Internal affairs cmdr. tied to DWI probe was fired for being ‘untruthful’ - By Elise Kaplan, City Desk ABQ
The highest ranking officer under internal investigation regarding the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit — and the one-time head of the division that routinely conducts such investigations — was untruthful, did not cooperate with an investigation and shared confidential information, according to a misconduct report filed with the Department of Public Safety.
Cmdr. Mark Landavazo in the Internal Affairs Division was fired last week after he was found to have violated three policies, according to an APD spokesperson. He had been on administrative leave since Feb. 13 while under internal investigation related to allegations that DWI officers were working with a local attorney to make cases go away.
John D’Amato, an attorney for the police union, said Landavazo has not gotten the misconduct report — called an LEA-90 — but he intends to ask for a suspension of his law enforcement certification instead of revocation. The Law Enforcement Certification Board will make the determination.
APD’s internal investigation was launched after news broke that the FBI was investigating five officers — Harvey Johnson, Joshua Montaño, Honorio Alba, Nelson Ortiz and Justin Hunt.
No one has been charged in the federal investigation. But all five of those officers — plus Daren DeAguero and Neill Elsman — have resigned. Two other officers are still under internal investigation.
Although Landavazo was part of the DWI unit from December 2008 to December 2013, the internal investigation into him seems to center more on his conduct in the Internal Affairs Division after he received an FBI referral regarding allegations against other officers in June 2022.
Landavazo was the first officer the FBI notified when the agency received a tip that Attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal Rick Mendez told a young man who had been arrested for driving while intoxicated that he could pay them $10,000 to guarantee the charges go away. The FBI referral included the information that Montaño had taken the man’s driver’s license and he got it back from Clear and Mendez.
According to emails obtained by City Desk ABQ, Landavazo told the FBI he’d “be more than happy to assist” and he directed the special agent to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency. Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesperson, has not answered questions about whether Landavazo made any steps to investigate the referral but he did say Landavazo did not tell Chief Harold Medina about it.
Gallegos did not respond to questions Friday about what steps the department has taken since the allegations came to light to ensure that Internal Affairs staff are acting appropriately regarding investigations. He also did not answer questions about the specifics of Landavazo’s policy violations — including what he was untruthful about, what confidential information he shared and to whom and how he didn’t cooperate with an investigation.
“I can’t disclose any further details about the investigation,” Gallegos said. “Nor can I discuss the Internal Affairs Department until the FBI investigation is completed.”
The misconduct report was filed with the state’s Department of Public Safety on Aug. 1 — the same day Landavazo was fired. A department spokesperson said next the staff will review the report and contact APD to request additional information.
First polling of reset race puts NM back in Harris column; Heinrich maintains lead - City Desk ABQ staff report
In the final days of his position at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, President Joe Biden insisted he would remain unless polling showed “there’s no way you can win.”
Those polls eventually did show a narrow — if not impossible — path for Biden. By late July, he relented and opened the door for Vice President Kamala Harris to assume the top ticket roll.
Two and a half weeks after the switch, the first public polling to include likely New Mexico voters puts New Mexico solidly back in the Democratic column.
Polling by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, a polling and political strategy firm based in London, of 8,229 likely voters in 10 swing states from Jul. 31-Aug. 2 found Trump leading in 5. But Harris has regained the lead in New Mexico, Minnesota and Arizona and the candidates are tied in two others. The poll was conducted after Trump named Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate but before Harris named Gov. Tim Walz to her VP spot.
The 585 New Mexicans included in the sample preferred Harris over Trump 44% to 37%, according to summaries released by the group on Tuesday. Robert F. Kennedy, who has qualified for New Mexico’s ballot, earned 8% with just 8% of voters remaining undecided.
U.S. SENATE POLLING GIVES HEINRICH EDGE
The same poll found incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) leading Republican Nella Dominici by 6-points (40-34%) with 21% of voters still undecided.
