Western Governor Say States Not Consulted On Nuclear Waste – Associated Press
Western governors say they're disappointed that the U.S. Department of Energy didn't consult their states' nuclear waste experts before releasing a five-year plan for a nuclear waste facility in New Mexico.
The Western Governors' Association in a Sept. 30 letter to the Energy Department said the plan released in August for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could have benefited with contributions from the states concerning transportation and safety.
The underground repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico, takes in plutonium-contaminated clothing, tools and other material generated at 22 sites across the nation involved in Cold War-era nuclear research and bomb-making.
Western governors also say discussion devoted to a 2014 accident at the facility that shut down shipments is minimal and should contain lessons learned and actions to avoid future radiation releases.
New Mexico Man Contracts Plague, State's 1st Case Since 2017 – Associated Press
New Mexico health officials say an elderly man in Torrance County has contracted the plague.
State officials said Friday the 72-year-old man is the first reported human case of the disease in New Mexico since 2017.
Staff of the New Mexico Department of Health have gone door-to-door in the affected area to warn neighbors and help them reduce the risk.
Health officials say plague is generally transmitted by the bites of infected fleas living among rodents and rabbits. It can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals.
Symptoms include a sudden fever, chills, headache and weakness. There may be painful swelling of lymph nodes.
2 Isleta Pueblo Members Receive Lost Vietnam War-Era Medals – Associated Press
Two Isleta Pueblo members who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War have been presented with military medals they earned but never received.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall on Friday pinned the replacement medals to All Pueblo Council of Governors Chairman E. Paul Torres and former Isleta Tribal councilman Diego Lujan during a special ceremony at Isleta Pueblo.
The New Mexico Democrat says he sought the replacements after he learned Torres did not have his discharge papers nor his medals. Udall also found out Lujan never received five of his medals.
Torres served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972.
Lujan served in the U.S. Air Force from 1969 to 1972.
Both men say they rarely thought about their missing medals until family members asked about them.
Report Examines Drug-Handling Practices At National Lab – Associated Press
A government report says Los Alamos National Laboratory's procedures for storing and tracking controlled substances used in experiments violated federal rules and might have left drugs unaccounted for.
The report by the U.S. Department of Energy's office of inspector general said the lab mislabeled drug purchases, failed to account for amounts used in experiments and kept substances long after research was complete.
The report doesn't say there was evidence that anything illegal occurred, but it says that a failure to manage inventories properly could have serious consequences.
The lab says a new process for managing controlled substances has been in place for nearly a year.
Department of Energy's office of inspector general says it wasn't recommending any action because the lab recently adopted a new policy for managing controlled substances.
Reboot Of Reality Show On Weight Loss Films In Santa Fe – Associated Press
A revamped version of the long-running reality show "The Biggest Loser" about physical fitness and weight-loss is filming in northern New Mexico.
The New Mexico Film Office announced Friday that work is under way in the Santa Fe area on a 10-episode season of the rebooted franchise, with its debut scheduled on USA Network in 2020.
During more than 15 seasons and 250 episodes, the original show staged cash-prize competitions on weight-loss. Producers say the new iteration emphasizes the overall well-being of contestants and serious lifestyle changes.
Filming under Universal Television Alternative Studios and Endemol Shine North America takes place as the state of New Mexico boosts available tax rebates to video productions for a portion of local spending. Anticipated rebates to "The Biggest Loser" were not immediately available.
Court Leaves Regulators To Hash Out Coal Plant Closure – Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court is leaving it up to state regulators to hash out whether a sweeping new energy law should be considered as they deliberate the closure of a coal-fired power plant.
The court on Thursday denied a request by environmentalists and the utility that operates the San Juan Generating Station to force regulators to abide by the Energy Transition Act.
The law allows Public Service Co. of New Mexico and other plant owners to recover investments by selling bonds that will be paid off by utility customers.
Environmentalists have criticized the Public Regulation Commission for not clarifying whether it will apply the law's financing mechanism.
The commission is leaving it up to hearing examiners to review. All parties in the case will be able to weigh in.
Albuquerque Pastor Charged With Sex Abuse Of 5-Year-Old – Associated Press
Authorities are accusing a longtime pastor of sexually abusing a 5-year-old boy at his home in Albuquerque.
A criminal complaint shows 55-year-old Curtis Ray Brown has been charged with criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact of a minor.
Brown, who was jailed late Thursday, is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges Friday afternoon.
Authorities say Brown was the pastor for 18 years at Grace Baptist Chapel in Albuquerque. Online court records did not yet list an attorney for Brown, and the public defenders' office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Records show Albuquerque police began investigating Brown in late August after they say the boy told his parents he had a "secret" that involved him and Brown "playing" with their private parts.
