New Mexico Public Transportation Project To Begin Operations - Associated Press
Albuquerque officials have announced a new public transportation project is expected to begin operations this month. City officials say the Albuquerque Rapid Transit or ART project includes designated bus-only lanes and stops that would carry riders along Central Avenue every 10 minutes.
Officials say the ART project is set to launch Nov. 30 with free rides until Dec. 31. Riders must pay $1 starting Jan. 1. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller says officials plan to time routes starting Sunday.
Law enforcement says there are plans to issue warning citations starting Nov. 30 to educate the community on safe driving practices around the buses before $80 fines are issued in January.
Officials say the $133 million project includes 20 new buses expected to replace the existing Rapid Ride lines.
New Mexico Police Achieve Compliance With Oversight Policies - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The Albuquerque Police Department has implemented all the court-approved policies enforcing constitutional policing and preventing the use of excessive force.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that independent monitor James Ginger confirmed the department has achieved 100% primary compliance with the policies outlined in a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice.
The report covers February 2019 through July 2019. Officials say it's the first time in a years long reform effort that the police department has attained complete compliance.
Ginger says the Department of Justice announced in 2014 that its investigation found Albuquerque police had a pattern of using excessive force against its citizens.
Ginger says the police have made strides toward reform including training officers on policies, rewriting its use-of-force policy and recreating a board to review internal investigations.
New Mexico Supreme Court Asked To Review Lawyer's 2010 Death - KRQE, Associated Press
The family of a prominent Albuquerque attorney found dead in her home in 2010 wants the New Mexico Supreme Court to review the case.
Mary Han was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning, and Albuquerque police ruled the death a suicide. Her estate recently filed a petition with the state's high court. Her family members argue that police violated state constitutional protections for the 53-year-old Han as a crime victim when the department investigated her death.
According to TV station KQRE, Han's estate says the city police department had a conflict of interest in investigating her death and should have requested an outside law enforcement agency handle it.
Last August, a First Judicial District judge affirmed a decision changing Han's manner of death on her autopsy report from suicide to undetermined.
Ballot Error Casts Doubt on College's Plan to Reopen Campus -Associated Press
Election officials are trying to figure out what to do about a ballot mix up that may have spoiled Northern New Mexico College's effort to reopen a campus.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a property tax proposal that was supposed to be decided by voters didn't appear on the ballot in two precincts in Taos County as required. It appeared as planned in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties.
The proposal for a property tax increase to provide a recurring funding stream of about $2.4 million a year to pay for the operation, maintenance and capital improvements received 62% support in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties.
The Secretary of State's office said that "an administrative error made by a county clerk" led to the problem in Taos County.
Judge Ortiz To Retire From 1st Judicial District Court -Associated Press
A judge for the state District Court plans to retire Jan. 1, creating an opening for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to fill.
Lujan Grisham will select her appointee for the 1st Judicial District Court from among those recommended by a nominating commission.
The opening will be created by the retirement of Judge Raymond Ortiz, a Santa Fe native appointed to the bench in 2005 by then-Gov. Bill Richardson.
A judge appointed to serve out the term of a retiring district judge must run for election to remain on the bench and as voters to retain them every six years.
New Mexico Police Achieve Compliance with Oversight Policies -Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The Albuquerque Police Department has implemented all the court-approved policies enforcing constitutional policing and preventing the use of excessive force.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that independent monitor James Ginger confirmed the department has achieved 100% primary compliance with the policies outlined in a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice.
The report covers February 2019 through July 2019.
Officials say it's the first time in a multiple year long reform effort that the police department has attained complete compliance.
Ginger says the Department of Justice announced in 2014 that its investigation found Albuquerque police had a pattern of using excessive force against its citizens.
Ginger says the police have made strides toward reform including training officers on policies, rewriting its use-of-force policy and recreating a board to review internal investigations.
GOP Daughter of Key Democrat to Run for State Senate -Associated Press
The daughter of the Democratic New Mexico Senate president Pro Tem is running for a state Senate seat as a Republican, and her mom isn't supporting her.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports former state racing commissioner Susan Vescovo said this week she plans to challenge Democratic state Sen. Liz Stefanics of Cerrillos primarily over abortion rights.
Senate President Pro Tem and longtime Democrat Mary Kay Papen says she loves her daughter "dearly" but doesn't support her candidacy.
The Alto, New Mexico, Republican, says she believes she will be competitive in heavily Democratic areas such as Santa Fe because Catholics in the county are likely to agree with her anti-abortion views.
The district cover parts of Lincoln, Torrance, Valencia, Bernalillo, Santa Fe, and San Miguel counties.
Navajo Officer Remembered as Family Man, Devoted Colleague -Associated Press
The Navajo Nation is honoring the life of a police officer who died from a medical problem while on duty.
Friends, colleagues and tribal officials paid tribute to Sgt. Lamar Martin during a funeral on Friday in Rehoboth, New Mexico.
A press release from the Navajo Nation says his relatives described Martin as a great family man who loved his wife and children, enjoyed outdoor activities and liked reading books and comic books. His fellow officers recalled him as a mentor and leader who didn't hesitate to share the expertise, he gained in 22 years with the Navajo Police Department.
Martin was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and New Mexico National Guard. He's survived by his wife and five children.
Taskforce Meeting on Native American Cases Draws Dozens -Associated Press
Members of a New Mexico taskforce established to address the deaths and disappearances of Native American women say they want to hear from victims and their family members in the coming year.
New Mexico officials convened the taskforce's first meeting Friday afternoon in Albuquerque. The committee includes representatives of New Mexico tribes, state officials and victim advocates.
More than 60 members of the public also attended the meeting.
A bill signed by the governor this year calls for the committee to determine the scope of the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women in New Mexico. Members also are expected to identify factors that might be hindering law enforcement investigations.
The taskforce has until November 2020 to report findings.
More than a half-dozen states have established similar committees or reports.
Arizona Grassland May Be Landing Site for Boeing Spacecraft -Associated Press
A flat desert grassland in southeastern Arizona is being considered as a potential landing site for a new reusable spacecraft.
Boeing representatives plan a public meeting Wednesday evening at the Willcox Community Center to discuss the Starliner spacecraft potentially touching down in the Willcox Playa area.
Other possible landing sites include White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and Edwards Air Force Base in California.
About 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Tucson, Willcox Playa is winter habitat for thousands of migratory sandhill cranes.
The Starliner capsule made a safety test flight Monday at White Sands.
The capsule is due for a test flight next month to the International Space Station with a dummy and some cargo on board.
Wife of Espanola City Councilman Is Convicted of Voter Fraud -Associated Press
The wife of Espanola City Councilor Robert Seeds has been found guilty of tampering in the 2016 election in which her husband won a District 4 seat by two votes.
A Rio Arriba County jury on Thursday convicted Laura Seeds on five counts of felony voter fraud.
She was found guilty of two counts of making false statements relative to the municipal election code, one count of conspiracy to violate the election code and two counts of unlawful possession of another's absentee ballot.
Laura Seeds was accused of forging signatures on absentee ballots to get her husband elected.
Prosecutors say she is facing more than 7 ½ years in prison at her Dec. 9 sentencing.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Laura Seeds wasn't taken into custody after the verdict was read.