New Mexico States parts with AD Moccia in wake of report on sex-abuse in hoops program — Eddie Pells, Associated Press
New Mexico State is moving on from athletic director Mario Moccia in the wake of an investigation that criticized the school's handling of the sexual-abuse scandal that temporarily shut down the Aggies men's basketball program.
Valerio Ferme, who took over as university president to start the year, announced Moccia's dismissal Thursday and that Amber Burdge, NMSU's deputy athletic director for strategic initiatives and leadership, would be acting athletic director.
"After carefully reviewing the recent report issued by the New Mexico Department of Justice, I felt we needed a fresh start in our athletics program," Ferme said. "I have utter confidence in Dr. Burdge's ability to lead our Athletic Department, and look forward to working with her in the coming months."
Ferme said Burdge played a key role in NMSU's strategic response to hazing prevention as the school's senior female administrator and deputy Title IX coordinator.
Two former basketball players have agreed to plea deals in the assault cases brought against them while a third is due for trial next month.
The assault allegations forced New Mexico State to shut down its 2022-23 season. In 2023, the school paid out $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by two of the victims, former players Deuce Benjamin and Shak Odunewu, who went public with the stories of their abuse.
But also in 2023, New Mexico State gave Moccia a five-year contract extension and a $72,000 raise to $351,000 a year in the first year of the new deal, which was scheduled to end in 2028.
That deal was signed by chancellor Dan Arvizu on the same day he stepped down from his post — timing the school said was a coincidence.
The state Department of Justice review of the sexual assaults found that they "did not occur in a vacuum but were reflective of a more pervasive toxic culture throughout the program."
"There were ample opportunities for those around the team to observe this toxic culture as it was developing, but they failed to effectively intervene and prevent it," the report said. "This inaction was compounded by inadequate institutional preventative safeguards."
Among the report's criticisms of Moccia were that he did not do enough upon learning about the assaults, leaning on his belief that once staff reported the case to the school's Office of Institutional Equity, it had satisfied its responsibility.
"As an initial matter, it is worth noting that this belief conflicts with actual practice; Director Moccia met with and observed pertinent videos by (two of the accused players) after the OIE had received Deuce Benjamin's report in February 2022," the report said.
The report also noted the school's lack of transparency in using booster funds instead of state funds to pay Moccia under his new contract.
"While the use of AAC funds for Moccia's compensation was publicly reported in mid-2023, reliance on media outlets to inform donors of potential uses of their donations is inadequate," the report said.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Governor seeks resignation of Western New Mexico University board after spending revelations — Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked for the immediate resignation of regents at Western New Mexico State University after revelations of wasteful spending and failures in financial oversight, according to documents released Thursday.
In a year-end letter to the five-member board of regents, Lujan Grisham said new leadership is needed in the "spirit of a clean slate" to ensure the Silver City-based university can regain its "equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost." The board's chairwoman resigned Tuesday.
The purge follows the announced resignation of Joseph Shepard as university president after an investigation by the state auditor's office found top university officials and regents had failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities.
State lawmakers started raising questions in 2023 about Shepard's spending on international travel and high-end furniture, along with wife Valerie Plame's use of a university credit card. Plame is a former CIA operations officer who ran unsuccessfully for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Regents backed an arrangement for Shepard's resignation as president that guarantees him a new faculty job and a one-time payment of $1.9 million.
The package is under scrutiny by the State Ethics Commission, and state Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced an inquiry into whether the board of regents satisfied its fiduciary duty. Shepard and board members have defended their conduct.
Professor and faculty senate president Phillip Schoenberg expressed gratitude for the governor's decision to replace the board of regents, citing a need for "responsive and decisive leadership." He describe outrage among faculty at a severance agreement for Shepard that includes a contract to teach at the university's business school.
Although its name has changed multiple times over the years, Western New Mexico's history dates to the 1890s, before statehood.
Shepard was appointed president in 2011, following a 16-year career at Florida Gulf State University that included several administrative roles.
