New Mexico Officials Warn Of Severe Weather, Flooding – Associated Press
Emergency management officials issued a severe weather warning Wednesday as widespread rain was reported across western New Mexico and throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
Wind gusts of about 45 mph were reported as rain moved into the Albuquerque area on Wednesday afternoon. In southern New Mexico, flood advisories were issued for Carlsbad and other communities.
Authorities warned people to away from arroyos, drainage channels and flooded low-water crossings.
"Our communities need to be prepared," said Bianca Ortiz Wertheim, head of the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "If you can avoid driving during storms, please do so. And never attempt to cross flowing streams, as even a foot of running water can cause most vehicles to be carried away."
State officials described this year's summer rainy season as active, noting that 10 disaster declarations have been issued in the past three months due to flooding.
The forecast called for scattered to numerous thunderstorms developing during the afternoons and evenings Thursday through Saturday, with the threat of heavy rainfall persisting mostly in the southwest, central and east-central parts of the state.
New Mexico Education Policy Director Resigns Over Remarks - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report for America
An education policy expert is resigning her post at the New Mexico Legislature following a long-simmering controversy over remarks she made about Native American students in 2019.
Legislative Education Study Committee director Rachel Gudgel announced her resignation Wednesday, ending her tenure as a top nonpartisan advisor to lawmakers focused on education policy, where she earned around $130,000 per year.
"I have worked for the Legislature since 2005 and I love my job. However, the harassment and difficult work environment over the past three months has created an atmosphere that is just too challenging for me to continue to work in and be effective," she said in a statement.
The decision followed a year of disciplinary actions that included a temporary suspension, an apology and a $100,000 professional coach. In her apology to Native American leaders, she described her remarks as "insensitive." Native American advocacy groups and lawmakers later called for her resignation.
Around 10% of New Mexico school children are Indigenous, and the state has around two dozen Native American tribes with their own unique languages and cultures.
Education committee members accepted the resignation and appointed deputy director Vanessa Hawker to lead the research efforts through the next legislative session, which will begin in January.
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Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitte
New Mexico Resolves Tax Dispute With $50M Payment – Associated Press
Local governments will get a $50 million boost to resolve a 2018 lawsuit that accused the state of botching tax distributions to 44 counties and municipalities across New Mexico.
Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell and Farmington were among the major plaintiffs to the lawsuit that alleged the state has short changed them revenue that pays for law enforcement, fire protection and other services.
The state Taxation and Revenue Department on Tuesday announced terms of the financial settlement on the sharing of gross receipts taxes.
Gross receipts taxes apply to sales and business services at a rate of between 5% and 9% by location. The state distributes more than $1.9 billion in revenues from gross receipts taxes to local governments each year.
Local governments also complained of wild fluctuations in amount of gross receipts shared each month, previously with little explanation by state taxation authorities.
In a statement, Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said that "local governments deserve to have confidence in how their tax revenues are handled, and we've been able to demonstrate to them that the system is working."
Her agency says it added a liaison to improve communications with local governments, rigorous monthly reviews of local tax distributions, more robust auditing and greater access to state financial reports.
State economists say that gross receipts taxes have surpassed expectations by $330 million during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2021.
They linked the surge in revenues to deployment of the coronavirus vaccine this year, the reopening of businesses and the release of pent-up consumer demand.
Albuquerque Schools Budget For Teacher Loans, Fewer Students- By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report for America
New Mexico's largest school district wants to use federal pandemic funding to prevent staff layoffs.
A proposal from Albuquerque Public Schools released Monday would direct $50 million in pandemic relief to offset a loss of state money tied to enrollment decline.
Superintendent Scott Elder said in a video conference the district lost around 5,000 students and around $50 million in state funding.
"One of the big points of federal money was to allow districts a year to try to stabilize themselves, and without having to do massive layoffs," Elder said.
If adopted in the final budget, that stabilization would account for 25% of the nearly $200 million the district gets in the next and largest round of federal relief funds for schools.
Around 15% of the proposed budget is aimed at helping chronically absent students.
The district also proposed buying more student laptops, upgrading ventilation, and paying up to $5,250 in student loans for district employees.
New Mexico school funding is based on student enrollment numbers from the previous year. Enrollment has dropped around 1% every year for the past decade due to population change. It dropped an additional 4% last year as some families chose to homeschool instead of participating in remote learning through public school.
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Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitter.
Top New Mexico Lawmakers Concerned About Oil And Gas Rules - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
A group of powerful New Mexico lawmakers is questioning whether state environment officials have done enough to weigh the potential economic effects of a proposal to cut smog-causing pollution across the oil and gas industry.
