UNM fires football coach Mike Locksley

From KRQE-TV.com - University of New Mexico VP for Athletics Paul Krebs announced football coach Mike Locksley has been relieved of his duties and no longer will serve as head coach. Krebs announced that George Barlow, associate head coach and defensive coordinator, will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. News 13 has learned a press conference will be held at 3 p.m. Monday on the third floor of the Tow Diehm Building. Krebs will address the media at that time regarding UNM's decision to let Locksley go. Sunday's announcement comes one day after yet another embarrassing blow to Locksley, with a DWI case involving a vehicle registered to his family. Joshua Butts, 19, who police say was driving drunk, was arrested Saturday driving a vehicle he claimed was "coach's car" outside university stadium. Police now say the vehicle was registered to Locksley’s son, who also plays for the Lobos and Locksley’s wife as well. Many fans have been pushing for Locksley to leave after a very disappointing two and half seasons. Read more

UNM fires football coach Mike Locksley

Slow moving fugitive arrested

From the Ruidoso News.com - by Harold Oakes - Ruidoso Downs Police Officer Joseph Bailey arrested one of New Mexico's most wanted fugitives Thursday night after stopping a truck for driving too slow. Bailey arrested Andres Juarez, Garcia, 23, on a probation violation. Garcia is listed by the U.S. Marshals as one of New Mexico's Most Wanted gang members. The U.S. Marshals list Garcia as a member of the Washington Little Valley Locos of the Sureños gang. Garcia was a passenger in a vehicle Bailey stopped at 9:42 p.m. for driving too slow on U.S. 70 in Ruidoso Downs. "He was extremely nervous," Bailey said. "You could almost see his pulse through his neck." Bailey said Garcia gave him the name 'Juan Soto' and twice provided false social security numbers. "The first time he gave me too many numbers and the second time he didn't give me enough numbers," Bailey said. Bailey obtained identification from the driver, Leticia M. Recio, 29, of Artesia. Adult Probation Officer Angela Minter was with Bailey on a ride-along. She called a colleague in the Artesia Probation Office and was told Recio could be with Garcia. Based on the physical description provided by Artesia APO, Bailey identified Garcia and asked him to step out of the vehicle. According to the U.S. Marshals, Garcia had eluded police multiple times since he absconded from probation Sept. 23, 2009. He reportedly tried to run again, but only got about 5 feet. "He turned and started to run and I deployed my taser," Bailey said. Read more

Slow moving fugitive arrested

Fashion fad puts fly-tying feathers in short supply

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - a fashion fad that many fly fishermen hope will fade fast. Fly-tying feathers are being snatched up at an alarming rate by hairdressers who weave them into their clients' hair for a flashy new look. The growing fashion demand has since depleted a limited supply of special roosters bred and harvested to meet the fly-fishing industry's needs. Now the feathers are hard to come by and expensive if found. But Toner Mitchell, manager of The Reel Life fly shop in Santa Fe, said he's got a special order coming in — and his longtime customers will get first dibs when the shipment arrives. "I'm going to squirrel most of that away for my secret stash," Mitchell said. "We'll put the word out over the Internet and let our regular customers know we have some behind the counter." And that's what it has come down to as the solitary sport finds itself thrust into the fashion limelight. The fad has taken off during the past year as celebrities, models and the public embraced the fashion trend, which has people attaching the long, slim, eye-catching feathers to their hair for a new style. Read more

Fashion fad puts fly-tying feathers in short supply

Commentary - Leaving the party after 39 years

NewsNM: Swickard - Me too, Bernie. I left a while back. Now I'm DTS. From NM Politics.net - By Bernie Digman - On the 15th of September I finally went down to the county building and walked into the office that handles elections and voter registration and left the party I’d belonged to for 39 years. I’d been thinking of doing so for a long time. Part of hanging on to the failed relationship was the hope that with just a little more time the party would regain some of the standards and principles and ethics it once claimed were bedrocks of its foundation. It just wasn’t going to happen, and I reluctantly faced up to the truth and the reality. I’ve been married to the same wonderful woman for almost as long, and she’s the only wife I’ve ever had, so I’ve no idea if leaving the party is like leaving a spousal relationship in the most minor way. It was a little bittersweet. I have no intention of leaving the wonderful spousal relationship. But in the case of the party it just became too much of an obvious choice for who I am and what I do and what my values have been. Mostly it became an obvious choice for what the party has devolved into. Read column

Commentary - Leaving the party after 39 years

Agriculture Secretary: Americans Need to ‘Adjust’ Their Tastes to Like Healthy Food

From The Blaze.com - Eating well isn’t that hard, Americans just need to tweak their taste buds to find it more palatable, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week. Speaking to members of the National Restaurant Association on Monday, Vilsack said Americans need to “adjust” their tastes so they’ll like the healthful foods the government wants them to eat. “You know, as we deal with this issue of reducing sodium and sugar, it sounds simple to do, but you all know better than I do, it’s not as simple as it sounds,” Vilsack said. “It’s going to take time for people’s taste to adjust and they will adjust over time, but it will take some time.” To achieve this, Vilsack told the audience that the department has “a number” of research projects underway to make nutritious foods more “appealing.” “So, we have to make sure that what we do is create the appropriate transition. At the end of the day, though, we’ve got to deal with this,” he said. Read more

