Regional

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Gov. Bill Richardson says three of his cabinet-level department leaders are leaving their jobs next month.

The governor's office said Friday that Education Secretary Vernonia Garcia is retiring. She will be replaced by Susanna Murphy, a faculty member at the University of New Mexico's College of Education.

Garcia is becoming an executive with the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network Inc.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – A human-caused wildfire in the Chiricahua Mountains along the Arizona-New Mexico border still is only 25 percent contained after charring an estimated 2,600 acres.

Coronado National Forest officials said Friday that the projected date for full containment for the fire has been pushed back to July 10 instead of June 15.

The Horseshoe Fire was first spotted on May 26 and is burning in rugged terrain in a remote area. The fire still isn't endangering any structures.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Members of the Legislative Finance Committee say the Legislature should limit the fees paid for private lawyers to defend pension or investment board members who are sued.

The issue surfaced at a committee meeting Thursday because of a policy recently approved by the Educational Retirement Board, which wants to set aside $1.5 million out of the pension fund for legal costs of current and former board members.

By KRWG News

El Paso – Mexico has condemned the shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Mexico expressed its anger Thursday through diplomatic correspondence and an angry phone call to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Some Mexican politicians called for the agent's extradition to face Mexican justice.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexico officials want hikers, bikers and others to be aware of mountain lions.

Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a proclamation declaring Saturday as "Cougar Smart New Mexico Day."

He says people need to remember cougars and bears share the outdoors.

Game and Fish Department Director Tod Stevenson says mountain lion attacks are extremely rare.

And game officials say people can cut the risk by taking a few steps.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexico investment funds grew by nearly $1.2 billion during the past quarter because of financial market gains.

The Legislative Finance Committee reported Thursday that permanent and pension funds had combined asset values of $32.7 billion at the end of March. That's up 3.7 percent for the quarter and 29.7 percent from a year ago.

The Land Grant Permanent Fund was valued at $9.5 billion, up $423 million for the quarter.

The Severance Tax Permanent Fund was worth nearly $3.7 billion, a gain of $121 million.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – Several local residents are speaking out about efforts to regulate digital billboards in Las Cruces city limits. KRWG's Vanessa Dabovich reports

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Las Cruces International Airport will receive $174,500 in federal funds to install weather reporting equipment, just part of a package of airport upgrades in New Mexico.

U.S. Senator Tom Udall today announced airports across New Mexico will receive a total of $6.79 million for runway rehabilitations, lighting replacement and new equipment.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – At about 7:00 am this morning, a stabbing occurred in the parking lot of greenhouses located in the Arrowhead Research Park, near the intersection of Triviz Drive and Cholla Drive.

The victim, an employee at the greenhouses (operated by a company that leases space from NMSU), was stabbed several times. She was transported by helicopter to University Medical Center in El Paso, and is reported to be doing well at this time.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Concerns about border security in southern New Mexico have prompted members of the state's congressional delegation to revamp a proposal for setting aside more than 560 square miles as wilderness and a national conservation area.

The legislation would protect the Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces and other scenic areas in Dona Ana County. The measure would create a 259,000-acre wilderness area and a 100,000-acre conservation area.

By KRWG News

El Paso – A residential fire in El Paso left a man and his 6-year-old stepdaughter dead and his wife with burns.

El Paso Fire Department Lt. Mario Hernandez says the 25-year-old woman early Thursday saved a younger daughter by lowering and then dropping the 4-year-old from a second-story window. That girl was not harmed in the fire.

Hernandez says the cause of the fire, reported shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday, is sought. Hernandez says the victims were in one apartment of a four-unit complex.

By KRWG News

El Paso – Law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 2,000 people in a 22-month investigation targeting Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the United States.

The probe, called Project Deliverance, focused on the transportation of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana along the Southwest border.

Over 400 of the 2,000 arrests were made Wednesday. Attorney General Eric Holder has scheduled a news conference on the operation Thursday.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – A New Mexico State Police investigation has cleared three Las Cruces Police Department officials of allegations they took bribes for arranging a firearms contract.

State police Lt. Roman Jimenez (hih-MEHN'-ehz) says no criminal activity was found.

He says everything was accounted for, and the southern New Mexico police department's records were well kept.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Yesterday, New Mexico Game and Fish Officers, assisted by Deputies from the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department, caught up to a wandering black bear frolicking and "hanging out" in an irrigated Pecan Orchard in Garfield.

The male, 125 pound black bear, who authorities believe may have wandered from the Black Range, "went down easy," with the help of a tranquilizer.

The bear, reported to be in "good condition", will be transported to the Gila Snow Lake area.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The New Mexico Supreme Court has expanded the authority of state and local law enforcement officers to enter tribal lands to investigate crimes committed off reservations by American Indians.

The court's unanimous ruling upheld the drunken driving conviction of David Harrison, a member of the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation and Santa Ana Pueblo had submitted written arguments in the case, saying tribal sovereignty would be undermined if the DWI conviction was affirmed.