Thursday is deadline for Roswell flood victims to seek FEMA assistance — Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Victims of the Roswell flood that occurred in October have until 11:59 p.m. Thursday to seek disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The floods Oct. 19 and 20 in Roswell and elsewhere in Chaves County caused widespread devastation. Floodwaters stranded hundreds of people, sent cars floating down city streets and caused the deaths of at least two people.
President Joe Biden on Nov. 1 issued a presidential disaster declaration, which authorized FEMA to arrive and provide disaster aid. The application period for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program ends Thursday.
So far, the agency has approved more than $16 million in disaster assistance payments to 1,885 households, including about $8.3 million for housing-related assistance. The average payment is about $8,900 per household.
The Individual Assistance program is geared primarily to provide needed help to those who don’t have insurance or who are under-insured. The typical maximum allowed is about $40,000.
The program helps “with basic, critical needs such as a safe, sanitary, and functional place to live while Chaves’ residents look for a long-term or permanent housing solution,” FEMA spokesperson Maria Padron said in a news release about the deadline. “It is not designed to make residents whole and is not a substitute for insurance coverage. FEMA assistance cannot duplicate other sources of assistance.”
People can apply in person at the Disaster Recovery Center located in the Roswell Mall, or they can apply on the phone or online.
According to FEMA, applicants need the following information to successfully received disaster assistance:
A current phone number
Your address at the time of the disaster and where you’re staying now.
Your Social Security Number.
A general list of damage and losses.
Banking information for direct deposit checks.
For those with insurance, the policy number, the agent or the company name.
FEMA notes that it can help victims find other ways to verify this information if they’re unable to find the necessary documentation.
Advocacy group asks for a management audit in NM Gas Co. acquisition case - Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
A New Mexico consumer and environmental advocacy group is requesting that state regulators order a management audit of the parent company of the firm trying to acquire a gas utility.
New Energy Economy, a frequent utility critic, filed a request in early December asking the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to investigate Bernhard Capital Partners. Bernhard Capital Partners is the parent company of Saturn Holdco, which is asking to acquire New Mexico Gas Company from Emera.
“A management audit will aid the parties, the public, the Hearing Examiner and the Commissioners in understanding whether the private equity buyout proposed herein, and a review of the motives of the proposed purchaser, and an examination of how those motives will likely influence private and public interests and how they will affect the operations of NMGC, rates, reliability and performance of NMGC for customers,” New Energy Economy wrote in its request.
New Energy Economy argues that the management audit is important because if the merger is approved, New Mexico Gas Company will no longer be required to file certain regulatory documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additionally, New Energy Economy highlights concerns with Bernhard Capital Partners Senior Managing Director Jeffrey Baudier, who served as the CEO of the Petra Nova carbon capture project in Texas. The Petra Nova project was designed to capture carbon from a coal-fired power plant and sell that carbon to the oil fields for use in enhanced oil recovery. When demand for carbon in the oil fields dropped in 2020, the Petra Nova project was mothballed. New Energy Economy argued that Petra Nova captured less carbon than promised, experienced technical issues and extended periods of inoperation. Petra Nova was one of two utility-scale coal-fired generation carbon capture projects. Operations resumed at Petra Nova in 2023.
New Mexico Gas Company and Saturn Holdco, referred to as joint applicants in the docket, stated in a response that the PRC does not have the authority to initiate the management audit because Bernhard Capital Partners is not regulated by the PRC and is not an applicant in the case.
New Energy Economy also requested a management audit of Avangrid in 2021 when the utility giant was attempting to acquire the Public Service Company of New Mexico. The advocacy group cites the 2021 ordert in its filing, though the joint applicants say the order only required Avangrid to answer a set of questions and did not require a management audit.
Furthermore, the joint applicants say a management audit would take nearly two years to complete. They say a lengthy delay would “constructively reject the application, without legal, precedential, or evidentiary support.”
This 23-month timeframe for conducting a management audit is based on the time it took to conduct a management audit when the New York Public Service Commission ordered one looking into Avangrid-owned gas utilities.
