State Health Officials Make Urgent Call For Volunteer Nurses - Associated Press
New Mexico health officials say an increase in hospitalizations across the state has prompted them to put out an urgent call for volunteer nurses to help boost the state's medical workforce.
The New Mexico Department of Health late Friday called on nurses or anyone with a medical license to volunteer to help because they believe hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with patients. They want recently retired health workers or anyone qualified to sign up for the state's Medical Reserve Corps.
Hospitals in New Mexico and across the nation are seeing increased hospitalizations because of long-postponed surgeries and a surge in COVID-19 patients. The Delta variant of the coronavirus is much more contagious than previous strains.
The state Friday reported 798 additional COVID-19 cases and five new deaths. They bring the count of confirmed New Mexico virus cases since the pandemic began in early 2020 to 218,569 and the number of deaths to 4,446.
State officials said their modeling predicts more than 1,000 new cases a day in the next several weeks.
"We ask our nurses, and anyone with a medical license, to once again volunteer with the Medical Reserve Corps," Dr. David R. Scrase, the acting director of the state health department, said in a statement. "To get through this together, we need everyone who can provide patient care to work side by side with us during this critical time."
The state's Reserve Medical Corps has filled more than 139 requests during the pandemic, deploying 2,750 volunteers. To sign up, go to the Corps website at www.nmmrcserves.org.
New Mexico School Year Off To Deadly Start Amid Gun Violence - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
It's only a few days into the new school year, but New Mexico's largest district is reeling from a shooting that left one student dead and landed another in custody.
The gunfire at Washington Middle School during the lunch hour Friday marked the second shooting in Albuquerque in less than 24 hours. With the city on pace to shatter its homicide record this year, top state officials said they were heartbroken by what they described as a scourge.
"These tragedies should never occur. That they do tells us there is more work to be done," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
Albuquerque Police Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock described the shooting as an isolated incident between two students who were believed to be about 13 years old. He said a school resource officer ran toward the two boys after gunfire erupted and prevented any other violence while tending to the boy who was shot.
Investigators were trying to determine how the student obtained the gun and what may have prompted the shooting, Hartsock said. Other students were being interviewed as detectives tried to piece together what happened, he said.
Dozens of fretful parents gathered outside the school Friday afternoon as they waited for their children to be released.
Friday marked the third day of classes for Albuquerque's public school district. While students won't return until Tuesday, Superintendent Scott Elder said the staff will be making preparations to ensure students have access to counseling and any other support services they need.
"Of course it's extremely difficult," he said of something like this happening so early in the school year. "There's a lot of pressure in the community. People are nervous. It was a terrible incident that happened between two people. It should have never happened. ... This shouldn't happen in the community. It certainly shouldn't happen at a school."
Police said more officers will be present when students return, hoping to provide a sense of security and in case students have any more information about the shooting they want to share.
Gunfire also rang out Thursday night at a sports bar and restaurant near a busy Albuquerque shopping district. Police said one person was killed and three were injured after someone pulled out a gun during a fight.
No arrests have been made in that case. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses.
Authorities identified the man who was killed as Lawrence Anzures, a 30-year old boxer from Albuquerque.
A makeshift memorial of flowers and candles grew Friday outside the restaurant, providing more evidence of the frustration that families having been feeling.
The shootings come as Mayor Tim Keller convened his latest session with other officials to talk about curbing violence and crime in the city. His administration is hoping to come up with recommendations for improving the criminal justice system and addressing the problem of repeat offenders. The mayor's office noted that for most Albuquerque homicides this year, more than 45% of charged offenders and nearly 60% of suspects have criminal records.
"For low-level offenders, we need to bolster diversion programs and real access to resources to change their lives," Keller said in a statement. "But for violent offenders, we have to stop the revolving door."
Operations Conducted To Crack Down On Gallup Street Racing - Associated Press
Operations aimed at cracking down on street racing within Gallup and the surrounding area of northwestern New Mexico's McKinley County have netted a dozen arrests and produced 70 traffic citations, officials said.