New Mexico Looks To Jumpstart Outdoor Recreation Businesses - Associated Press
The New Mexico Economic Development Department will award up to $50,000 to business incubators that come up with the best programs to help outdoor recreation ventures that are in their early stages.
The program was announced Thursday during the Outdoor Economics Conference in Silver City.
The business incubators will have until Oct. 25 to respond if they’re interested in the state’s request of proposals.
Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes says her agency will work with the incubators to help entrepreneurs in the burgeoning industry expand and create jobs.
Officials are hoping to focus on businesses that offer services such as guided tours or gear rentals, or products like fishing rods, bikes and technical apparel. They’ll also be giving special consideration to ideas that support rural areas or take regional approaches.
‘Nothing Like It:’ Global Balloon Fiesta Ready For Liftoff – Associated Press
Hundreds of hot air balloons will lift off from the New Mexico desert over nine days as part of one of the world’s largest festivals dedicated to the sport of ballooning.
In its 48th year, the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is scheduled to kick off Saturday with a mass ascension.
More than 580 balloons are registered, 17 countries are represented, and tens of thousands of spectators from around the world are expected to turn out for opening weekend.
Elijah Sanchez will be among the youngest to launch. After years of crewing on the ground and hours of studying to earn his license, the 20-year-old pilot says he couldn’t be more excited.
Albuquerque has hosted the fiesta since its inception in 1972.
Troy Bradley, one of the ballooning world’s most prolific record-setters, said, “There’s just nothing like it in the world, to see that much color going into the sky.”
New Mexico District To Pay Students $11M For Sex Abuse Suit - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The Española Public Schools district has paid $11 million to three former students of a teacher convicted of a dozen counts of sexual abuse.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the women recently dropped a federal lawsuit they filed in 2017 against the district, 62-year-old former teacher Gary Gregor and their former Fairview Elementary School principal Ruby Montoya.
Authorities say several women accused Gregor of rape and molestation between 2004 and 2008 at elementary schools in Española and Santa Fe.
He was sentenced to 108 years in prison earlier this year in a case involving two former Fairfield students. He’s appealing the conviction.
Authorities says Gregor also has been named in multiple lawsuits filed in state and federal courts since 2014.
Navajo Nation Woman To Seek GOP Nod For US House Seat – Associated Press
A northwestern New Mexico woman has announced she is running for an open U.S. House seat in New Mexico and wants to become the first Republican Native American woman in Congress.
Karen Bedonie recently filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to seek the GOP nomination for open U.S. House seat in northern New Mexico.
The Navajo Nation businesswoman promises on her campaign website to “lift the government burdens off our shoulders.” She also says a robust Second Amendment could address the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in the U.S.
Bedonie joins a crowded field of Republican and Democratic candidates running for the seat.
The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who is running for U.S. Senate.
New Mexico Considers Fair-Pay Rules For College Athletes – Associated Press
A Republican state senator wants New Mexico to allow college athletes to receive paid endorsements.
Senator and former University of New Mexico football player Mark Moores of Albuquerque announced Thursday that he will be sponsoring a bill to legalize student endorsement deals.
The proposal would follow in the footsteps of California’s first-in-the-nation law aimed at allowing players share in the wealth of big-money college athletics.
The NCAA oversight organization for college athletics prohibits players from hiring agents and does not pay players in most cases. The organization is studying other ways players might make money.
Moores says student athletes deserve the opportunity to enjoy the financial fruits of their labor.
He said his bill would ensure student athletes are not barred from participation for promoting products and companies for payment.
Ban Could Block Capitol Christmas Tree From New Mexico - Associated Press
A tree to be displayed outside the U.S. Capitol building over the holidays is supposed to come from a New Mexico forest.
That's if the U.S. Forest Service can get an exception from a tree-cutting ban across all New Mexico national forests and one in Arizona. The agency says it's trying.
The ban came in a 2013 lawsuit filed by WildEarth Guardians that accused the Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of failing to track the threatened Mexican spotted owl for more than 20 years.
A federal judge has OK'd personal firewood permits but sidelined other timber management activities.
The Capitol Christmas Tree is scheduled to be cut from Carson National Forest early next month.
WildEarth Guardians says the ban wouldn't prevent that from happening.
Finland Agrees To Return Native American Remains To Tribes – Associated Press
Finland has agreed to return to Native American tribes ancestral remains and artifacts taken more than a century ago from what is now Mesa Verde National Park in the Southwest United States.
The White House announced the agreement during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday. The agreement involves the remains of about 20 people and 28 funerary objects.
The remains and items were excavated by a Swedish researcher in 1891 and later became part of the collection at the National Museum of Finland.
U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt says President Donald Trump and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto acknowledged the sanctity of the items to the two dozen tribes that are culturally connected to the Mesa Verde region.
That list includes tribes in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Texas.