A previous poll by Public Policy Polling conducted in June showed Heinrich leading by a similar margin, 47-40% but with only 11% undecided.
POST-DEBATE POLLING GAVE TRUMP OPENING IN NM
At least one poll of New Mexico voters conducted after President Biden’s shocking debate performance showed reliably Democratic New Mexico in play for Republican Donald Trump. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Rep. Gabe Vasquez, both defending Democratic seats on the November ballot, publicly called for Biden to pass the torch in the days after that poll’s release.
Redfield and Wilson conducts weekly political polls in key swing states. The group received a 1.8/3.0 score for reliability from 538 blog at ABC News.
State wants to address drinking water issues at 138 local systems - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico environment officials put more than 100 drinking water systems on notice last week that they need to provide plans to address drinking water deficiencies by mid-August or potentially face steep fines.
The 138 letters sent on July 29 by the New Mexico Environment Department declare that those drinking water systems responsible for sending water to at least 100,000 New Mexicans still haven’t fixed current outstanding water quality violations.
Once they receive the letter, the parties have 15-days to send their plans to resolve their issues with the state.
The letters are part of a strategy from the newly-minted director of the Compliance and Enforcement division, Bruce Baizel.. The list of all 138 water systems was forwarded to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office in Dallas, and both the state auditor and attorney general’s offices.
Baizel said that the problems with water systems range from quality issues such as excessive levels of fluoride in Lordsburg. There are also administrative failures to submit testing or inspection paperwork and file public notices, like Pecan Park MDWCA in Luna county.
Failing to submit a plan means the water system could be fined $1,000 per day, the maximum penalty under state law.
Baizel said drinking water is facing both existential threats like climate change, weather disasters and fires. Water services in smaller places also have technical barriers, he said, in their responsibility to treat water and repair its infrastructure.
“This is a dry state generally, and we have a lot of small systems,” he said. “We thought this was a way to both draw attention, to get systems up to where they need to be, and to identify those that really need some effort and more work.
He said issuing the notices was sparked, in part, by the findings that the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) sent arsenic last year to thousands of New Mexicans in Sunland Park, Santa Teresa and Southern Doña Ana county – without telling the public or the state.
“The focus would have come regardless of CRRUA,” Baizel said. “But I think it did alert us that this should be a higher priority, sooner.”
Nearly half of the water systems, about 70, submitted responses to the letters, he said. At the end of the 15 days, mid-week or so in the third week of August, the department will release a list of all the utilities that sent in plans and also publicly name those that failed to comply.
When asked how to keep utilities from passing the fine onto customers, Baizel said water systems may not have to pay a full fine price, even if they fail to submit a plan, if they come to the negotiation table and settle for a smaller sum.
“Lawsuits take time and money,” Baizel said. “Sometimes it’s better to be talking and getting it done sooner, so that the water is safe sooner – that’s worth something.”
There was one error in an interactive map the New Mexico Environment Department released to track the letters, which showed that the City of Las Vegas municipal water system received a letter. Drew Goretzka, a spokesperson for the environment department, later confirmed it was an inaccuracy. The map has been updated as of Friday Aug. 9, at 11:30 a.m.
Messages and emails were sent to the City of Las Vegas for comment. We will update if we receive a response.
The agency said more than 100,000 people get their drinking water from the 138 water systems.
The letters are just the start of enforcement, Baizel said, adding that he expects to see stricter penalties levied at larger water systems in the coming weeks.
“There are a number of larger systems, or systems that have significant health risks that we didn’t send letters to, because we’re going to be taking administrative action against them,” Baizel said, adding that he could not provide very many details at this time.
‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO BE THE OUTLIER’
At least one small system operator said he’s planning his response.
Jason Smallwood, who operates water for the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch said the base camp is investing in a new treatment system that he said should eliminate water quality issues caused from byproducts of treatment chemicals called TTHM-1 and HAA5-1.
“The letter is what it is – it’s not that big of deal,” Smallwood said. “We’re going to address it and tell the state what we’re planning on doing to deal with it.”