Leaders of the Legislative Finance Committee sent a letter last week to state Environment Secretary James Kenney, saying the rules would have an effect on state general funds and local government coffers if enacted.
"The potential economic and revenue impact to the state is a matter of great importance to the committee," the letter read.
A New Mexico Tax Research Institute study cited by the lawmakers puts annual revenue losses for the state and local governments at $730 million.
Another independent analysis by John Dunham & Associates — an economic research firm hired by the industry — found the rules would cost operators more than $3 billion to comply during the first year. More than one-third of currently operating oil wells and 87% of natural gas wells would become uneconomical after accounting for increased regulatory costs, according to that study.
Experts have said there would likely be declines in both oil and gas production in New Mexico, which is now ranked second in the U.S. when it comes to production.
The committee sent the Environment Department a series of questions about what was done to consider the economics of the rules and what other options there might be for small producers.
The state agency in a response issued Wednesday said it plans to present expert testimony on the methods and findings of the analysis done by John Dunham & Associates and that the state Environmental Improvement Board will consider testimony from the agency's own staff, the industry and other parties in the case during a hearing later this month.
Kenney wrote that this process will ensure that all aspects of the proposed rule and its effects on the state are fully developed and presented to the board.
"The board will not rely on a single, deeply flawed economic study conducted and paid for by the regulated community, and I ask that Legislative Finance Committee not do so either," Kenney's letter states.
He also noted that New Mexico regulators have a duty to address rising ozone levels, which he blamed in part on oil and gas production. He said monitors in southeastern New Mexico — home to one of the world's most productive basins — are registering ozone levels in excess of federal standards.
If the state doesn't act, he said the federal government will force it to do so under provisions of the Clean Air Act.
The rules proposed by the Environment Department are part of a two-pronged approach, which Kenney has touted as the most comprehensive effort in the U.S. to tackle pollution blamed for exacerbating climate change. State oil and gas regulators adopted separate rules earlier this year to limit venting and flaring as a way to reduce methane pollution.
The Environment Department opted to remove all exemptions from an earlier version of its draft rule. The proposal also includes minimum requirements for operators to calculate their emissions and have them certificated by an engineer and to find and fix leaks on a monthly basis.
If companies violate the rules, they could be hit with notices of violation, orders to comply and possibly civil penalties.
The state expects the rule, once adopted sometime next year, to lead to reductions in ozone-causing pollution that would equal taking 8 million cars off the road every year. Methane emissions also would be reduced as a result, officials have said.
Series Based On Hillerman Novels To Be Set On Navajo Nation – Associated Press
Production of a six-episode television series based on crime novels by the late author Tony Hillerman is underway in New Mexico, the State Film Office announced Tuesday.
A psychological thriller set in the Four Corners region of the Southwest, "Dark Winds" centers on two Navajo Nation police officers trying to solve a double murder in the Four Corners region.
It's a production of AMC Networks.
Hillerman's acclaimed books featuring officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee were characterized by vivid descriptions of Navajo rituals and of the vast reservation.
The series will be shot on the actual reservation, in Santa Fe and other locations through November. It's expected to premiere next year, the State Film Office said.
"We are ecstatic that AMC is being so intentional about telling this story in an authentic way by creative talent whose work speaks for itself, with a Native American director from New Mexico, as well as Native American writers, actors, and locations," said Amber Dodson, the Film Office's director.
Chris Eyre, who directed the movie "Smoke Signals," is directing the pilot. The series stars Zahn McClarnon, Noah Emmerich and Kiowa Gordon.
Hillerman died in 2008.
School District Fires Ex-Legislator Amid Corruption Probe – The Associated Press
The Albuquerque school system has fired former state Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton from her nearly $80,000-a-year occupational education position amid a corruption investigation.
Williams Stapleton resigned her legislative position in July amid a criminal investigation into possible racketeering, money laundering, kickbacks and violations of a law governing the conduct of state lawmakers.
A lawyer for Albuquerque Public Schools, Luis Robles, said Tuesday that Williams Stapleton had been "discharged." He declined to elaborate.
Williams Stapleton's attorney, Ahmad Assed, did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday by The Associated Press for comment on her behalf.
The school district previously placed Williams Stapleton on leave after investigators searched her home.
Authorities are investigating Williams Stapleton's connections to a company that received more than $5 million in contracts to do business with the school district.
Williams Stapleton has not been criminally charged and Assed has said Williams Stapleton would cooperate with investigators and clear her name.
Robles said Williams Stapleton can appeal her termination from the school system.
The Bernalillo County Commission recently filled the House vacancy created by Williams Stapleton's resignation by appointing fellow Albuquerque Democrat Kay Bounkeua.
