News

  Federal auditors are recommending that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recover more than $6 million in grant funding from New Mexico.

The EPA's Office of Inspector General says three bureaus within the New Mexico Environment Department did not always comply with federal requirements when it came to charging labor, fringe benefits and indirect costs to federal grants.

The New Mexico Engineering Resource Network, New Mexico State University College of Engineering, will host a beginning robotics camp in Las Cruces from July 10-12 for students ages 10 and older.

A railroad museum in West Texas has left a locomotive behind after being evicted in a rental dispute at a city-operated building.

Volunteers with the Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso on Monday finished removing items as they seek a larger location.

The city had allowed the museum, which was founded in 2004, to operate without paying rent. A May eviction notice says the city needs a paying tenant as property values rose.

Texas counties needing financial help controlling feral hogs are being encouraged to pair up and apply for $30,000 in grants.

The Texas Department of Agriculture on Tuesday announced the County Hog Abatement Matching Program, or CHAMP.

Commissioner Todd Staples says feral hog control efforts need to be coordinated across public entities and private landowners. Individual Texas counties must partner with at least one other county also working on feral hog abatement.

  HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – The Holloman Airman who died June 11 has been identified as Tech Sgt. Melissa L. Shroka.  Her death is currently under investigation.  Shroka was assigned to the 4th Space Control Squadron as the NCO in charge of material management.  The 4th SPCS is a geographically-separated unit assigned to the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., and is a tenant unit at Holloman AFB.

  A hot and dry air mass with stronger winds and lower relative humidity has settled over the Silver Fire resulting in an increase in fire behavior.   The fire continues to grow.  It now stands at 24,800 acres and remains just five percent contained.  

A New Mexico man accused of trying to kidnap a 4-year-old girl but was thwarted by the girl's mother who chased him down and crashed into his car has pleaded not guilty.

David Hernandez was arraigned Monday in New Mexico District Court in Albuquerque and ordered held on $100,000 cash bail.

Police say Hernandez tried to kidnap the child in May outside of the St. Anthony's Plaza Apartments in Albuquerque when a group of teenagers saw the kidnapping and ran to alert the girl's mother, Melissa Torrez.

A troubled New Mexico border town rocked by a recent election extortion case and allegations of voter fraud now faces water problems.

The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office warned Sunland Park residents Monday that a well in the city was out of service and the problem could spark system-wide water outages.

The office said that Camino Real Regional Utility Authority users are advised to immediately implement and maintain a strict conservation schedule until the well repairs have been confirmed and the system is once again fully pressurized.

The number of people in New Mexico receiving disability payments through the Social Security system has exceeded even the increasing national trend.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that a review of data from the Social Security Administration showed that the number of former workers in New Mexico getting Social Security Disability Insurance grew by nearly 66 percent from 2002 to 2011.

During the same period, the growth nationally was nearly 55 percent.

Three state biologists are being honored for their work rescuing threatened and endangered species.

Department of Game and Fish herpetologist Charlie Painter, fisheries manager Kirk Patten and recently retired Gila Trout Recovery Coordinator David Propst received the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Recovery Champions awards for their work rescuing threatened and endangered species.

Water users within the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority should immediately begin conserving water. A well within the City of Sunland Park has gone out of service, which could mean system-wide water outages. 

The well could be repaired as early as Tuesday.  However, utility users are advised to immediately implement and maintain a strict conservation schedule until the well repairs have been confirmed and the system is once again fully pressurized.

     Fire investigators with the Doña Ana County Fire and Emergency Services Department have determined a fire last week that destroyed a mobile home and displaced the owner and several dogs on the property was caused by an electrical accident.

   According to Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Crespin, the homeowner left for a doctor’s appointment Thursday, June 13, and plugged in a fan using an extension cord to keep her pets cool inside the home on the 9100 block of Berry Patch Lane in Butterfield. The extension cord malfunctioned and caught fire, said Crespin.

There are 16 fertilizer plants in Texas like the one that exploded in West, but authorities say they aren't clear if any are near schools or residential centers.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told lawmakers Monday that he wasn't aware if the state had looked at other fertilizer plants for proximity to things like schools.

The April 17 explosion killed 15 people in West, a rural farming community. A school, nursing home and apartment complex nearby were all damaged.