New Mexico Reports Season’s First Confirmed Flu Cases – Associated Press
Health officials have confirmed the first flu cases of the season in New Mexico.
The state health department reports all five cases involve adults: three cases in Sandoval County, one in Santa Fe County and one in Bernalillo County in which a 90-year-old patient died.
State Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel says flu can be fatal if left untreated or if a person has a weakened immune system. She’s encouraging people to get vaccinated.
Near the end of last season, state officials had said flu activity in New Mexico was higher than the national average and that the rate of hospital admissions among children 4 and younger was particularly high.
Officials say young children and older adults are the most vulnerable.
The flu season typically runs through the end of April.
Methane Study To Deploy Planes, Towers In Texas, New Mexico – Associated Press
A new effort is under way to measure emissions of a potent greenhouse gas across an area of surging oil and natural gas production in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
The Environmental Defense Fund announced Wednesday that it will work with university researchers to collect measurements of methane emissions across the Permian Basin.
The effort will collect data from sensors mounted on towers, ground vehicles and airplanes across a booming region for oil production that spans some 85,000 square miles.
Defense Fund Regulatory Affairs Director Jon Goldstein says study results including a map of emissions will be made public. He says researchers with Pennsylvania State University will install stationary methane monitors and the University of Wyoming will use vehicles to measure methane concentrations near drilling sites.
New Mexico High Court Denies To Declare Law Unconstitutional – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has denied a petition by a clean energy group to declare new legislation unconstitutional.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the petition by New Energy Economy and other groups was denied by the high court Tuesday.
Officials say the Energy Transition Act was designed to move public utilities and rural electric cooperatives toward renewable and zero-carbon resources.
Officials say the law requires the state to meet half its energy demand without fossil fuels by 2030, and 100% by 2045.
The Santa Fe-based energy group says the law undermines the Public Regulation Commission’s right to review and approve how to pay costs of retiring old fossil fuel power sources.
The law passed earlier this year and was signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Virgin Galactic Says It’ll Fly Italian Air Force Researchers – Associated Press
Virgin Galactic says it has been contracted by the Italian air force for a suborbital research flight aboard its winged rocket ship.
The company announced Wednesday that the mission will be flown as early as next year, carrying three Italian specialists who will tend to the experiments while the craft is in space.
Virgin Galactic is best known for its plans to carry tourists into the lower fringes of space to experience weightlessness and view the Earth far below.
But its spaceships also are designed to carry experiments that require several minutes of microgravity.
Virgin Galactic crews have reached space on test flights over California, and the company recently moved staff to Spaceport America in New Mexico to begin commercial launches.
The company has not yet said when it will begin its commercial flights. In July, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said three or four test flights would be conducted from New Mexico, beginning this fall.
House In Southeast New Mexico Stunk Up Town, Costing Thousands – Hobbs News-Sun, Associated Press
A house in southeastern New Mexico severely damaged by a sewer backup while vacant is continuing to leave a stench -- financially.
The Hobbs News-Sun reports officials in Eunice, New Mexico, want to recoup the previous administration’s expenses on the feces-plagued house and are seeking repayment of more than $34,500 from the current homeowner.
Records provided to the News-Sun show sewage from the city’s sewer system backed up sometime around June 2015 into the house. A recent widow who had moved to Roswell owned the uninsured house, so no one had entered it to discover the backup.
Tree roots had plugged the sewer line and had not been removed by city workers before significant damage occurred.
Albuquerque Mayor Says Crime Figures Show Need For State Help – Associated Press
FBI figures show New Mexico’s 2018 violent crime rate was more than double the national rate.
Figures released this week show Albuquerque accounted for 60 percent of total violent crimes in the data for New Mexico.
Albuquerque is home to about 560,000 people, more than a quarter of the state’s population.
New Mexico had a rate of 857 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2018. The national rate was about 369 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Reporting by law enforcement agencies for the annual report is voluntary.
Mayor Tim Keller says curbing crime remains his administration’s top priority, and that the figures show it’s important for state officials to prioritize crime fighting in Albuquerque too.
Crime statistics have remained a political flashpoint in New Mexico in recent years as authorities and lawmakers debate how best to boost public safety.
New Mexico Man Accused Of Biting Police Dog After Ax Attack – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A New Mexico man is facing charges after authorities say he bit a police dog following an alleged ax attack.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Chris Gavaldon was arrested last week after Rio Rancho police were called to a mobile home over reports of a fight between a man and a woman.
Rio Rancho Police Capt. Andrew Rodriguez says Gavaldon used an ax to batter the woman, causing “significant injury” to her hand.
Rodriguez says police sent in their canine Diesel after Gavaldon barricaded himself inside his home. That’s when police say Gavaldon bit the dog.
Rodriguez says the bite didn’t break Diesel’s skin but the canine was placed on antibiotics.
Gavaldon is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. It was unclear if he had an attorney.
