New Mexico On Pace For More Record Revenues Thanks To Oil – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A new report says New Mexico is now on track to collect an unprecedented $7.8 billion in the budget year thanks to skyrocketing oil production.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the report says total state revenue collections were roughly $273 million above projected levels through April largely because of oil production in southeastern New Mexico.
The higher-than-expected revenue surge for the budget year that ended June 30 could allow for additional spending increases on public schools, roads, and other programs.
Legislative and executive economists will release new official revenue estimates at a legislative hearing in Red River later this month.
New Mexico was already expecting a $1.3 billion budget surplus for the fiscal year. The latest Legislative Finance Committee revenue tracking report suggests that the final surplus figure will likely end up being larger.
No. 4 House Democrat Says It's Time For Impeachment Inquiry – Associated Press
A member of the House Democratic leadership says it's time for an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, the No. 4 Democrat, is now the highest-ranking member of the House to call for formal proceedings against Trump. He says in a statement that an inquiry would "hold this president accountable."
The New Mexico congressman, who's running for the Senate, cites findings in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Trump's lack of action to secure American elections from foreign interference. Luján says Trump is "abdicating" his responsibility and putting his own personal and political interests first.
The six-term lawmaker is the 121st House Democrat to call for the beginning of an inquiry, according to an Associated Press tally. That's a majority of the 235 Democrats.
New Entry Crowds Democratic House Primary In New Mexico – Associated Press
Former Obama administration official and state elections regulator John Blair is running against a crowded Democratic field for the nomination to an open congressional seat in northern New Mexico in 2020.
Blair announced Monday that he'll seek the congressional seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who is running for Senate.
The 45-year-old former deputy secretary of state is highlighting his upbringing in Santa Fe and prior work with U.S. Interior Department on regulations addressing climate change and new national monument designations.
Blair noted that he is openly gay and would be an advocate in Congress for LGBTQ rights as well as the human right of minorities and immigrants.
Blair says his campaign won't accept corporate money. He describes the Trump presidency as a "dumpster fire."
Report Finds 6 Million Acres Of State Lands In West Inaccessible – Associated Press
Public land advocates say more than 6 million acres of state property scattered across 11 Western states are landlocked by private property and largely inaccessible to recreational users.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX, a Montana-based land data company, released a report Monday that details the extent of state-owned parcels lacking permanent public access.
Montana, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming each have more than 1 million acres of state lands surrounded by private property. Nevada has the least amount with less than 1,000 acres landlocked.
Surrounding landowners sometimes offer access to landlocked parcels through cooperative programs with state wildlife agencies. But Joel Webster with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership says there's no guarantee those programs will continue.
Strangers Say Goodbye To El Paso Shooting Victim – Associated Press
A crowd of strangers said goodbye to an El Paso, Texas, shooting victim after her longtime companion said he felt alone and invited the public to her funeral.
Hundreds of well-wishers gathered at an El Paso cemetery on Saturday to support Antonio Basco as he buried 63-year-old Margie Reckard, his companion of 22 years.
Basco made international news after he told reporters he had almost no family members left and felt he was going to say goodbye to Reckard alone. Reckard was killed by a gunman who opened fire during a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart this month.
A funeral home said more than 3,000 people showed up at memorial Friday night to pay their respects to a woman they had never met. Some traveled from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Judge Approves Wyoming, Montana Coal Mine Bankruptcy Sale – Associated Press
A judge has approved the sale of three mines in Wyoming and Montana owned by a bankrupt coal company.
Farmington, New Mexico-based Navajo Transitional Energy Co. will pay Gillette-based Cloud Peak Energy Corp. $15.7 million under the deal approved Monday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross in Delaware.
The Gillette News-Record reports the company owned by the Navajo Nation also will assume Cloud Peak debts.
Cloud Peak owns the Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in northeast Wyoming and the Spring Creek mine in southeast Montana. The sale also includes Cloud Peak's Sequatchie Valley reclamation project in Tennessee.
Cloud Peak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy May 10.
Campbell County Commissioner Mark Christensen says the sale is encouraging because the county might be able to collect $8.3 million in unpaid taxes.
New Mexico Company Chosen To Build Border Wall Part In Texas - KVIA-TV, Associated Press
An Albuquerque-based company has been awarded a more than $80 million contract to build a stretch of new border wall in Texas.
KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, reports Southwest Valley Constructors was recently chosen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build an 11-mile stretch in Hidalgo County, Texas.
Customs and Border Protection officials said the new portion will be similar to a previously constructed levee wall, built in the area in 2008. That piece included lights, cameras and other technology.
Construction for the new portion of the border wall in Texas could start at the end of September.
The company said in a statement it has built past components of various border wall pieces across the American Southwest dating back to 2006.
National Lab Details $13B In Building Plans Over Next Decade - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory say they have plans for $13 billion worth of construction projects over the next decade at the northern New Mexico complex.