Flood Watches Issued For Parts Of New Mexico For Wednesday - Associated Press
Flood watches have been issued for Wednesday for parts of western New Mexico along with a mountainous area of north-central New Mexico due to approaching tropical moisture.
Watch areas in western New Mexico range from just north of Gallup and Grants on the north to the U.S.-Mexico border on the south. Other communities in the watch areas include Lordsburg, Deming and Silver City.
The National Weather Service issued a separate flash flood watch for the Tusas Mountains, including the community of Chama in northern Rio Arriba County.
"Abundant subtropical moisture" expected to arrive Wednesday will "increase the potential for locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding," the weather service's Albuquerque office said on Twitter.
Albuquerque Schools Budget For Teacher Loans, Fewer Students - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report For America
New Mexico's largest school district wants to use federal pandemic funding to prevent staff layoffs.
A proposal from Albuquerque Public Schools released Monday would direct $50 million in pandemic relief to offset a loss of state money tied to enrollment decline.
Superintendent Scott Elder said in a video conference the district lost around 5,000 students and around $50 million in state funding.
"One of the big points of federal money was to allow districts a year to try to stabilize themselves, and without having to do massive layoffs," Elder said.
If adopted in the final budget, that stabilization would account for 25% of the nearly $200 million the district gets in the next and largest round of federal relief funds for schools.
Around 15% of the proposed budget is aimed at helping chronically absent students.
The district also proposed buying more student laptops, upgrading ventilation, and paying up to $5,250 in student loans for district employees.
New Mexico school funding is based on student enrollment numbers from the previous year. Enrollment has dropped around 1% every year for the past decade due to population change. It dropped an additional 4% last year as some families chose to homeschool instead of participating in remote learning through public school.
New Mexico Resolves Tax Dispute With $50M Payment - Associated Press
Local governments will get a $50 million boost to resolve a 2018 lawsuit that accused the state of botching tax distributions to 44 counties and municipalities across New Mexico.
Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell and Farmington were among the major plaintiffs to the lawsuit that alleged the state has short changed them revenue that pays for law enforcement, fire protection and other services.
The state Taxation and Revenue Department on Tuesday announced terms of the financial settlement on the sharing of gross receipts taxes.
Gross receipts taxes apply to sales and business services at a rate of between 5% and 9% by location. The state distributes more than $1.9 billion in revenues from gross receipts taxes to local governments each year.
Local governments also complained of wild fluctuations in amount of gross receipts shared each month, previously with little explanation by state taxation authorities.
In a statement, Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said that "local governments deserve to have confidence in how their tax revenues are handled, and we've been able to demonstrate to them that the system is working."
Her agency says it added a liaison to improve communications with local governments, rigorous monthly reviews of local tax distributions, more robust auditing and greater access to state financial reports.
State economists say that gross receipts taxes have surpassed expectations by $330 million during the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2021.
They linked the surge in revenues to deployment of the coronavirus vaccine this year, the reopening of businesses and the release of pent-up consumer demand.
Series Based On Hillerman Novels To Be Set On Navajo Nation - Associated Press
Production of a six-episode television series based on crime novels by the late author Tony Hillerman is underway in New Mexico, the State Film Office announced Tuesday.
A psychological thriller set in the Four Corners region of the Southwest, "Dark Winds" centers on two Navajo Nation police officers trying to solve a double murder in the Four Corners region.
It's a production of AMC Networks.
Hillerman's acclaimed books featuring officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee were characterized by vivid descriptions of Navajo rituals and of the vast reservation.
The series will be shot on the actual reservation, in Santa Fe and other locations through November. It's expected to premiere next year, the State Film Office said.
"We are ecstatic that AMC is being so intentional about telling this story in an authentic way by creative talent whose work speaks for itself, with a Native American director from New Mexico, as well as Native American writers, actors, and locations," said Amber Dodson, the Film Office's director.
Chris Eyre, who directed the movie "Smoke Signals," is directing the pilot. The series stars Zahn McClarnon, Noah Emmerich and Kiowa Gordon.
Hillerman died in 2008.
Navajo Nation Reports No COVID-related Deaths For 3rd Day - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Tuesday reported 54 new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths for the third consecutive day.
The latest numbers pushed the tribe's total to 32,600 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
The known death total remained at 1,403.
Based on cases from Aug. 13-16, the Navajo Department of Health has issued an advisory notice for 36 communities due to uncontrolled spread of COVID-19.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez has said all Navajo Nation executive branch employees will need to be fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 by the end of September or be required to submit to regular testing.
The new rules apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, including those working for tribal enterprises like utilities, shopping centers and casinos.
Any worker who does not show proof of vaccination by Sept. 29 must be tested every two weeks or face discipline.
