New Mexico Sets Rules To Launch Pandemic Debt Collection -- Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico’s state court system is taking steps to ease financial pain as consumer debt comes due along with consequences for mortgages that went unpaid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Administrative Office of the Courts on Monday announced staggered deadlines for a return to debt collection orders that can be used to garnish wages or seize property to pay off consumer debt.
Common forms of consumer debt are linked to credit card spending and medical expenses. The judiciary also won't allow mortgage lenders to foreclose on properties without first providing homeowners with a list of other options, including forbearance that reduces or suspends loan payments temporarily.
Over the weekend, the U.S. government lifted an order that prevented banks across the country from foreclosing on homes, potentially putting thousands of families at risk.
However, a statewide moratorium remains in effect on evictions for people unable to pay their rent. The state Supreme Court has not set an expiration date on that moratorium.
Children At Border Reaches All Time High -- Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
A U.S. official says the number of children traveling alone who were picked up at the Mexican border by U.S. immigration authorities likely hit an all-time high in July.
Preliminary government data released Monday by a Department of Homeland Security official also says the number of people who came in families likely reached its second-highest total on record.
The sharp increases from June are especially striking because crossings usually slow during stifling summer heat.
The disclosures came in a court filing hours after immigrant advocacy groups resumed a legal battle to end the government’s authority to expel families at the border on grounds it prevents the spread of the coronavirus.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed those emergency powers, known as Title 42. The Homeland Security Department said it would continue to enforce the ban on asylum for single adults and families despite growing pressure from pro-immigration groups that it isn't justified on public health grounds. Unaccompanied children are exempt.
Garden To Open For El Paso Walmart Shooting 2nd Anniversary -- Associated Press
Officials in the border city of El Paso are unveiling a garden meant to bring healing two years after a gunman targeting Latinos opened fire at a Walmart, killing 23 people in an attack that stunned the U.S. and Mexico.
Tuesday's dedication will be closed to the public as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic. Victims’ families and officials will take part in the ceremony, which will be livestreamed.
The Aug. 3, 2019, shooting happened on a busy, weekend day. Authorities say the shooter drove more than 600 miles from the Dallas area to target Mexicans. He has pleaded not guilty.
US Plans 50% More Wild Horse Roundups Amid Western Drought -- Scott Sonner Associated Press
U.S. land managers have begun efforts to capture about 50% more wild horses than originally planned this year because of severe drought across the U.S. West.
The emergency roundups that began Sunday and Monday target about 6,000 additional animals primarily in Nevada, Oregon and Colorado.
The Bureau of Land Management says the expanded effort concentrates on places where “chronic overpopulation” of the herds has stretched available food and water to their limits.
Horse advocates say the emergency roundups are being driven by pressure from ranchers who don’t want wild horses competing with their livestock for limited forage and water.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says ranchers have voluntarily reduced and rotated grazing on federal lands during the drought.
UNM To Require Students And Staff To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 – KUNM News
The University of New Mexico will require all students and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this fall with limited exceptions.
In a campus-wide email Monday, UNM President Garnett Stokes announced the mandate, which she says she has asked the Board of Regents to endorse.
The Board meets Thursday. If endorsed, Stokes says the mandate will go into effect that same day.
It stipulates that eligible UNM community members be fully vaccinated as soon as possible, but by no later than the end of September.
The vaccine requirement applies to all students and staff who access facilities and programs on the Main Campus in Albuquerque and branch campuses across the state. It does not apply to staff at UNM Hospitals, which have their own vaccination policies, according to the announcement.
The university is offering accommodations to students and staff with certain disabilities, medical conditions or religious beliefs who apply and are approved to waive the mandate. Exemptions also exist for those who learn or work remotely, and temporarily while the vaccines remain under FDA Emergency Use Authorization.
Those who remain unvaccinated may be required to submit to regular testing and not have access to all campus spaces.
New Mexico Tries Carrot-Stick Approach To Boost Vaccination - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
The state of New Mexico moved forward Monday with a carrot-and-stick approach to immunizations against COVID-19 with a renewed $100 payout to newly vaccinated residents.
That $100 offer remains in effect through the end of August. The strategy was pioneered by New Mexico for several days in June, with about 25,000 eligible participants. The state's $5 million sweepstakes prize for one vaccinated resident is scheduled to be awarded on Saturday.
