Regional

  New Mexico legislators want greater accountability regarding state grants and tax incentives for businesses that are designed to create jobs. The push comes as the state ramps up financial support to a variety of industries. Proposed legislation r by Democratic Rep. Bill Tallman of Albuquerque would require businesses that receive public support to provide the state with details about the number of related new full-time jobs, annual wages for those jobs and spending on local infrastructure. The proposal holds implications for hundreds of businesses that receive more than $100 million in incentives each year.

  A Doña Ana County Sheriff’s detective arrested Idali Genoveva Ortiz-Munoz, 21 and Christian De La Torre, 23 for alleged child abuse and alleged failure to report child abuse or child neglect to law enforcement or Child Protective Services.

The investigation began on Dec. 25, after El Paso Children’s Hospital personnel referred the case to DASO, suspecting child abuse. 

A detective assigned to the case later learned Ortiz-Munoz and De La Torre are suspected of causing their two-month-old infant’s fractures to the right collarbone, the left arm bone and ribs.

Cloudcroft, NM - On Saturday, the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was contacted to investigate a police shooting involving the Otero County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico Game and Fish. Here is a statement from the NM State Police:  State Police agents learned that around 7:30 p.m., the Otero County Sheriff’s Office and NM Game and Fish responded to a domestic violence incident 55 West Side Rd., in Otero County.

As Otero County Deputy and Game and Fish officers arrived at the residence, at least one gunshot was fired from inside the residence towards the location of deputies and officers. At this point, an Otero County Sheriff deputy and NM Game and Fish officers discharged their duty firearms towards residence. Deputies and officers then set up a perimeter and requested New Mexico State Police Tactical Team.

About 50 residents and almost 15 City staff members gathered in mid-December at the East Mesa Public Safety Complex to discuss trash. Specifically, removing old trash from City-owned property alongside Lohman Ave. and across from Mountain View Regional Medical Center. The old trash is in a pre-1965 dumpsite. It is an unlined 114-acre site that was used from 1959 to 1966, when Las Cruces had a population hovering around 30,000. (Population.us)

  ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that James Stewart was sentenced to twenty years in the Department of Corrections after he was convicted of three counts of human trafficking.  Here is a statement from the AG's office: Jurors found that between 2015 and 2018, Stewart, Sr. used his three minor children to panhandle around Albuquerque so he could use that money to buy drugs. All three children courageously testified against their father at trial.

“Protecting New Mexican children from predators is a top priority,” said Attorney General Balderas. “I am grateful that we partnered with courageous young abuse survivors to achieve justice and I commend them for their bravery in this case.”

  Drought has yet to give up its hold over parts of the southwestern United States despite a series of storms that have brought rain and snow to the region in recent weeks. The latest federal map shows a pocket of moderate and severe drought centered over the Four Corners region _ where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. Despite the continued dry conditions, forecasters say things are better than they were last year at this time when exceptional and extreme drought _ the worst categories _ had set in. They say average moisture levels resulting from snowfall are above normal across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

  Trevelin Queen totaled 17 points, eight assists and a career-high seven steals and New Mexico State drubbed NAIA-member Northern New Mexico 104-30. Queen sank 3 of 6 from 3-point range and 3 of 3 from inside the arc for the Aggies (9-6). Johnny McCants and Evan Gilyard added 12 points apiece as New Mexico State shot 59% from the floor and 51% from distance (20 of 39). 

Emergency traffic signal repairs at the intersections of north Telshor Boulevard and Spruce Avenue, and north Triviz Drive and Spruce Avenue will impact motorists. The repairs will disrupt signal operations and temporary stop signs will be installed. The work has been scheduled to be completed overnight beginning at 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020.

The City has verified that no conflicting public or private construction projects will take place in that immediate area during this time.

Access to businesses and residences will not be disrupted.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - An advisory panel has released a technical report that covers how emissions are produced by oil and natural gas development and how New Mexico might be able to curb pollution from the industry.

Rather than outline specific recommendations, the 300-page document is meant to be a resource for state regulators as they begin the process in 2020 of drafting formal rules aimed at reducing methane emissions.

  Federal agencies have filed opinions for national forests in New Mexico and Arizona and have asked a judge to dismiss the court's previous ruling on timber management activities on Mexican spotted owl habitat land. The Albuquerque Journal reported Friday that a U.S. district court in Arizona imposed a forest use injunction limiting timber activities such as tree-cutting, gathering fuel wood and controlled burns until effects on the threatened spotted owl species were determined. Officials say the opinions claim the conditions that necessitated the injunction are no longer present. An environmental group that sued federal agencies for failure to monitor the bird populations says they are opposed to the motion.

