Regional

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The director of the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico is disappointed that a former agency official who oversaw one of the largest onshore minerals production areas in the United States took gifts from an oil company.

An investigation by the Interior Department says former Farmington BLM district manager Steve Henke took gifts from Williams Exploration and Production golf tickets, lodging and meals and solicited donations for his son's youth baseball teams.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Pro's Ranch Market, a major Hispanic grocery, is building a store on El Paseo Road in Las Cruces. The store will be located in the former Community Action Agency building. Fred Martino spoke with District Four Councilperson Nathan Small about the store, which is expected to hire as many as 250 employees.

By KRWG News

Texas – A million Texans can make lifesaving differences when they die.

The Department of Public Safety on Monday announced 1 million Texans have now signed up for the state's organ and tissue registry, which went online in September 2006.

DPS says the Glenda P. Dawson Donate Life-Texas Registry is the state database of individuals who have agreed to donate organs, eyes and tissue for transplants.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Federal prosecutors in New Mexico have filed murder and carjacking charges against two escaped convicts from Arizona and a woman who accompanied them while they were at large.

A federal magistrate on Monday signed arrest warrants for 45-year-old John McCluskey, 42-year-old Tracy Province and their alleged accomplice, 44-year-old Casslyn Welch.

They're accused of carjacking and murdering Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh, Okla.

By KRWG News

El Paso – The following is a statement from UTEP President Diana Natalicio issued Aug. 22:

UTEP Police are investigating the discovery of a single bullet that struck a campus building (Bell Hall) sometime on Saturday evening, August 21, 2010. Between 6:10 and 6:40 that evening, there was an exchange of gunfire in Juarez, Mexico, which resulted in the closure of Paisano Drive from Executive Center to Santa Fe Street. UTEP Police believe that the bullet may be related to this incident.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces –
Every Monday, Fred Martino speaks with Las Cruces Sun News Business Editor Brook Stockberger.

By KRWG News

Texas – Millions of students returned to public schools across Texas while tens of thousands of others were staying home to hit the books.

Monday was the first day of classes in most public schools.

The Houston Chronicle reports a growing number of Texans are deciding to home school their youngsters.

The Texas Home School Coalition says, over the past five years, the number of Texans opting to teach their children at home has grown about 20 percent to an estimated 120,000 families and 300,000 children.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in central New Mexico will reopen Sept. 12 after road work.

Officials plan a reopening celebration for the monument between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The Bureau of Land Management says road crews have been making good progress after weather-related construction delays.

The BLM says the reopening celebration will feature a road dedication and ribbon cutting, guided hikes and activities at the monument as well as events at nearby Cochiti Pueblo.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was on his way Sunday to Havana, Cuba as part of a trade mission.

Richardson's office says he will help market New Mexico commodities and follow up on potential trade partnerships discussed during a visit to Cuba last year.

The mission will meet with officials from Alimport, the Cuban government agency responsible for agricultural commerce.

By KRWG News

Texas – Texas officials expect to regulate insurance rates more actively under a new federal law, requiring insurers to justify "unreasonable" increases in premiums.

However, state officials tell the Austin American-Statesman that a lack of staff and other resources may keep the state from reviewing and comparing rates on a regular basis. They say the state has had the authority to regulate insurance premiums more rigidly, but that power wasn't used regularly.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has stirred up a historical hornet's nest with his talk of pardoning Old West outlaw Billy the Kid.

The latest to come out against it is a descendant of the territorial governor who once met with the Kid but never granted him clemency 130 years ago.

William N. Wallace, great-grandson of Civil War Gen. and New Mexico territorial Gov. Lew Wallace, says he sees no solid historical foundation for Richardson to offer a posthumous pardon for the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney.

By KRWG News

Juarez, Mexico – A shootout between Mexican police and gunmen has killed one person in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

Federal police spokesman Ramon Salinas says three municipal police officers were wounded.

The gunbattle lasted more than 20 minutes Saturday night on the edge of the Rio Grande, which divides Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.

Salinas says gunmen ambushed a municipal police patrol and fighting escalated when federal police arrived to help.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Organizers of high school athletics in New Mexico want students across the nation to know Gabe Gurule's story.

A three-sport standout at Manzano High School in Albuquerque, Gurule lost his spot on the football team after he started drinking alcohol. That ended a flow of college scholarship letters from schools like Nebraska, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Today, he's serving an 8-year prison sentence after killing three people in a drunken driving crash early on Thanksgiving Day 2005.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Gov. Bill Richardson is taking his first steps into this fall's gubernatorial election, firing off a pointed criticism of Republican nominee Susana Martinez over her remarks in a debate and in a campaign advertisement.

Richardson said Friday that Martinez "obviously doesn't know what she's talking about."

The governor attacked Martinez for making false claims about his record and says she has continued to get his administration's record wrong.

By KRWG News

Santiago, Mexico – Mexican authorities say six police officers have been arrested in the killing of a mayor in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.

Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza says the suspects include the security guard of Mayor Edelmiro Cavazos.

Garza y Garza announced the arrests Friday. Investigators are pursuing other leads.