SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Proposed legislation that would increase fees charged for public records in New Mexico and potentially limit access in certain cases is being called a "terrible anti-transparency" action by an open government advocacy group.

Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, told the Roswell Daily Record that the main purpose of his proposed legislation is to allow public entities a way to recover the costs associated with fulfilling records requests.

 The snow from the previous day didn’t slow Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) in the mission to provide access to inexpensive natural gas to approximately 1,000 residential parcels on the southeast side of Las Cruces. In fact, it was slightly warm down in the deep trench where a new low pressure gas line is being built to pipe gas to the Talavera subdivision, located between the Organ Mountains and A Mountain.

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — As a child, Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. hid under a bed when the Ku Klux Klan came to his parents' home in rural North Carolina. Racist groups often targeted the poor family of Shawnee Native American ancestry as the Wrays endured segregation in the American South just like African-Americans.

Wray eventually took all that rage of his early years and crafted a 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" using a distinct, distorted electric guitar sound that would influence rock 'n' roll musicians from Iggy Pop and Neil Young to Pete Townshend of The Who and Slash of Guns N' Roses. Though the song had no lyrics, it was banned in the 1950s for allegedly encouraging teen violence.

  Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) has implemented a process to assist furloughed federal workers as they face challenges paying their utility bills in absence of a paycheck. “We empathize with our federal colleagues who are in this unfortunate situation through no fault of their own. We at the City can’t replace the paycheck, but we can help ease the sting by ensuring that these families have utilities service for the duration of the shutdown,” said Mayor Ken Miyagishima. 

  SAN LUIS, Ariz. (AP) — A group of 376 Central Americans was arrested in southwest Arizona, the vast majority of them families who dug short, shallow holes under a barrier to cross the border, authorities said Friday.

The group dug under a steel barrier in seven spots about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of a border crossing in San Luis and made no effort to elude immigration agents. They included 176 children.

The unusually large group was almost entirely from Guatemala. They were taken to Yuma after entering the country Monday.

Commentary:  U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich urged the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees to hold hearings on the tragic deaths of two migrant children in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.  Here is a statement from the office of Senator Udall:

In December alone, 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin and 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez died in New Mexico after they were detained along with their fathers by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after crossing the border, raising serious concerns about detaining migrant children. In their letter, the senators detail the urgent need for effective Congressional oversight to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. 

“The deaths of 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez and Jakelin Caal Maquin raise serious concerns and questions that must be addressed,” the senators wrote. “There are also reports of another migrant girl who nearly died while in CBP custody in November after going into cardiac arrest.”

  Las Cruces – Each year, students, community members, and faculty assemble at Doña Ana Community College (DACC) to produce computer games and compete against groups from all over the world. 

Common Cause New Mexico rolled out the results from its annual poll today, which revealed an increasing appetite for institutional and procedural changes in the NM legislature. The telephone poll of 450 registered voters, randomly selected by Research and Polling Inc. for the December 2018 survey, asked voters about a wide variety of campaign finance and transparency issues. In addition, there were some broader questions included the pool, which had a margin of error of 4.6%.

According to the results of the poll, 36% of those surveyed believed New Mexico was headed in the right direction, an increase of 12% over last year’s results. Thirty-eight percent believed it was on the wrong track, a decrease from last year’s 52%.  This relatively positive attitude was the highest that it’s been since 2015, when 41% of voters said that they believed the state was headed in the right direction.