The Navajo Nation reservation is the country's largest at 27,000 square miles and it covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
New Mexico Poised To Reconsider Bail Reform Amid Crime Wave - By Mike Gallagher Albuquerque Journal
Prosecutors and police have argued unsuccessfully that New Mexico's bail reform law needs to be tweaked to make it tougher for defendants charged with violent felonies to be released while awaiting trial.
While their past legislative efforts have fallen short, they have gained an important ally in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who says she wants to see changes in the state's pretrial detention system.
"I believe a rebuttable presumption for individuals accused of violent crimes can be a wedge in the revolving door of repeat violent offenses that have characterized the worst aspects of the crime our state continues to experience," Lujan Grisham said in a statement to the Albuquerque Journal.
As the system works now, to have a defendant charged with a violent felony held prior to trial, prosecutors must show the accused represents a danger to the community — and that there are no conditions of release that will protect the community.
Lujan Grisham, who is seeking reelection, said she wants to shift the burden of proof so that people charged with violent offenses are required to show they can safely be released.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez, a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for attorney general who has pushed for similar changes in the past, said he welcomes the governor's support.
Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur said in a statement that fear about rising violent crime has little to do with pretrial release and that this kind of change "is guaranteed to sweep up the innocent along with the guilty."
Baur said only 3% of people released prior to trial commit a violent crime after their release pending trial.
"I'm extremely concerned about allowing the government to hold people in jail for months just because someone said you did something," he said.
"We hope the governor will look at the facts and not the emotion of the issue," Baur added.
New Mexico voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 that largely did away with the system of money bail bonds. The change meant many low-level defendants were no longer held simply because they lacked resources to post a bond. It also authorized judges to order defendants held in custody without bond pending trial if certain conditions on dangerousness and conditions of release were met.
In 2019, Torrez sought to have the Legislature pass a law that would require judges to lock up defendants prior to trial if they were charged in certain violent crimes, like murder and criminal sexual penetration. The law would put the responsibility on the defendant facing those charges to show that there are conditions under which they could be released prior to trial.
Torrez failed to get much traction in 2019. He intends to make another attempt this coming session.
"We're not asking for low-risk, non-violent offenders to be detained," he said.
Torrez's suggested legislation would create a "rebuttable presumption against release" in the crimes of first- and second-degree murder cases, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery in the third degree, sexual exploitation of children, criminal sexual penetration, armed robbery and human trafficking of a child.
The law also would include defendants facing new charges while on parole or with a recent felony conviction for any of those crimes.
Charges that included great bodily harm and brandishing a firearm during the commission of the crime would also be subject to a rebuttable presumption against release.
In those cases, defendants would have to show that they could be released from pretrial detention without endangering the community.
Baur said the current process allows for dangerous people to be held prior to trial.
"Innocent people are arrested every day," he said, "but currently there is a process that requires the government to separate the truly dangerous from those who pose little or no threat."
Torrez points to several cases in which people charged with violent crimes were released and either absconded from court supervision or committed more crimes when they were released.
Last week, Trey Bausby, 19, cut off his ankle monitor and failed to show up at a halfway house after being released on first-degree murder charges in the stabbing death of a woman at an Albuquerque motel in January.
Prosecutors had sought to keep Bausby in custody pending further proceedings in the case, but District Judge Richard Brown ordered him released with ankle monitoring and orders to stay in a halfway house.
"The court is putting too much faith in ankle monitors," Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a statement. "… Our officers and the public are at risk by these decisions."
Prosecutors also had argued that Bausby, who was arrested in Albuquerque last Friday morning, was a flight risk and was asking people if he could borrow money so he could get out of town.
Torrez also wants legislators to look at how the state deals with felons in possession of a firearm.
"About 42% of the people we seek to detain, the crime involves possession of a firearm," Torrez said. "We're losing over 52% of those detention cases."
In the federal system, a high percentage of defendants accused of gun crimes including being a felon in possession are held in custody.
Torrez says the changes he advocates would make New Mexico's system operate more like California, Washington, D.C., and the federal system on the issue of pretrial detention. New Mexico, he has said, is an outlier.
In addition to shifting the presumption on pretrial detention, Lujan Grisham said that in next year's 30-day legislative session she wants lawmakers to approve $100 million to fund an additional 1,000 police officer positions throughout the state.
The governor also said she wants to continue to talk with legislators about other improvements to public safety.
Earlier this month she sent 35 state police officers to Albuquerque because of the record high number of homicides the city has seen since January.
Republicans, meanwhile, have urged her to call a special session to deal with crime, pointing out that Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate have killed 10 GOP-sponsored tough-on-crime bills in the last two years.