State Public Education Department to decide superintendent's contract buyout
Gov. taking aim at two Democratic leaders of state legislature
Decision on changes to “Pit Rule” expected this week
From Capitol Report New Mexico - The “pit rule,” one of the most divisive and debated regulations in New Mexico, might be drastically altered this week as the state’s Oil Conservation Commission is going over proposed changes line by line. On Monday morning (Sept. 24) in Santa Fe, commission members began the long and often tedious process of reviewing the regulation and possible amendments to it as environmentalists who support the rule and oil and gas industry officials who want regulations eased closely watched the proceedings. The 3-person commission is expected to get through the 76-page document by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. There’s plenty at stake. Environmental groups have defended the “pit rule” since it was adopted by the division in 2008 when Bill Richardson, who supported the plan, was governor as a necessary measure to protect ground water and reduce pollution when oil and gas companies drill wells. On the other side, energy groups have complained the rule has hindered economic growth in the state — a stance backed by current Gov. Susana Martinez — and the regulations are often unnecessary. The regulation is called the “pit rule” because it requires producers to deposit the waste and mud that’s extracted from the earth during drilling to be placed in a pit lined with protective coating. In some cases, operators also have to build enclosed tanks to hold produced water and chemicals. The rules also ban pits if they’re close to water wells and require oil and gas producers to haul the waste materials to a different site for disposal. Read more
Flight Attendant's Gun Goes Off (policeman pulls trigger while unloading it) at Philly International Airport
From NBC10 Philadelphia - A day after a flight attendant's gun accidentally went off in Philadelphia International Airport more information about the gun's owner serviced Monday. The regional airline flight attendant who says she forgot she had a loaded weapon in her luggage when she arrived for work Sunday morning faced a disorderly conduct charge while the cop who accidentally fired the handgun was on desk duty Monday. The West Chester, Pa. woman told investigators she forgot she had the loaded .38-caliber handgun in her carry-on as she passed through airport security at Terminal C around 6:50 a.m., according to Philadelphia Police. A US Airways spokesman says that a police officer was called over to check out the gun and that's when it accidentally discharged when he pulled the trigger. The bullet went into a TSA break room where an employee was sitting but luckily no one was injured, police said. Police say that Luby had a license to carry the loaded weapon. Police confiscated the gun and said it was up to the county that issued Luby the permit if she would get the handgun back Read more
Rio Grande Gorge bridge project complete
A bridge rehabilitation project at the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos has been completed.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation project which began last summer had sometimes necessitated the closing of a traffic lane and the full closure of the bridge on some nights.
According to a report in The Taos News, the last phase of the work, which was conducted by the NMDOT and the Reiman Corp. of Moriarty, included demolishing the former deck and placing a polyester concrete surface on the bridge.
The report said four hydraulic jacks, capable of lifting 600 tons each, were used to lift the bridge so steel bearings could be replaced. In addition, bridge abutment bearings and pedestal bearings were replaced; concrete columns were stabilized and reinforced; new sidewalks, ramps, curbs and gutters were installed; and hand railings were repainted.
Read the full report here.
Monsoon season ends with little rain
New Mexico's summer monsoon season began with a promise but has now ended with disappointing amounts of rainfall across much of the state.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier tells the Santa Fe New Mexican that the ingredients needed to bring normal summer rains to the state's mountains and plains just never developed this year. Instead, the main moisture plume stayed to the west in Arizona and California.
The upper elevations in the central and northern mountains had some of the best rains, but the moisture rarely dropped down into the valleys around Santa Fe or Albuquerque. The far western portions of the state fared best, with near normal precipitation.
Most of the state received from 40 percent to 80 percent of the 30-year rolling average.
Absentee voting starts October 9th
New Mexicans can soon start to vote in the general election.
Absentee voting begins Oct. 9, and people can go to their county clerk's office to cast a ballot in person. Voter registration also ends then, making it possible for New Mexicans to register and vote on that same day.
Early voting starts Oct. 20 at alternate polling locations established by the clerks and continues through Nov. 3.
Election Day is Nov. 6 and that's also the deadline for returning absentee ballots.
Four years ago, slightly more than 833,000 people cast ballots in the general election or nearly 70 percent of the state's registered voters.
Ex-NMFA controller indicted
A state grand jury has indicted former New Mexico Finance Authority controller Greg Campbell on 12 felony counts of forgery and securities fraud for his role in a falsified audit scandal while declining to indict the agency’s chief operating officer, John Duff.
Meeting late into the night Thursday, the grand jury did not indict Campbell on a pair of potentially more serious charges — racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. It declined to indict Duff on any of the charges he faced in connection to the falsified financial statement.