They outlined their plans at a recent meeting attended by hundreds of representatives of construction firms from around the country.
Most of the projects are related to the lab's assignment to ramp up production of key nuclear weapon components known as plutonium cores.
Other work would be aimed at serving a growing workforce, such as housing projects, parking garages and a potential new highway that would reduce commute times from Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Lab Director Thomas Mason tells the Albuquerque Journal the lab currently has 1,400 openings and plans to add another 1,200 jobs to its workforce of 12,000 by 2026.
New Mexico Junior College Plan Eyes 4-Year Degree Under $10K - Hobbs News-Sun, Associated Press
New Mexico Junior College wants to help eastern New Mexico students earn a college degree for under $10,000.
The Hobbs News-Sun reports the school's College FasTTrak program will allow Lea County students to graduate within three years and spend time at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
School officials have worked to improve a system for high school students to receive dual credit that can be used at the junior college and then transferred to Texas Tech.
New Mexico Junior College Vice President of Instruction Larry Sanderson introduced the revamped duel credit system to the school's board at its meeting last week.
Under the proposal, eastern New Mexico high schools will offer approved courses to students giving them the dual credit opportunity.
Carlsbad Caverns Creating Digital Map Of Cave System - Carlsbad Current-Argus, Associated Press
The National Park Service is creating a digital map of Carlsbad Caverns National Park to help with repairs and maintenance projects.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports the agency is using light detection and ranging equipment to digitally map out the entire cave system in southern New Mexico down to the millimeter.
The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas is helping with the $186,000 project, which began in 2015. Staff is shooting images and collect data using laser lights and measuring the reflected light with hundreds of sensors.
The result is supposed to yield a highly-detailed digital three-dimensional map of the cave system.
A final draft of the map is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Tesla Restarts Its Solar-Panel Business, Offers Rental Plans - Associated Press
Tesla is trying to spark its solar-panel business by letting consumers rent rooftop systems rather than buy them.
Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk announced the offering in a series of tweets Sunday.
The company will allow residents of six states, including New Mexico, to rent solar-power systems starting at $50 a month — or $65 a month in California — for a small set-up.
Musk says consumers can cancel anytime, although Tesla's website says there's a $1,500 charge to remove panels and restore the roof to its previous condition.
Rentals will be offered in New Mexico, California, Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Electric car maker Tesla bought residential solar installer SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016 but installations have plunged in recent quarters. Tesla stopped selling systems in Home Depot stores.
Hearing For Mom In Boiling Puppies Case 'Mistakenly' Closed - Farmington Daily Times, Associated Press
A court official says a New Mexico district judge mistakenly kept the public from a hearing involving a New Mexico woman accused of forcing her children to watch her kill their pets.
The Farmington Daily Times reports an Eleventh Judicial District Court administrator said last week it was a mistake for a district judge to close a public hearing for Martha Crouch.
An Aug. 14 hearing at Aztec District Court on Crouch's possible release was closed.
Eleventh Judicial Court executive officer Weldon Neff says District Judge Curtis Gurley viewed two of her cases as "inextricably" linked or impossible to separate and it was a mistake to close the public hearing.
A daughter told authorities the 54-year-old Crouch boiled puppies and poisoned a kitten as punishment.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Charges Dismissed Vs Man Who Crashed SUV Into Courthouse – KOB-TV, Associated Press
Charges have been dismissed against a man accused of driving an SUV through a security gate at New Mexico State Police headquarters, then into the front doors of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse in downtown Albuquerque.
A judge ruled Monday the case can't move forward because of a poorly written criminal complaint that didn't state the damage cost.
Gilberto Durades-Lahera was jailed Saturday on suspicion of two counts of criminal damage to property.
After the incident, he reportedly was yelling that someone was trying to kill him.
KOB-TV reports that in order for someone to be charged with a felony for criminal damage to property, someone must be accused of causing more than $1,000 worth of damage.
State prosecutors say they intend to refile the charges against the 38-year-old Durades-Lahera.
Man Accused Of Driving SUV Through Police Security Gate - Associated Press
Authorities say a man has been arrested on suspicion of driving an SUV through a security gate at New Mexico State Police headquarters, then into the front doors of the Metropolitan Court in downtown Albuquerque.
Police say 38-year-old Gilberto Durades-Lahera is jailed on suspicion of two counts of criminal damage to property.
They say Durades-Lahera showed up at the State Police headquarters near Interstate 40 around noon Saturday and drove through a gate into a secure parking lot.
Durades-Lahera fled and officers couldn't find him until an hour later when he allegedly rammed the same SUV into the front doors of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse.
According to a criminal complaint, Durades-Lahera was yelling that someone was trying to kill him.
It was unclear Sunday if Durades-Lahera has a lawyer yet.