheep are native to southeastern New Mexico and Texas since being introduced to the region in the 1950s. Wallabies are native to Australia and New Guinea and resemble kangaroos.
New Mexico seeks changes to US rules for wildfire claims - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is asking that changes be made to rules proposed by the U.S. government as it processes damage claims from a historic wildfire sparked by forest managers.
Balderas filed comments on the Hermit's Peak-Calf Canyon Fire assistance regulations this week, outlining concerns over limitations on damages, the lack of a clear appeals process and leadership of the team that will oversee the claims process.
Numerous missteps by the U.S. Forest Service resulted in prescribed fires erupting this spring into the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history. The blaze forced the evacuation of thousands of residents from villages throughout the Sangre de Cristo mountain range as it burned through more than 530 square miles of the Rocky Mountain foothills.
The fire forced the Forest Service to review its prescribed fire polices before resuming operations in the fall, and experts have said the environmental consequences will span generations.
Balderas, who is term limited and will be leaving office at the end of the year, is requesting the Federal Emergency Management Agency appoint an independent claims manager who has experience practicing law in New Mexico to oversee the review of claims.
Claims for damages will be assessed under state law, and a background in New Mexico law will be imperative to properly assessing and compensating residents, he said.
"We're taking action today to begin recovery from a tragic wildfire that never should have occurred, and we are fighting for the federal government to acknowledge the gaps in the FEMA process that have historically ignored the unique needs of communities," Balderas said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Many residents were either uninsured or underinsured and have complained that FEMA workers don't understand northern New Mexico. They have described the claims process as overwhelming.
A final public meeting to comment on the proposed FEMA regulations will be Jan. 5 in Mora.
Top state officials have said the regulations need to account for the uniqueness of the region — a mountainous rural expanse where culture and tradition are intertwined with the landscape.
The fire resulted in what the attorney general's office called significant tree and erosion losses. Balderas said New Mexico law has previously allowed for recovery of the full value of any trees destroyed on a person's property and this should be no exception.
Congress has approved nearly $4 billion in assistance for the wildfire victims, including $1.45 billion that was part of the massive spending bill passed last week.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, whose district includes the fire-ravaged region, said the latest funding marks another step in the right direction while acknowledging that recovery will be challenging.
"This additional funding is what justice looks like — the federal government is taking responsibility for the harm it caused and answering the stories, voices, and calls for help to rebuild," she said in a statement. "My promise has always been to pursue every possible opportunity to seek justice."
The latest federal measure also includes separate streams of funding for forest restoration and watershed protection work.
The New Mexico attorney general's office also has filed a notice of loss that seeks compensation for billions of dollars in damages suffered by local and state government agencies as a result of the wildfire.
New Mexico settles mine spill claims with contractors - Associated Press
New Mexico has reached a $5 million settlement with two contractors involved in a 2015 mine spill that polluted rivers in three Western states.
Thursday's announcement marks the end of all litigation involving the state of New Mexico related to the spill at the inactive Gold King Mine in Colorado. About 3 million gallons of wastewater were released, sending a bright-yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals south to New Mexico, through the Navajo Nation and into Utah.
In all, New Mexico has won $48 million in settlements, including $32 million from the federal government and $11 million from mining company defendants.
"Today marks the conclusion of years of hard work to hold accountable those responsible for this spill, which was devastating to the communities and environment in northwest New Mexico," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "As a result of our efforts, the state and the communities affected are receiving the resources and compensation they deserve."
Under the latest settlement, Environmental Restoration, LLC and Weston Solutions, Inc. will each make cash payments of $2.5 million to the state. Of that, $3 million will be allocated to the state attorney general's office to cover costs associated with the litigation, to address damage and to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute environmental contamination.
The remainder will go to the Office of the Natural Resources Trustee for natural resource damage claims arising from the spill.
Natural Resources Trustee Maggie Hart Stebbins said the office has been working with communities in northwestern New Mexico to identify and fund restoration projects as well as efforts that will benefit farming and outdoor recreation.
The office is evaluating 17 proposals that have been submitted for funding from the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and expect to have a plan available for public comment by March 1.
On Aug. 5, 2015, contractors attempting cleanup work on behalf of the EPA triggered a release of millions of gallons of acid mine drainage and tons of toxic metals. The release forced communities along the river to close intakes for drinking water systems, prompted many farmers to stop irrigating crops and curtailed recreation.
Although state officials say the rivers are now safe for irrigation and other uses, the stigma associated with the event has had lasting effects on the region's economy.
TikTok video shows Albuquerque nail salon calling out theft - Associated Press
An Albuquerque nail salon has been getting praise from the internet since the posting of a TikTok video of a manager dealing with two customers who tried to get out of paying.
KRQE-TV reports the video shows Courtney Huynh, the manager of Nini's Nail Salon, clipping off the freshly done manicures of two young women before booting them out of the salon.
The video was posted Tuesday and has since been viewed over 7 million times. Most of the comments are complimentary of Huynh and how she handled the two women.
Huynh told the TV station that both walked in and asked for manicures and pedicures. One employee recognized them as matching the description of women who ran out on other area salons. But they continued with the services anyway.
When the two women tried to leave, a nail technician locked the door and Huynh confronted them.
The women offered to pay $90 for the $230 worth of services.
Huynh accepted the cash but plans to press charges.
2 killed by SUV near downtown Las Vegas casinos; driver held - Associated Press
A man from Minnesota and a woman from New Mexico were struck and killed by an SUV while crossing a busy street against a "don't walk" signal at the downtown Fremont Street Experience casino mall, authorities in Las Vegas said Thursday.
The driver, Mykael Lanice-Lynn Terrell, 28, of Las Vegas, left the scene of the 7:40 p.m. Wednesday crash before she was stopped, arrested and jailed on suspicion of driving under the influence, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, police and a prosecutor said.
A 44-year-old man from Monument, Minnesota, and a 51-year-old woman from Hobbs, New Mexico, were on Fremont Street crossing 4th Street when they were struck by a burgundy colored GMC Acacia driven by Terrell, police said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. The Clark County coroner's office did not immediately release their names, pending notification of relatives.
Terrell appeared in court in handcuffs Thursday and was not asked to speak by a local judge who set bail at $100,000 and scheduled her to appear Jan. 4 on the criminal charges that could get her a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two-to-20 years for each death if she is convicted. She will be asked to enter a plea if she is indicted or ordered by a judge to stand trial.
A deputy public defender temporarily assigned to represent Terrell, Marissa Pensabene, said in court that Terrell is a single mother of a 3-year-old who has lived in Las Vegas for more than three years and works as an account executive for an internet company. Pensabene was not immediately available outside court to comment.
Judge Holly Stoberski said that if Terrell posts bail, she cannot drive and must wear an ankle bracelet electronic monitor.
The Fremont Street Experience pedestrian crossing is a marked walkway beneath traffic signals on a three-lane, one-way street. It is often crowded with people making their way between casinos, stores, kiosks, street entertainers, bars and restaurants beneath a zip-line attraction and a four-block-long lighted video canopy.