Charity Provides Free Dental Care

From dentistryiq.com -Hundreds of residents smiled to reveal bright, healthy teeth Saturday after attending Mission of Mercy, southern new Mexico's largest charitable event, where oral care was performed free of charge by state dentists and technicians. An estimated 1,600 patients of all ages received dental care, including teeth cleanings, root canals, oral surgery and other general dentistry procedures, throughout the massive two-day event held Friday and Saturday at the Las Cruces Convention Center.  More News New Mexico
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Man Arrested For Skipping Tab at Police Fundraiser

From ktla.com -A man who allegedly skipped out on paying his bill at an Applebee's in Las Cruces, New Mexico during a law enforcement fundraiser has been arrested and charged.  According to a report, Alan Golden, 22, was eating dinner with a group of people at the restaurant during the 'Tip-A-Cop' fundraiser to benefit New Mexico Special Olympics athletes. The event featured numerous area law-enforcement officers acting as hosts and servers, collecting tips for the benefit.  Doña Ana County Sheriff's deputies say two women with Golden left the restaurant. Golden followed them a short time later, leaving a tab for less than $30 unpaid.  More News New Mexico
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Former N.M. House Member Arrested

Greg Payne
From postcresent.com - A former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives has been arrested by police in Albuquerque on suspicion of drunken driving.  An officer stopped 44-year-old Greg Payne late Saturday for not using his turn signal and making a wide turn. A police report says he failed field sobriety tests and a breath test later showed a blood alcohol level about twice the .08 percent legal limit. Payne was charged with aggravated DWI and failing to signal a turn. He was also charged with two counts of child abandonment after telling officers his 7 and 9 year old children were home alone. The Albuquerque Journal reports that Payne has been a prominent figure in Albuquerque politics for the past decade in addition to a stint in the state House.  More News New Mexico
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Senator Steve Fischmann Will Step Down

Steve Fischmann
BREAKING NEWS - News New Mexico has received information from reliable sources that Dona Ana County Senator Steve Fischmann has decided to not seek re-election. More details to follow.
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Constitutional Rights Rally Draws Big Crowd

Steve Pearce
Congressman Steve Pearce, Dona Ana County District Attorney Amy Orlando and many others participated in the Southern New Mexico March and Rally for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Religious Freedom in Las Cruces yesterday. The march was planned after the federal government announced that it will require religious organizations to purchase products that violate their principles.
Amy Orlando
“The federal government is dismissing our Constitution, and forcing religious organizations to violate their conscience by adopting the agenda of the Obama administration’s favored special interests,” said Pearce. “This is an abhorrent assault on our fundamental liberties, including our right to live the way our faith prescribes. The government is interfering where it has absolutely no place—in our personal, spiritual lives.”
“It was an honor to take part in this march and rally,” Pearce continued. “By speaking out and making their voices heard, the people of New Mexico practiced the most fundamental rights of Americans today. I will continue to stand alongside New Mexicans in fighting for our Constitutional freedoms.”
Peter Ibarbo, Public Relations Coordinator for the march, commented on the participants and the message of today’s rally. "I was very proud to see such a large group of religious and community leaders come out to support something as basic as defending religious freedom and Constitutional rights,” said Ibarbo. “This will be a spark for a nationwide movement that sends a clear message about religious freedom.”

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More Stray Bullets in Juarez

El Paso Times - Authorities on both sides of the border don't know whether a 16-year-old boy who was shot in a leg and found on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande late Thursday was wounded in a shootout involving federal police in Juárez.
Border Patrol agents found the teenager, whose name has not been released, with a gunshot wound to one of his legs about 11:15 p.m. He had crossed the dry river and was found between the river and the border fence near Fonseca Drive and Cesar Chavez Border Highway. The teenager was taken to University Medical Center for treatment and remained sedated most of Friday, Border Patrol agents said. His condition was not made public.
Border Patrol spokesman Ramiro Cordero said on Friday that the teenager is from Mexico and has spoken with Mexican Consulate officials. He has also met with relatives at the hospital. Cordero added that authorities were waiting for the shooting victim to be released to talk to him about the incident. Mexican Consulate spokes-man Luis Adrián Sosa said that officials had met with the teenager but that he was not authorized to share any information. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Espanola A Different Sort of Place

KRQE - The city manager of Espanola will keep his job while he faces felony charges for allegedly accepting bribes from an asphalt company while working as Santa Fe County's public works director.
James Lujan, another former city employee and the owners of Advantage Asphalt and Seal Coating were indicted on Feb. 24 by a Santa Fe County grand jury. They're charged with bilking the county out of about $1 million by filing false paperwork and charging the county for materials the county already owned and for labor performed by the county's own employees.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the city council in Espanola voted on Tuesday to reject Lujan's resignation letter and keep him on unless he is convicted. He is charged with multiple counts of fraud, bribery and racketeering. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Debit Card Use for Gas Gets Complicated


KOAT -TV - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Many gas stations around town are putting holds of more than $100 on debit card accounts when people fill up. Mylea Perry, said she was on her way to work when she realized she was low on gas. She said she filled up $5.45 of gas at a Chevron gas station on Isleta Boulevard. She said she later found out that $126 had been put on hold in her bank account.
"When you're going to the gas station, I don't think anyone has the slightest idea someone is going to reach into your bank account, take that kind of money and hold it for three days," Perry said. Perry said she couldn't even fit $126 worth of gas in her car. Chevron said it is policy to hold $126 for any debit card purchase at the pump. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Voter Fraud Allegations at Sunland Park

NMPolitics - Despite a report from the secretary of state alleging multiple cases of voter fraud, a district judge denied a request today to delay the Sunland Park municipal election, saying the district attorney hadn’t proven that “irreparable harm” had been done. That means the election will proceed as planned on Tuesday even though law enforcement and elections officials believe Texas residents have already voted illegally in the New Mexico city, compromising or at least calling into question the integrity of the process.
A petition Orlando filed in court states that the problems investigators uncovered have so compromised the integrity of the election that “there is no confidence that the election will accurately reflect the wishes of the qualified electorate of Sunland Park.”
The decision from District Judge Susan Riedel to allow the election to proceed caps a two-week period that saw the arrests of mayoral candidate Daniel Salinas and others on charges related to an attempt to use a lap-dance video to force another candidate out of the mayoral race, the investigation into election problems, and the initiation of a state audit into financial problems in the city. In addition, the FBI is scrutinizing city contracts. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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Education Changes Coming?

KOB TV - If you have a child in public school, big changes are coming to the way they learn. Educators across the state met this weekend in Albuquerque to work on those changes. The governor's pen hasn't even cooled down from signing over new money to education, and already educators are focusing on putting those dollars to work.
"80 percent of our kids now don't read proficiently at fourth grade level so what we have to do is make sure from kindergarten to third - our money is where our mouth is and that we're investing $90 million more dollars on education," said Governor Susana Martinez. $90 million that will shape new common core standards for New Mexico - kicking "No-Child-Left-Behind" to the curb. "You're going to be able to see and follow the progress of your child throughout the year," said Martinez. Read full story here: News New Mexico

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