The arrests made during operations conducted July 17 and Aug. 7 included five for DWI, the New Mexico State Police said in a statement.
The statement said the Gallup Police Department had asked the State Police for help in curbing street racing and that the McKinley County Sheriff's Office also participated in the operations. Each operation lasted at least six hours.
Tim Johnson, chief of the State Police, said illegal street racing is a problem statewide and "unnecessarily puts the safety of citizens traveling in New Mexico in danger.""
Explainer: Western Water Projects In Infrastructure Deal - By Suman Naishadham Associated Press
Included in the sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill approved by the Senate is funding for Western water projects that farmers, water providers and environmentalists say are badly needed across the parched region.
The Senate voted this week in favor of the legislation that seeks to rebuild U.S. roads and highways, improve broadband internet access and modernize water pipes and public works systems. The bill's future in the House is uncertain.
The federal funding would come as the West bakes under a decadeslong drought that is straining water supplies.
A look at some ways the $8.3 billion for water projects would help bring relief in coming years.
WATER STORAGE
The plan would provide $1.15 billion for improving water storage and transport infrastructure such as dams and canals. Groundwater storage projects, which replenish underground aquifers that aren't vulnerable to evaporation, would also get funding. Western states have for years over-pumped groundwater from wells during dry years, even causing land to sink in parts of California.
"California has to do more to store and otherwise stretch the use of water in wet years in order to have enough to sustain through the dry years," said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat whose office helped get water provisions in the bill.
WATER RECYCLING
To help stretch existing water supplies, $1 billion would go toward projects that recycle wastewater for household and industrial use. Many states and cities already have or are developing programs that recycle storm water runoff and wastewater. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water, dams and reservoirs in 17 Western states, would decide which projects are funded.
DROUGHT PLAN
Prolonged drought, scorching temperatures and climate change are draining the Colorado River that supplies water to 40 million people and farmland in the West. The bill would provide $300 million for drought measures, such as conservation and storage projects, to maintain water levels at the river's reservoirs and prevent additional water cuts.
Already, the first-ever shortage declaration at the river is expected next week. Some Arizona farmers will be among those to feel the effects next year.
DESALINATION
The bill would add $250 billion for studies and projects to make sea water and brackish water usable for agricultural, industrial and municipal use. Desalination plants send ocean water through filters that extract fresh water and leave behind salty water that's often returned to the ocean. The technology is expensive but increasingly viewed as a critical way to supplement water supplies in drought prone areas.
DAM SAFETY
About $800 million would fund improvements and repairs at dams that are used for drinking water, irrigation, flood control and hydropower. Scores of dams across the U.S. are in poor or unsatisfactory condition, according to state and federal agencies. In 2017, damage at California's Oroville Dam prompted evacuation orders covering nearly 200,000 people. Feinstein's office recently said that California alone has 89 dams that are "in less than satisfactory condition."
RURAL WATER
Another $1 billion would be dedicated for water projects in rural areas, where aging water treatment facilities and infrastructure are often in need of repair.
Taken together, the water projects funded by the infrastructure plan could make an impact in the West, said Dan Keppen, executive director of Family Farm Alliance, which lobbies for farmers, ranchers and irrigation districts.
"It's sort of an all-of-the-above approach and that's what's needed," he said.
Arizona Men Caught Smuggling Drugs To N.M. Sentenced – Associated Press
Two Phoenix men have been sentenced to lengthy terms in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine from Arizona for sale in New Mexico, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque said Arturo Munoz, 67, of Phoenix, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine. His co-defendant, Phoenix resident Ricardo Osornio, 44, previously sentenced to more than five years in prison for his role in the case.
The two men were arrested in March 2019 after police in Lordsberg, N.M., stopped their vehicle on Interstate 10. A police search located more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in a speaker box.
Court records said the men conspired to bring the drugs from Arizona for sale in the Deming, N.M. area.