Albuquerque Lab Could Begin Testing For COVID 19 - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Health officials in say samples from people suspected of having the new virus that started in China will soon be tested by an Albuquerque laboratory.
The samples from New Mexico have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state has no confirmed cases of the virus which is known as COVID-19.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported yesterday that state Epidemiologist Michael Landen expects the state to soon begin its own testing.
That means doctors will be able to send samples to the proposed lab in Albuquerque instead of a federal lab. It is unclear when the lab would open.
Effort To Euthanize Family Duck Draws Police Attention - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A New Mexico grandfather's effort to euthanize the family duck drew police attention after residents reported multiple shots fired.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports police initially confiscated a handgun from Lorenzo Pacheco, who had fired four shots at the bird before striking and killing it.
Officers had arrived to the scene just before a burial for the bird was about to commence. Kaelyn Pacheco says the duck, a family pet, had become paralyzed and couldn’t walk, and it also had an eye infection.
Lorenzo Pacheco said police returned his gun to him and determined there was no cause for a charge of negligent use of a firearm.
APS Announces 39 School Chief Applicants - Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education said Wednesday that 39 people have applied to be superintendent.
Officials will be dwindling down the list in the coming month.
Albuquerque Public Schools board president David Peercy said the district is looking to hire a leader who will understand the unique needs of a diverse school district in one of the nation's poorest states.
The district is 67% Hispanic. According to 2019 state data, about 20% of students were proficient in math and 30% proficient in English in Albuquerque Public Schools.
District officials said they hope to have a new superintendent by July to replace Raquel Reedy, who is retiring.
Ex-New Mexico Tourism Secretary Named To Girl Scouts Job - Associated Press
Former New Mexico Tourism Secretary Rebecca Latham has been named CEO of Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails.
The group said this week that Latham succeeds longtime CEO Peggy Sanchez Mills, who retired in January. Latham, a Brownie Troop Leader, will leave her role as CEO of American Mothers, Inc. at the end of February.
With offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Aztec and Clovis, Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails serves around 6,000 girls and adults across central and northern New Mexico.
The council serves 23 counties.
Latham oversaw New Mexico's Department of Tourism while the state experienced record tourism.
Lawsuit: Black Officer Who Was Fired Faced Harassment - By Russell Contreras Associated Press
Court documents say a black New Mexico corrections officer faced constant harassment and was eventually fired after he called in sick and was later spotted at a high school basketball game.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque earlier this month alleged Eric Bland and another black corrections officer suffered "petty harassment."
The harassment allegedly followed the appointment of a new supervisor at the Lea County Detention Center in August 2018.
The lawsuit said Bland then was reassigned to a less desirable area without explanation and went to human resources to complain.
After he complained, court documents said Bland faced retaliation for going to human resources.
Lea County Manager Mike Gallagher says the county does not, has not and will not engage in racial discrimination.
New Mexico Homeowner Ordered To Remove Pro-Palestinian Mural - Associated Press
A New Mexico homeowner has been ordered to remove pro-Palestinian murals from an adobe wall outside his Santa Fe home.
The Santa Fe Historic Districts Review Board affirmed Tuesday a decision by the city of Santa Fe that required Guthrie Miller to paint over the mural.
The artwork depicts armed Israeli soldiers threatening Palestinian children at gunpoint.
Jewish leaders had called the mural anti-Semitic.
Miller, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, has allowed other pro-Palestinian artwork to be displayed on his property in the past. He says a Navajo artist created the artwork.
The order comes after the same board voted on a plan to destroy a Chicano mural to make way for the new museum.
New Mexico Jury Convicts Arizona Resident Of Human Smuggling - Associated Press
A federal jury in New Mexico has convicted an Arizona resident on a human smuggling charge.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Francisco Armando Martinez of Tucson was found guilty on Tuesday of one count of transporting immigrants who were in the country illegally.
Martinez faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced.
The evidence at-trial showed a group of people immigrating from Mexico paid smugglers to help them illegally cross the border into the United States.
Prosecutors say the group gathered at a guest house in the Mexican state of Sonora.
They paid for backpacks containing food and water for the trip and took a taxi to the border where a guide led them into the United States through the desert on foot.
Martinez picked the immigrants up on the side of the road to transport them.
Authorities say Martinez drove to a gas station where Border Patrol agents questioned him about the people inside his vehicle.
Early Risers See Apparent Meteor Streak Across Western Sky - Associated Press
Early risers in several Western states reported seeing what appeared to be a meteor streaking across the sky before dawn Wednesday.
The American Meteor Society received multiple reports from New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Utah about the fireball.
An observer with the organization has said the bright light appears to have been a meteor.
Organization officials have said this is the best time of the month to view meteor activity since the moon will not be a factor.
The phenomenon was captured on video by meteorite hunter Robert Ward in Prescott, Arizona, and posted on the organization's website.