New Energy Economy cites the New York audit in its filing, but the joint applicants argue the New York regulators opened a docket specifically to audit two utilities. They further argue that the New York audit focused on a utility regulated by the Public Service Commission rather than an affiliated company.
The joint applicants also say that no other merger or acquisition case in New Mexico has required a management audit of a parent company.
After New Energy Economy requested the audit, around 20 New Mexico residents submitted letters to the PRC either urging an audit or opposing the acquisition.
New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department seeks $1M to reactivate key division - Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
A 2025 budget proposal aims to revive a division of state government aimed at providing community-based and caregiver-based services to New Mexicans who fall just outside of Medicaid eligibility.
In the Aging and Long-Term Services Department’s roughly $5.7 million budget request for next year, $1 million is intended to staff its Long-Term Care Division, which has been inactive.
According to an Aging and Long-Term Services Department spokesperson, the Long-Term Care Division became inactive after the Medicaid waiver programs, which it used to manage, were moved to the state’s Department of Health. The programs – which include living care arrangements, disability assistance and other services – were moved again recently under the Health Care Authority.
Joey Long, public information officer for the department, said they did not have specific dates for the division’s dormancy.
In a presentation to lawmakers during a recent Legislative Finance Committee meeting, Aging and Long-Term Services Department Secretary-designee Emily Kaltenbach said the department also anticipates moving Adult Protective Services – including eight care transition specialists, the Veterans Service Program and New MexiCare program – under the Long-Term Care Division. The Alzheimer’s and Dementia program would also be housed within the division.
New MexiCare in particular has a goal of offering training and financial help to caregivers, who in turn help older New Mexicans age in place rather than in a nursing home. The program is offered in all counties except Bernalillo and Doña Ana, but Long said the department wants to open the program fully statewide by July 2025.
“This will allow us to really create a continuum of care from prevention to intervention to long-term care services and supports,” Kaltenbach said.”That would make us whole.”
The rest of the department’s budget request includes funding for five full-time ombudsman, Aging and Disability Resource Center staff, contractual services to support the call center and support for the department’s volunteer program.
Kaltenbach said the call center receives about 200 calls per day and had an additional 6,000 calls come in between Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024.
“The call center is really the entry point into our department,” Kaltenbach said.
The remaining funds are for special budget requests including emergency preparedness, marketing, information technology updates and the Kiki Saavedra Senior Dignity Fund. The honorary fund provides such services as transportation, access to food, physical and behavioral health services and case management.
The department’s roughly $5.7 million budget request is an 8% increase from the previous year. Kaltenbach pointed out that the department’s request is in keeping with the growing aging population in New Mexico, which is projected to have the fourth highest percentage of older adults among the states by 2030.
“I think it’s really interesting to see and not surprising that the highest percentage of older adults are living in our most rural and frontier counties,” Kaltenbach said. “We have more work to do and our budget reflects this need. 2030 is only five years away.”
Family says woman who died at Metropolitan Detention Center had been ill for days – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
A woman being held at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center died last weekend, becoming the 32nd person to die at MDC after being injured or falling ill in the facility since 2020.
The Albuquerque Journal reports an attorney said Violet Denetso had been complaining of stomach pain for days. Denetso’s sister said doctors told the family Denetso had an infection from a ruptured intestine and died after several heart attacks.
Attorney Katherine Loewe represents incarcerated people in MDC’s reform settlement. She said inmates reported Denetso continued to ask for help due to the pain and may have attempted to hurt herself to get medical treatment.
The jail announced the death on Tuesday. A spokesperson for MDC did not answer the Journal’s questions about the allegations, but said the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator will determine the cause of death. An investigation is underway by MDC’s Office of Professional Standards and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
Denetso’s family said she lived on the street and the Journal reports according to a criminal complaint, Denetso was arrested when an officer spotted her holding drug paraphernalia on East Central in December.