“Hopefully, sending it out can help other people,” Smallwood added.
Beyond the base camp, which has had three drinking water violations, according to enforcement records and the drinking water watch records.
Smallwood, who’s held the position for two years, said Philmont is complicated, because it has 35 separate “systems” which can often just mean one sink and several spigots fed by a tank.
He said the state’s map shows that the systems have 92 violations in total, but added that most of them are not about the water quality, but inspection and paperwork issues regarding the far-flung water tanks.
Recently, he’s attended further trainings, and pointed to a record of decreased violations at the base camp’s water system. Smallwood said Philmont is spending money to put in new systems and working to address the contamination problems. He predicts a reckoning for water systems across the state.
“We’re not going to be the outlier,” he said. “We may look like it because of the state’s website, but there’s tons of water systems that are in way worse shape than ours.”
MORE OUTREACH
Source NM sought comment from 10 water systems that received a violation notice letter from the New Mexico Environment Department.
We called and left messages with the following water systems: Lordsburg Water Supply System, Pecan Park MDWCA in Luna County, the Otis MDWCA in Eddy County and the Doña Ana MDWCA.
Marlina Manzanares-Salazar at Santa Cruz Water Association could not be reached for comment.
When reached by phone, Matt Harrison with the Cassandra Water System in Moriarty agreed to an interview but did not respond to phone calls at the scheduled time.
Craig Pilley at Navajo Dam Domestic Water Consumers Inc. said he had been on vacation for the past two weeks and was unaware the state had sent letters. He agreed to an interview at a later date.
Oscar Diaz with the Belen Water System agreed to an interview at a later date.
We’ll publish updates as more drinking water systems respond.
State health insurance program wants feedback from New Mexicans on possible expansion - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
You are invited to give feedback on a plan to expand New Mexico’s safety-net health insurance program for the very poor.
The New Mexico Health Care Authority wants to gather public input on “Medicaid Forward,” the state government’s plan to expand its Medicaid program to more New Mexicans.
In 2023, the Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham enacted House Bill 400, which requires state officials to study what it would take to create a health insurance plan administered by the state of New Mexico.
The state and the federal government already jointly run and pay for the Medicaid program. The expansion would mean free health insurance would become available to New Mexico residents who are under the age of 65, who aren’t otherwise eligible for Medicaid, and whose household income is more than 133% of the federal poverty line, according to the law’s text.
The New Mexico Health Care Authority said in a news release on Thursday it wants to hear from people on any topic related to Medicaid. They also want input on specific issues like enrollment and the commercial market, provider reimbursement rates, access to health care, premiums and cost sharing,
New Mexico officials are also seeking feedback on possible employer and employee impacts of the new law.
According to KFF Health News, as of Aug. 1, about 219,100 New Mexicans have lost their health insurance that they were getting through the Medicaid program. This is a result of the so-called “unwinding” of the temporary disenrollment protection that was in place when the federal government mandated COVID-19 responses as a public health emergency.
Data compiled by KFF shows that out of all completed Medicaid redeterminations, 85% of the people in New Mexico who lost their health insurance were dropped because of procedural reasons, and not because they were determined ineligible for coverage.
When she presented the legislation to a panel during the 2023 session, House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe), a co-sponsor, said the study would look at whether to charge patients an insurance copayments on a sliding scale based on their income.
The study will also consider other groups of people who could benefit from getting free health insurance, like state employees or teachers, Szczepanski said.
An expanded Medicaid program could also create another affordable option for people who don’t have health insurance, she said.
The state budget for the previous fiscal year included $500,000 to pay for the study.
Under the law, the Health Care Authority secretary must turn in a report by Oct. 1. to two legislative panels detailing a proposal to expand Medicaid coverage.
HOW TO ATTEND THE MEETING
The New Mexico Health Care Authority will host a virtual public meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
You can attend the meeting via Zoom at this link. The passcode is 903674.
You can also attend via phone by calling 253-205-0468.
