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.
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.
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.
Committee To Examine Native Women's Deaths, Disappearances – Associated Press
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed eight members to a task force established to examine the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women.
She announced appointments Wednesday. They include Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache, Mescalero Apache and Navajo representatives, as well as nonprofit leaders and a Native American survivor of violence.
The group is tasked with determining the scope of the issue in New Mexico. They also are expected to identify barriers related to investigations.
A lack of consistent data and complicated jurisdictional issues have stifled policy makers nationwide as they seek to respond to concerns about the crisis.
The task force has until November 2020 to report findings. A growing number of states have established similar committees.
Appointees include Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez and Elizabeth Gonzales, an Office of the Medical Investigator supervisor
Head Of Albuquerque Public Schools District Set To Retire – Associated Press
The superintendent of the state's largest public schools district is retiring.
Raquel Reedy told the Albuquerque Public Schools' Board of Education this week that she'll leave the office June 30 when her contract expires. She served as acting superintendent for several months before she was named to the post in 2016.
The district credited Reedy with bringing stability, reorganizing the district into learning zones, strengthening a bilingual program and expanding other programs. The board voted earlier this year to boost her salary to more than $276,000 annually — up nearly $30,000 from her previous salary.
Voters also struck down efforts to bring more money into the district during her tenure and standardized test scores have been low.
The school board says it will work quickly to identify candidates to replace Reedy.
New Mexico State School Gets Grant To Tackle Opioid Epidemic - Associated Press
The nursing school at New Mexico State University has received a three-year $1.35 million grant to help address the opioid epidemic.
The funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration will finance a project aimed at expanding the number of professionals in New Mexico who are trained to prevent and treat opioid use and substance abuse disorders in community-based practices.
The project is a collaboration between the university's College of Health and Social Services and the College of Education. Officials say faculty and students from a total of three university departments will participate in the project through 2021.
According to state health officials, New Mexico in 2017 reported a rate of 24.6 deaths per 100,000 people because of drug overdose. Opioid overdose-related emergency room visits also increased by 60 percent between 2010 and 2017.
Democrat Ridicules Rival In New Mexico Congressional Primary – Associated Press
Northern New Mexico District Attorney and congressional candidate Marco Serna is attacking rival Democrat Valerie Plame in an online video that shows him riding on horseback and talking about policy priorities.
The Santa Fe-based prosecutor posted the online campaign ad Tuesday.
It opens with a scathing critique of Plame's own biographical video that explores her background as a former CIA operative whose covert identity was exposed in retribution for her then-husband Joe Wilson's opposition to the Iraq War.
The new video casts Serna as someone who understands local values, wants livable-wage jobs and fights anti-Semitism. Plame has apologized for a sharing on Twitter in 2017 an article with anti-Semitic expressions.
Plame responded in an email that it was unfortunate that Serna was "using Republican talking points to attack me and my public service."
Nearly a dozen Democratic candidates are competing to succeed Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he runs for Senate.
Long A New Mexico Icon, Spanish Conquistador Faces Attacks - By Russell Contreras Associated Press
The Spanish conquistador, a New Mexico icon that has long been celebrated in art and honored at festivals as a homage to Hispanic heritage, is under attack.
A new generation of Native American and Latino activists in the state is demanding that conquistador images and reenactments be removed from schools, seals and celebrations. They say the figure's connection to colonialism and indigenous genocide makes the conquistador outdated.
Elena Ortiz of the Native American advocacy group Red Nation says activists want the conquistador expunged from public spaces to revise the region's narrative about itself. She says the conquistador glorifies indigenous genocide.
Some Hispanics say, however, that any removal of the conquistador is erasing history. Hispano Round Table of New Mexico chair Ralph Arellanes calls the protesters "ridiculous and crazy."
Tom Hanks Returns To New Mexico To Film Adventure Saga - Associated Press
Tom Hanks is in New Mexico working on another film.
The New Mexico Film Office announced Wednesday that Hanks is co-producing and starring in "News of the World," a post-Civil War adventure saga that is filming in and around Santa Fe through November.
Directed by Paul Greengrass, the film is based on the National Book Award finalist and best-selling novel by Paulette Jiles.
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes says it's reassuring that film industry leaders are returning to New Mexico to benefit from its locations, crew and tax incentives.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration has been looking to leverage more taxpayer dollars to attract jobs and spending by the industry to New Mexico.
The state estimates the industry spent $525 million within New Mexico during the last fiscal year.