PNM seeks to add new carbon-free resources - Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
The state’s largest electric utility is asking developers to pitch projects that could help it meet the goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) announced a request for proposals on Tuesday. The projects selected will begin providing electricity to customers from 2029 to 2032.
PNM plans to add at least 900 megawatts of new generation capacity in those years and will need at least 500 megawatts by 2030.
“Our resource plan balances the needs of our customers, community and environment by focusing on low-cost options and technologies that advance New Mexico’s carbon-free electricity goals,” Laurie Williams, the vice president of integrated planning for PNM, said in a news release. “The request encourages bids for energy resources within the Navajo Nation or Central Consolidated School District to support the Northwestern New Mexico region’s economy which will be evaluated along with other proposals.”
While PNM has already replaced the generation from the shuttered, coal-fired San Juan Generating Station, the nearby Four Corners Power Plant will likely close in 2031. Should PNM seek securitization — essentially refinancing past investments in the plant — the Energy Transition Act will require the utility to replace at least a portion of the electricity it currently receives from the Four Corners plant with energy resources in the consolidated school district boundaries.
PNM has already unsuccessfully attempted to exit its ownership share in the Four Corners Power Plant earlier than 2031. When the utility sought to transfer its ownership shares to Navajo Transitional Energy Company, it asked state regulators to approve securitization of past investments into the power plant.
Solar developers, including PCR U.S. Investments and AES, are among those planning on submitting project proposals to PNM. PCR will likely submit its proposal for the Diamond Tail solar array with battery storage in Sandoval County and AES will likely submit its proposal for the Rancho Viejo solar array with battery storage in Santa Fe County.
These controversial projects are located off New Mexico Highway 14 and have garnered backlash from nearby residents who are concerned about fire dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries as well as impacts on views and watersheds.
An online pre-bid conference is scheduled for Jan. 22 and proposals are due by 8 p.m. May 14.
Once PNM has selected projects and negotiated contracts with the developers, the utility will file an application with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission asking the regulators to approve the selected power purchase agreements and energy storage agreements.
Governor appoints Greg Nibert to Public Regulation Commission - KUNM News
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed former Republican State Sen. Greg Nibert to the Public Regulation Commission for a six-year term that began Wednesday.
Nibert, whose legislative tenure ended Wednesday, succeeds Commissioner James Ellison. The Albuquerque Journal reports the governor chose Nibert from four recommended candidates presented by the PRC nominating committee. To maintain the political diversity of the PRC, Lujan Grisham could not select a Democrat.
Nibert said in a prepared statement that the PRC plays a crucial role under the Energy Transition Act in ensuring renewable energy targets set forth in statute. He said he looks forward to “securing New Mexico’s energy future for generations to come.”
The PRC regulates the companies that provide the public with utility services. In the past it was plagued with controversy. That prompted voters in 2020 to approve a constitutional amendment that reduced the commission members from five to three and made them appointed, not elected.
Nibert is a law partner at Hinkle Shanor LLP specializing in real property, energy and administrative law. His annual salary as commissioner will be $190,000 and his appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Former South Dakota St. player and assistant Dan Jackson hired as Jackrabbits' head football coach - Associated Press
Former South Dakota State player and assistant Dan Jackson has been hired as the Jackrabbits' new head coach, the school announced Tuesday night.
Jackson takes over for Jimmy Rogers, who left for Washington State after leading the Jackrabbits to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals.
Jackson was Idaho coach Jason Eck's defensive coordinator this season and had been set to move to New Mexico for the same position under Eck before the SDSU job opened.
Jackson played for the Jackrabbits from 2003-05 and became a graduate assistant at SDSU in 2012, when the program began its current streak of 13 straight FCS playoff appearances.
He was elevated to cornerbacks coach in 2014 and also served as recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach under John Stiegelmeier before moving on to Northern Illinois following the 2019 season. Jackson coached two seasons at Northern Illinois, then was hired at Vanderbilt, where he coached defensive backs during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The Jackrabbits, who won national titles in 2022 and 2023, finished this season 12-3 overall and as co-champions in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.