Duff, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave by the agency’s board last month after his arrest, described the charges against him as a “rush to judgment.”
“This thing, I think, was a very badly flawed prosecutorial effort based on misunderstandings and half-understandings,” Duff told the Journal on Friday.
Campbell could not immediately be reached for comment.
Campbell, who had resigned from the finance authority in June, and Duff were arrested in Santa Fe on Aug. 8 with state securities investigators accusing them of “cooking the books” by misleading bond investors about the agency’s financial health.
Study says AFD can't meet response standards
Firefighters aren’t capable of responding to calls within nationally recommended time frames in certain parts of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, especially areas around the city-county border, according to a new study from the international firefighters’ union.
The study, completed earlier this month by the International Association of Firefighters, points to limited manpower, not enough firetrucks and a lack of real-time communication between the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County fire departments as primary reasons for gaps in service.
It recommends new ladder trucks for each of the departments — and staffing them with four firefighters apiece instead of three — additional pumper trucks for AFD and three new battalion commander positions for AFD.
Albuquerque Fire Chief James Breen disputed parts of the union study, saying the department is meeting national safety standards, but agreed with other aspects.
Meanwhile, as this study was being released, another was being completed by a consultant hired by Mayor Richard Berry’s administration to find ways to cut costs in city government. A draft copy of that report from Matrix Consulting Group, obtained by the Journal after a public records request, lays out a different vision of how to move the fire department forward.
As possible places to cut expenses, the Matrix report questions whether AFD is “over-responding” to fires and whether the department needs two paramedics on each rescue unit. It also recommends ending the practice of staffing the AFD dispatch center with sworn firefighters.
Spaceport is built, but who will come?
New Mexico Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson says it will be New Mexico’s Sydney Opera House. Virgin Galactic Chairman Richard Branson has hinted it will host the first of his new brand of lifestyle hotels. And the eclectic hot springs town of Truth or Consequences has been anxiously awaiting all the economic development the nearly quarter-of-a-billion-dollar project is supposed to bring to this largely rural part of southern New Mexico.
But as phase one of Spaceport America, the world’s first commercial port built specifically for sending tourists and payloads into space, is nearing completion, the only new hotel project that has been finalized is a Holiday Inn Express here in Truth or Consequences, about 25 miles away. And three key companies with millions of dollars in payroll have passed on developing operations in the state.
The lagging development, along with competition from heavy hitters like Florida and Texas, is raising new questions about the viability of the $209 billion taxpayer-funded project _ as well as the rush by so many states to grab a piece of the commercial spaceport pie. To date, nine spaceports are planned around the United States, mostly at existing airports, and another 10 have been proposed, according to a recent report from the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.
"Right now, the industry is not there to support it," Alex Ignatiev, a University of Houston physics professor and adviser to space companies, said of the list of planned and proposed spaceports across America.
Andrew Nelson, COO of XCOR Aerospace, disagrees, saying "in the next couple to three years, there’s going to be a demonstrative reduction in the cost to launch stuff ... so we are going to have a lot more people coming out of the woodwork."...
Asbestos found in state building
Low levels of asbestos have been found in a state building that's scheduled for an $18 million renovation.
The asbestos has been found in glue used to fasten latillas to ceilings and walls in the Manuel Lujan building in Santa Fe.
KOB Eyewitness News 4 is told the materials can be safely removed and don't pose a health risk now because the glue remains intact.
About 90 employees of taxation and revenue will be relocated to another office by the end of the month and then asbestos abatement will start.
More than 200 workers at the tax agency have already been moved.
12 year-olds planned APS school shooting
Albuquerque Public Schools officials said they foiled two students' plot to open fire at Tony Hillerman Middle School and then kill themselves.
APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta said school officials uncovered the plot because one of the students was showing suicidal tendencies. The student revealed the plan during a counseling session Thursday morning.
"They had intentions on shooting up the school and then committing suicide," Armenta said.
Armenta said Friday a police report shows they planned to begin shooting during third period on Dec. 12 and then kill themselves.
She said the two 12-year-olds were questioned about the alleged plot by investigators.
"There were some specifics that they both were able to disclose the same information in separate interviews, and, yes, it's absolutely disturbing," Armenta said.
Armenta says school officials concluded the threat could be credible. They plan to expel the 12-year-old boys and make sure they receive counseling and other treatment.
The two students involved are sixth-grade students at Tony Hillerman Middle School. Both have been suspended and further disciplinary action could follow, including expulsion.
The school has informed parents and students about the incident.
Armenta said investigators are not quite sure what might have sparked the alleged plot.
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