President Joe Biden recommends that more states use cash payments to increase the pace of vaccination, as health authorities grapple with the more-contagious delta variant.
Starting on Tuesday, New Mexico is requiring that vaccine-eligible state workers either get the shot or get tested each week for infection.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week described the strategy as "a little incentive, a little mandate."
"That's the sort of movement, I think, that will get us closer and closer to the goals that we need in order to protect ourselves adequately from delta and any other mutated version of this terrible virus," she told a news conference.
New Mexico was an early standout in deploying the vaccine, and immunization rates exceed 90% among eligible residents in Los Alamos County.
Immunization rates still lag in many rural and politically conservative counties, including the oil-producing region that abuts West Texas. Fewer than one-third of eligible residents in Roosevelt County are fully vaccinated.
The state continues to emphasize the availability of coronavirus testing. And it is prodding people to voluntarily participate in a crowdsourcing initiative that uses smartphones to track close encounters with people who later test positive for COVID-19.
Across the nation, a growing number of businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the delta variant and frustrated that vaccination rates in the U.S. have plateaued.
Others are stopping short of a mandate while taking steps to make it more onerous for workers to remain unvaccinated, requiring them to take regular COVID tests or denying them certain privileges reserved only for the vaccinated.
Navajo Nation: 9 New COVID-19 Cases, No Deaths For 2nd Day - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Monday reported nine new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the second consecutive day.
The latest numbers pushed the total number of coronavirus cases to 31,421 since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
The known death toll remains at 1,377.
The tribe had reported 25 new cases and three deaths Saturday with 10 new cases and no deaths on Sunday.
The Navajo Nation's sprawling reservation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
"Public health experts are saying that it is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated, due to the data that shows that most new infections and deaths related to COVID-19 involve people who are not vaccinated," tribal President Jonathan Nez said in a statement. "It's important to remember that even after being fully vaccinated, you can still get COVID-19, but the vaccines are highly effective in reducing the symptoms and chances of being hospitalized."
New Mexico Court Affirms Sentencing In 2011 Triple Killings – Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court is upholding the sentencing of a man who, as a teen, killed three members of a family with a large pickax.
The high court announced in a news release Monday that it determined Nicholas Ortiz's constitutional rights were not violated because he was sentenced as an adult for three first-degree murder convictions.
Ortiz's attorneys argued that since he was 16 at the time of the crimes, Ortiz should have had an "amenability hearing" to see if he was open to some sort of juvenile rehabilitation.
But the court argued an amenability hearing is only mandated for minors convicted of second-degree murder.
Ortiz was sentenced to 25 years in 2019 for three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.
Authorities say Ortiz killed Lloyd Ortiz, Dixie Ortiz and their son, Steven Ortiz, at their El Rancho home in 2011 during a robbery attempt.
Ortiz was not related to the victims but met them when he stayed with the couple's adult daughter for several months.
Trial In 2018 Espanola Drive-By Shooting Death To Begin – Associated Press
After being delayed more than a year because of possible COVID-19 exposure, a murder trial for an Ojo Caliente man is slated to begin this week.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that jury selection was underway Monday for the trial of 25-year-old Mark Hice, who faces first-degree murder and other charges.
Hice was about to go on trial in July 2020 when his defense attorney disclosed she was exposed to COVID-19 patients 11 days earlier while working as a midwife.
The judge declared a mistrial.
Defense attorney Sheri Raphaelson said at the time the judge found her in contempt of court and accused the defense attorney of endangering jurors and other participants. Raphaelson said she had worn complete protective gear as a midwife.
Hice is accused of arming himself and some friends, including teenagers, in October 2018 because another man was threatening to kill him over social media. The group then drove around and Hice fired on a car on N.M. 68 north of Española because of a perceived threat.
Prosecutors say it was a case of mistaken identity. Hice ended up killing 18-year-old Cameron Martinez and wounding three others.
Albuquerque To Vote To Put $50M Bond For Stadium On Ballot – Associated Press
Albuquerque officials will vote on a resolution Monday to let voters decide whether to pursue a new stadium for the New Mexico United soccer team.
KOB-TV reports city councilors will weigh the resolution for a ballot measure involving a $50 million dollar tax revenue bond.
The resolution has been heavily promoted by Mayor Tim Keller, who collaborated with the team's owner.
The $50 million would fund designing, constructing and improving the stadium.
Advocates say the stadium could be used for several things beyond soccer matches such as concerts and other massive events.