Capitol Report NM Exclusive: GOP will appeal state Supreme Court redistricting to federal court on Monday

From Capitol Report New Mexico - Capitol Report New Mexico has learned that Republicans allied with the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez will formally file an appeal in federal court on Monday (Feb. 13) over the New Mexico Supreme Court’s reversal of a House of Representatives redistricting map OK’d back on Jan. 3 by a retired judge the high court itself assigned to tackle the hydra-headed problem of re-apportioning districts for the next 10 years across the state. Democrats embraced the 4-1 ruling by the state Supreme Court to kick the House redistricting decision back to Judge Jim Hall, who adopted a map that was sponsored by attorneys for the Republican governor after hearing from attorneys from the Democratically-controlled legislature as well as a number of other lawyers representing various other political interests in New Mexico. In the 33-page decision handed down Friday, four of the justices declared that Hall’s decision on House districts ”was not politically neutral” because, the court said, Hall’s map increased Republican swing seats from five to eight and Republican-leaning districts from 31 to 34. The four justices also insisted that a specific district in Clovis needed to be made up of a Hispanic majority voting area. Even before the remand, supporters of the Martinez-sponsored map pointed out that the map Hall adopted created more Hispanic-voting age population districts than any other map before him. And one Republican said 10 years ago – in the last redistricting fight that also went to the trial – a redistricting judge adopted a House map that increased Democrat-leaning districts from 36 to 39. Republicans in New Mexico have long grumbled about the state Supreme Court, which is packed with declared Democrats and on Friday, a spokesman for the governor called the ruling “a partisan decision.” Read more

Capitol Report NM Exclusive: GOP will appeal state Supreme Court redistricting to federal court on Monday

After 20 years, the Carpenters are ready for their close-up

From the Farmington Daily Times - FARMINGTON — Kim and Krickitt Carpenter didn't want their story in the hands of just anybody.  To keep it accurate, the Farmington couple wrote the book about their saga themselves.  The Carpenters sold the movie rights to their story in 1996 but objected to movie scripts that strayed too far from the truth. One such script is still used as an inch-tall riser to balance a family portrait. But after 19 years, a book deal, magazine articles, dozens of nationally televised interviews and two children, the Kim and Krickitt story is ready for Hollywood.  "The Vow" a movie based on the Carpenters, will be released just in time for Valentine's Day. In November 1993, the Carpenters were in an automobile accident on I-40 west of Gallup. Both were badly injured and Krickitt, who doctors said had less than a 1-percent chance of surviving, was comatose for months after the accident.  Krickitt woke with no recollection of the year prior to the accident, which included all memories of her husband, Kim, and their marriage 10 weeks before the crash. "The Vow" is based on the story of Kim and Krickitt's recovery and romance, plus the usual Hollywood sensationalism and glamour, the couple said. Read more

After 20 years, the Carpenters are ready for their close-up

Wild Hogs threaten NM farmers

From the Alamogordo Daily News - CLOVIS, N.M.—State and federal officials say feral pigs are ravaging eastern New Mexico's range and farmland.  An astonishing reproductive rate has seen hogs spread to 17 of New Mexico's 33 counties in just seven years.  The wild swine have rooted up Quay County farmer and rancher Ted Rush's feed roads and destroyed milo and sorghum crops. He said he has killed more than 300 feral swine on his land.  "My wheat fields looked like they'd been bombed by the military, there were huge craters everywhere," Rush said.  The pigs could have a devastating effect on New Mexico's economy.  U.S. Agriculture Department wildlife specialist Ron Jones is tracking the invasion of feral pigs into New Mexico. He tells the Clovis News Journal (http://bit.ly/wd1yfA) that he uses abandoned windmill sites with running water to track the pig's progress across the state.  "There are only two kinds of land owners in New Mexico—those who have feral pigs, and those who will," Jones said. Read more

Wild Hogs threaten NM farmers