Regional

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – New Mexico State University is helping teachers find ways to get young students interested in science, technology, engineering and math. KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – A program at New Mexico State University is giving students a head start to the school year by helping them conduct research and choose a career path. KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports

By KRWG News

Texas – State sales tax receipts in Texas for July were up 2.2 percent compared to last year.

Comptroller Susan Combs said Wednesday that revenue increased $1.69 billion from July 2009, when Texas was in the middle of a 14-month sales tax slump.

The increase marks the fourth consecutive month of gains for Texas.

Combs says sales tax collections in the major sectors retail, the oil and natural gas industry and construction are up from a year ago.

Sales tax receipts make up the state's largest revenue stream.

By KRWG News

Albuquerque – Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez says she would take money from the educational bureaucracy in New Mexico and put it into classrooms.

Flanked by a group of teachers, Martinez on Wednesday outlined her educational plans at a news conference in Albuquerque.

Her plan would put an additional 4 percent of current education dollars into classrooms instead of bureaucratic functions.

By KRWG News

Albuquerque – About 300 tribal officials and representatives of several federal agencies are in Albuquerque for what they call a serious conversation about protecting the civil rights of American Indians.

Indians have made strides, but those at the two-day conference say they continue to face discrimination when it comes to education, religion, voting rights and housing.

By KRWG News

Socorro, NM – The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop technologies aimed at safely and economically storing carbon dioxide in geologic formations.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Dona Ana County Sheriff's Investigators this afternoon arrested and charged MARLENE SANDOVAL, age 33, of Flatland Road, with Child Abuse - Negligently Cause (No Death or Great Bodily Harm), a third degree felony, after investigators learned that she and her daughter, age 5, tested positive for methamphetamine.

SANDOVAL tested positive both for Amphetamine and Methamphetamine, after both her and her child submitted to providing "hair" samples.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Veteran newspaper executive Jim Maxwell has been named publisher of the Las Cruces Sun-News. He replaces Ann Reed, who resigned effective immediately.

Before his appointment, Maxwell had been group publisher of MediaNews Group's seven New Mexico newspaper properties, which included the Sun-News. His next focus will be on the Las Cruces, Deming and Silver City markets specifically.

Reed led the Sun-News for almost two years. She says she will remain in Las Cruces to explore other opportunities.

By KRWG News

Texas – Attorney General Greg Abbott's office has declined to provide an opinion on whether Texas counties can issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if one of the people had sex reassignment surgery.

Abbott's office on Aug. 6. deferred because a similar civil case is pending in Wharton County.

El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal in April requested the AG's opinion, after Sabrina Jeanne Hill sought a license to marry another woman.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – President Barack Obama has signed a bill that he says will save hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment.

Obama signed the measure into law just hours after the House passed it in a special one-day session during what would normally be the lawmakers' summer break.

By KRWG News

Mexico City – President Felipe Calderon says he's willing to change Mexico's drug-war strategy and promised a new offensive against money laundering.

That's in the wake of hearing blistering criticism from opposition leaders. More than 28,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon launched the offensive in late 2006, sending thousands of troops to drug hot spots.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – The City of Las Cruces is working to reduce square footage and excess facility costs. As KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports, the city is struggling to maintain facilities.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – The findings of the first independent public opinion poll of residents along in border cities in California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico show that residents feel their border communities are as safe as most communities in the nation.

The release of the report comes on the heels of the House of Representatives passage of a $600 million in supplemental funding for border enforcement (HR 6080) calling for more money and agents to the Southern border.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Las Cruces Police arrested a 17-year-old boy early Saturday morning after he struck an officer with a vehicle while attempting to flee from the scene of a loud disturbance.

Ruben A. Bustillos, 17, was charged with one count each of aggravated battery upon a peace officer, and driving under the influence of liquor or drugs. Bustillos was given a juvenile Class III referral and was transported to the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he is being held without bond.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced that the Secure Communities program has been deployed to all 25 U.S. counties along our Southwest border.

Secure Communities allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use biometric information to identify criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails part of the Department's focus on identifying and removing convicted criminal aliens who pose a public safety threat to American communities.