Agriculture Secretary: Americans Need to ‘Adjust’ Their Tastes to Like Healthy Food

Public school coaches told not to participate in prayer

From WSMV-TV Nashville, TN - Reported by Josh DeVine - WESTMORELAND, TN (WSMV) - Some football coaches are in trouble for something they did with their players. During a student-originated, student-led prayer, four coaches bowed their heads. They didn't say a word. But the principal and the district found out. "We've been telling our principals to kind of be looking for those things, because that is kind of a shift in how things have been done," Sumner County Schools spokesperson Jeremy Johnson said. "It can in no way appear like it's endorsed by Sumner County Schools personnel."Channel 4 asked if bowing one's head qualified as endorsing. "It depends on what it looks like," he said. Each coach had to sign a letter stating he understood the district's revised policy. Staff can be there when students pray but can not appear to take part, even outside school hours. Read more

Public school coaches told not to participate in prayer

Juárez cleanup crews collect discarded tires

NewsNM: Swickard - Stories like this give me hope that our good neighbors to the south can step back into the 21st century. Good for them! - From Rio Grande Digital.com - Juárez municipal employees, working on continuing efforts to clean up the city, collected 21,708 discarded tires this week from neighborhood streets, according to a city news release. The effort is part of a mandate from Mayor Hector “Teto” Murguia to the city Utilities Department to make Juárez a more liveable place. This week’s cleanup was particularly successful, as crews far exceeded their tire-collecting goal, which was to remove 16,000 old tires. The workers also collected about 35 tons of junk and trash from the 21 neighborhoods that were the project’s focus during the week, the city said. Removing trash and debris for the streets is a ket part of the city’s strategy to reclaim the city from organized crime groups that have caused chaos in Juárez during the last three and a half years. Read more

Juárez cleanup crews collect discarded tires

Noon: Jobs Plan Silly or Sinister?

Marita Noon

Townhall - We all know that each president has his own unique pet projects. He talks about them during the campaign, and we expect him to act on them once in office. Even the first ladies have their favorite causes which influence policy. We should not be surprised then that President Obama has directed billions of dollars to green-energy projects, such as Solyndra, and that he continues to push though measures that punish petroleum—believing he can make winners and losers. But directing policy based on waves of popularity—rather than fact, makes as much sense as taxing or providing federal funding to Barbie Dolls. Remember a decade or so ago, there was public attention drawn to eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia? Specialty clinics sprang up to treat the young women who were engaged in unhealthy habits. Barbie dolls got criticized because it was said the unnatural body shapes contributed to young girls’ unrealistic expectations regarding how they should look. Barbie fell from favor—though she still sells. Along came Cabbage Patch Dolls with their chubby cheeks and fat fingers. Bulimia and anorexia may still be a problem—but we do not hear much about them anymore. Today, the First Lady’s cause is obesity.  Using the President’s model of punishing one energy source while showering the other with funding—perhaps we need to offer stimulus to Mattel so they can make more Barbies, lower their price, and use advertising to sway public opinion toward Barbie again. Meanwhile, we should heap penalties on their sales of Cabbage Patch Dolls. It would presumably save money in healthcare, because we’d make being thin desirable again. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Noon: Jobs Plan Silly or Sinister?

Herman Cain Shocks GOP Field in Florida

Washington Times - Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s frontrunner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grassroots popularity into strong showings in national polls. “Tonight’s winner is Herman Cain,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced. “It shows you something, the road to the White House come through Florida, and it pays to spend time here.” He received 37 percent of the more than 2,600 votes cast. “Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today,” Mr. Cain said. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of ‘common-sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”

The two national frontrunners — Mr. Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — placed second and third. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, meanwhile, landed in fourth place; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas landed in fifth place; and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sixth. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann finished last. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Herman Cain Shocks GOP Field in Florida

What Happened to the Other Nine Items?

Susana Martinez

Capitol Report New Mexico - Before the special session began, Gov. Susana Martinez placed nine items on “the call” for legislators to address, aside from redistricting. Democrats complained many of the items should wait for the regular session of the legislature, which is scheduled to start Jan. 17 of next year. The governor responded that the issues were “critical” to citizens of New Mexico. So now that the special session is done, what happened to those items? Here’s a rundown: News New Mexico

What Happened to the Other Nine Items?

Special Session Ended Saturday

Capitol Report New Mexico - The special session is history. It could have lasted as long as 30 days. Instead, lawmakers said goodbye after 19. The state Senate called it a day, adjourning for good after 1 a.m. Saturday morning (Sept. 24) and leaving the House of Representatives to mop up the rest of the legislative session. The House did that, wrapping up a handful of legislation Saturday afternoon and declaring “Sine Die” and formally adjourning at 4:26 p.m. by a 36-32 vote. But it didn’t happen without some partisan wrangling and House members weren’t able to get to one crucial piece of legislation as well as one major redistricting bill. The Senate handed the House a bill that would keep the state’s unemployment fund solvent without any tax increases for one year but calling for increases in taxes in 2013 on businesses across the state. But it died Saturday afternoon. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Special Session Ended Saturday