New Mexico Jury Finds Ex-Deputy Guilty Of Aggravated Battery – Associated Press
A New Mexico jury has found a former sheriff's deputy accused of kicking a man in the head guilty of aggravated battery.
Jurors returned the verdict Tuesday against David Priemazon after deliberating for six hours.
Priemazon was a 15-year-veteran of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office when prosecutors say he kicked Christopher Lucero in March 2018 following a chase through Albuquerque's South Valley.
Sam Bregman, an Albuquerque attorney who represented Priemazon, expressed disappointment over the verdict, saying he believed the jury "got it wrong."
Bregman says he appreciates that his client received a fair trial.
Priemazon faces up to three years in prison. He will be sentenced Dec. 3.
2 Found Dead In Wreckage Of A Small Plane In New Mexico – Associated Press
Authorities say two bodies have been found in the wreckage of a small plane in New Mexico's Pecos Wilderness.
But State Police have not yet confirmed if the plane is the same aircraft that was reported missing last week with two people from Colorado aboard.
Search crews also haven't been able to determine the tail number because the aircraft was so badly damaged, and the two bodies have yet to be identified.
They say the crash site was in mountainous terrain with heavy tree growth at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.
Authorities have been searching since last Friday for a single-engine, four-seater plane that disappeared shortly after a refueling stop at Santa Fe Regional Airport on Thursday evening.
Officials Mum After Months Without Hispanic Center Leader - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Months after incoming New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the widely popular leader of the National Hispanic Cultural Center to resign, the search for her replacement continues.
And officials are remaining mum on the process.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Secretary of Cultural Affairs Debra Garcia y Griego is refusing to give details on whether the three announced finalists are still in the running. The chair of the center's search committee also isn't talking.
The uncertainty comes nine months after Rebecca Avitia and other agency leaders were asked to resign. Avitia declined to reapply for the position and was not chosen for another job in the administration.
Avitia was widely credited for turning the center around following
years of turmoil and high staff turnover.
Lizard Protections Sought Amid US Oil Boom – Associated Press
A small lizard found among the dunes straddling New Mexico and West Texas in one of the nation's richest oil basins is at the center of a new lawsuit.
Environmentalists want the federal government to add the lizard to the endangered species list. The fight stretches back to the Bush and Obama administrations and could affect part of the multibillion-dollar energy industry in the Permian Basin.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife filed their lawsuit Tuesday. It followed a listing petition that was filed in May 2018.
The lawsuit claims more than 2.5 square miles of the lizard's habitat was destroyed in the 18 months prior to filing the petition. The groups say the need for listing is urgent as drilling continues in the region.
Energy industry officials defended their efforts to protect the species, saying Tuesday that oil companies have spent time and millions of dollars on conservation projects.
FBI Offers Up To $20K Reward In New Mexico Cold Case - Associated Press
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the whereabouts of a New Mexico teenager who disappeared more than three decades ago.
Tara Calico was 19 when she vanished after going for a bicycle ride near her home in Belen.
FBI spokesperson Frank Fisher says the agency has never stopped looking for Calico and hopes somebody will finally come forward with a clue that will help solve the case.
Numerous tips have come in over the years, and the FBI has conducted countless interviews.
Calico was riding a pink Huffy mountain bike with yellow control cables and sidewalls. She was last seen along Highway 47 in Valencia County just before noon on Sept. 20, 1988.
Authorities say she biked this route daily as part of her routine 36-mile ride.
New Mexico Bowl Lands New Sponsor With Film Ties - Associated Press
The New Mexico Bowl has a new sponsor.
DreamHouse has signed on for a multiyear sponsorship as part of an agreement with the bowl's owner, ESPN Events. The deal with the Albuquerque-based post production studio was announced Tuesday.
Officials also unveiled a new logo for the annual post-season contest.
This year's game will kick off the collegiate bowl season at noon on Dec. 21 in Albuquerque. The game will include teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA.
ESPN Events Vice President Clint Overby says his company will be working with DreamHouse to promote the bowl as well as grow the film industry within New Mexico.
DreamHouse CEO Eric Martinez says the partnership will be a great way to kick-start the brand locally and nationally.
Police Recover Bronze Shoes Stolen From New Mexico Memorial – Associated Press
Authorities have recovered five sets of bronze shoes that were stolen from an Albuquerque veterans' memorial that honors those who served in the U.S. war on terror.
Albuquerque police announced that they recovered the shoes Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos says investigators worked with the New Mexico Regulation Licensing Department and Acme Recycling to recover the stolen goods and return them to the veterans’ memorial.
Gallegos did not release any other details, saying the case was still under investigation. No arrests have been made.
Authorities say the shoes were worth an estimated $20,000.
Officials with the memorial said earlier this week that there's a growing need for physical security and electronic surveillance at the memorial park. They say other items have been taken in the past.