  Yesterday, in a letter to New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, Senator Richard Martinez (D– Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe) resigned from his positions as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Courts, Corrections & Justice Interim Committee.  Here is a statement from the Senate Democrats:

In the letter, Senator Martinez stated “After extensive thought and consideration and given my recent DWI conviction, I have decided to resign my position as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee. I want to thank those who made it possible for me to serve in these positions.”

In a separate statement Senator Martinez added, “I do intend to continue my service as a state senator in District 5.”

In response to the letter, Senators Papen and Wirth issued the following statement: “Senator Martinez’s resignation as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Interim Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee is a positive development. We will make our recommendation for his replacement as Chair to the Committees’ Committee, which meets the first day of the legislative session.”

  New Mexico's minimum wage will increase for the first time in over a decade as several new state laws take effect on New Year's Day. Hourly base pay rises to $9 an hour starting in 2020 and eventually to $12 by 2023 under a law signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The state also is increasing oversight of so-called surprise medical billing that occurs when an insured person inadvertently receives care from an out-of-network provider. Local governments may raise more money to promote tourism as New Mexico closes a tax loophole for homeowners who rent rooms on a short-term basis through Airbnb-style third-party websites.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)-Physician and political latecomer William Pratt has died after serving just over a year in the state House of Representatives. 

The 84-year-old Democrat died Wednesday in Albuquerque from complications related to a stroke. He joined the Legislature by appointment in 2018 and then was elected to fill a seat held for 24 years by a Republican who retired.

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC) hosted a 3-day Recycling Facility Operator Certification Course in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in mid-December. Recycling professionals from the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) in Las Cruces attended, as well as those from as far away as Clovis, Angel Fire and Navajo Nation. Thirty-two attendees plus speakers and trainers gathered in T-or-C to learn best practices on safely and sustainably operating recycling programs. 

  Police in New Mexico are investigating the shooting of four people found dead on Christmas Day as a murder-suicide. Police in the Albuquerque suburb Rio Rancho on Thursday identified the dead as family members, including a 14-year-old boy. A woman told KRQE-TV she's related to the people who lived in the home, and her mother and brother found the bodies. They went to the home because they were concerned that they had not heard from the family. Police called the killings a tragic event for the family and the rest of the community.

A 41-year-old Congolese woman died Wednesday in U.S. government custody shortly after she entered a border station in South Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday. CBP says the 41-year-old woman, who the agency did not identify, had arrived at an official port of entry in Laredo, Texas, early Tuesday afternoon. CBP says the woman came with paperwork that documented a “previous medical condition,” but it didn't disclose what the condition was. At least 11 people died this year in CBP's custody, according to statements posted on the agency's website. 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)-Forecasters say much of New Mexico is about to get more snow and rain, with the precipitation continuing into next week.

Advisories and watches issued by the National Weather Service say a pair of storm systems will initially drop rain in lower elevations starting late Thursday night and Friday before temperatures drop and change the precipitation to snow.

The weather service says significant snow accumulations are likely across the northern and western mountains with lesser amounts in lower elevations of central and western New Mexico.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)- An Illinois-based company that develops wind farms in the United States and Canada has won a bid for thousands of acres of state trust land in New Mexico where it plans to build its next project. 

The lease was approved and signed last week by Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard. The Gladstone Wind Farm will be located in Union and Colfax counties in an area has been designated as prime for wind energy generation.

  New Mexico's attorney general has charged the mayor of a troubled city with six felony bribery and abuse of power charges after prosecutors said she steered contracts to a construction firm owned by a man she's accused of being romantically involved with. The Las Vegas Optic reported Tuesday that Las Vegas, New Mexico, Mayor Tonita Gurule-Giron was charged. Gurule-Giron's listed attorney, Ben Andrew Mondragon, did not return phone or email messages left by The Associated Press on Wednesday. She has previously denied having a relationship with the construction firm owner or having a role in the contracts.

  New Mexico officials are planning another public meeting focused on the state's oversight and scientific monitoring of environmental impacts at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Environment Department has scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 9 at the University of New Mexico campus in Los Alamos. The gathering follows a recent decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that storm water runoff from the lab and Los Alamos County are contributing to violations of water quality standards and that those discharges must be controlled and regulated under an EPA-issued permit. Environmentalists say controlling the discharges will protect downstream users from heavy metals and other contaminants.