New Mexico Tourism Dept. Selects Texas Based Firm for Promo Campaign
Ground Water Projects Selected for Grant County
From businessweek.com -New Mexico environment officials say six groundwater restoration projects are being given the green light in Grant County. New Mexico Natural Resources Trustee Dave Martin says the projects will be funded from a $13 million settlement involving the release of hazardous substances from copper mining operations in southwestern New Mexico owned by Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. Martin says the groundwater restoration projects were selected following a public outreach effort. More News New Mexico
PRC study calls for ethics, hiring reform
From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - Members of the scandal-plagued state Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday reviewed a management study that Chief of Staff Johnny Montoya (shown on left) characterized as a "proactive attempt" to reform the agency. The study's unveiling beat by a few days the opening of the 30-day legislative session in Santa Fe, where state lawmakers will talk about reforming the sprawling agency. The elected regulatory body has generated a series of scandals in recent years, including the 2011 resignation and felony guilty pleas by Jerome Block Jr., who stepped down as a Northern New Mexico representative on the commission after admitting to fraudulent use of a state-issued gasoline card, embezzlement, identity theft and other charges. The management study released Wednesday recommends shrinking the number of employees who are exempt from the personnel rules for hiring and firing. The study also proposes moving railroad regulation out from under the commission to the state Transportation Department, among other things. It recommends streamlining the handling of consumer complaints into one division. The management study is the latest step taken by the Public Regulation Commission in an effort to clean up its image. Last week, commission members adopted a policy tightening up how government-owned vehicles are used. The underlying question driving the study, Montoya told commission members Wednesday, is "Are we satisfied with the way things are at the PRC?" A resounding "no" was the response of all members of the five-person commission. "It's time to do changes at the PRC," Chairman Pat Lyons said. Read more
N.M. Lottery Winner Has Till Jan. 24 to Claim Prize
Six people killed in separate shootings in Juárez
From the El Paso Times - By Daniel Borunda - Six people have been killed in three separate shootings in an uptick in violence in Juárez today, Chihuahua state police said. Police said that in the first incident, a man and a woman died at a hospital after being shot this morning in the Independencia Sur area of the city. The victims had not been identified. At about 12:30 p.m., two unidentified men and a woman were shot to death in the patio of an abandoned building in the Salvacar area. Investigators collected 14 bullet casings from two types of firearms, police said. A little more than 12 minutes later, a man was shot to death on a street in La Huerta area, police said. Thirty-seven people have been killed in Juárez this year, including a police commander killed Tuesday in downtown Juárez. Read more
MRSA Outbreak at N.M. High School
Cara Valente-Compton: “I want to elevate the tone”
From Capitol Report New Mexico - Yesterday (Jan. 10) we wrote how longtime state rep Sheryl Williams Stapleton is getting a challenger in the Democratic primary this year. Today, we talked with the woman who admits she’s got an uphill battle to unseat Stapleton, who has represented District 19 in southeast Albuquerque for the last 17 years. Cara Valente-Compton is a 43-year-old UNM law student who’s married with four kids at home and while she still hasn’t officially announced her candidacy, she told Capitol Report New Mexico that she’s already met with ward and precinct officials and hosted a meeting with 25 neighborhood activists. “My strategy is to knock on every single door in the district,” Valente-Compton said during a telephone interview. Last month, Stapleton drew national attention when she angrily accused a Republican colleague during a lunchbreak in a committee meeting of “carrying the Mexican’s water on the fourth floor,” referring to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, whose offices are located on the fourth floor of the state capitol building. Stapleton later apologized but refused to step down as Democratic House Majority Whip. Did the Stapleton outburst play into Valente-Compton’s decision to run? “Of course it did,” Valente-Compton said, “but it’s not the primary reason why I’ve decided to run. But we do have to elevate the tone in Santa Fe … we’re professional people and we have to treat others, and those we disagree with, with respect …. I was raised by Republicans, you have to honor and respect them.” But Valente-Compton is not a conservative Democrat. “I’m a liberal Democrat,” Valente-Compton said and a glance at some of the posts on her Facebook page confirms that. Read more
New Mexico Can't Enforce $5,000 Donation Limits
More News New Mexico
Stolen N.M. Meteorite Worth $20K-$40K Found
Gov Wants $2 Million for Police Replacement Vehicles
NMSU Las Cruces Receives $800,000 Federal Grant
Study: N.M. is "Barren" "Dull" and "Close to AZ"
Stapleton Gets a Challenger in the Dem Primary
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| Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton |
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