Officials recover New Mexico woman's body from the Grand Canyon, the 3rd death there since July 31 - Associated Press
Authorities have recovered the body of a 20-year-old New Mexico woman in Grand Canyon National Park, the third reported death in the canyon in the past two weeks.
Park officials said Thursday that the body of Leticia A. Castillo of Albuquerque was found Tuesday about 150 feet (45 meters) below Twin Overlooks.
Her body was transported to the canyon's South Rim and then to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office in Flagstaff for an autopsy.
Park officials said they believe Castillo entered the park on or around Aug. 3.
The Park Service and the county medical examiner are investigating the death.
On July 31, a 20-year-old North Carolina man on a mission trip with his church slipped and fell about 400 feet (120 meters) to his death off the edge of the South Rim.
The following day, a 43-year-old Missouri man died while attempting to BASE jump from Yavapai Point, falling an estimated 500 feet (150 meters). Grand Canyon officials said BASE jumping is prohibited in the park.
Park spokesperson Joelle Baird said there have been 11 deaths in Grand Canyon National Park this year, equaling the total for all of 2023. The park had 12 fatalities in 2022, 23 in 2021, and 13 in 2020, Baird said. A breakdown of the causes of deaths at the park wasn't immediately available.
Bernalillo County jail stops releasing people due to internet outage - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
An internet outage is affecting systems at the Bernalillo County jail, including completely halting the process of releasing people incarcerated there.
The Metropolitan Detention Center announced Thursday evening that the outage, which it says is affecting several CenturyLink and Lumen customers, began in the afternoon. In a statement, jail spokesperson Candace Hopkins said a crew had been “dispatched to begin repairs,” but that there is “no concrete timeline” for when the outage will be fixed.
Hopkins said the jail has suspended the process of releasing people “effective immediately.” She added that it won’t release anyone incarcerated at the facility until its internet access is restored.
Meanwhile, Hopkins said the process of booking people into the jail has not been suspended, but “delayed.”
The jail is using paper forms for processes that usually require being online, according to the statement, so custody and release lists will also be unavailable until the outage is fixed.
Teachers union secures new contract so fine arts teachers get paid for extra work - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
Fine arts teachers in Albuquerque Public Schools will see their incomes climb after a new union contract mandates they get paid for leading band camps and other activities outside of scheduled hours — something they had previously done without compensation.
The district’s Board of Education approved the contract Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Albuquerque Teachers Federation members ratified it, with 99% voting in favor.
According to the contract, a band director or assistant band director who conducts a two-week band camp will earn 10 more days of pay.
ATF President Ellen Bernstein said the union and the district have had the goal of increasing differential pay for teachers who run extracurricular activities for years. Last school year, she said, athletics educators received that boost.
Bernstein said the contributions teachers make outside the classroom are important to keep students engaged and enrolled.
Board member Josefina Dominguez played in a school marching band and she said she knows teachers put in long hours off the clock.
“I was elated that the fine arts people — who I like to call the most fun group in the district — they’re finally getting there,” she said.
All school employees will also get a 3% raise in the new contract — a pay bump that was approved by the New Mexico Legislature this spring. Teachers will also work 190 paid days this school year, two more than before.
The board unanimously approved the pact, which brings the average APS educator salary from $65,000 to just above $67,000.
Board member Courtney Jackson said she’s spoken to multiple teachers who expressed concern about not having enough time for preparation and lesson planning and asked if the contract negotiations touched on that issue.
Bernstein said more prep time has already been built into high school and middle school schedules.
She said they are still working to increase the time elementary school teachers have to prepare but that became more difficult when the Legislature increased the mandatory number of hours of instruction from 990 to 1,140.
Bernstein said she has talked to Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey about increasing staffing to permit more prep time and more collaboration time among teachers. She said schools need more state funding in order to pay for more staff.
“Research says that when we collaborate and we create lessons together and we have time to work together, that actually increases student achievement,” Bernstein said.