U.S. Interior Secretary reveals name of new South Valley wildlife refuge
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| Courtesy U.S Department of Interior |
In his announcement in Albuquerque, Salazar unveiled the name of the refuge for the very first time.
The name, Valle de Oro (Valley of Gold), was selected following a social media campaign that solicited suggested names from local and national audiences.
Proposed exactly one year ago, the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge was formally established last Friday through the acquisition of 390 acres of Valley Gold Farms, a former dairy and hay farm.
The 559th unit of the national wildlife refuge system is within a 30-minute drive of half of New Mexico’s population, providing ample outdoor recreation and education opportunities.
The former Price's Dairy operated at the site, which is in the South Valley.
Later Wednesday, Salazar will travel to Wind River Ranch near Mora, N.M. for a signing ceremony establishing the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area on over 4,200 acres donated by the Thaw Charitable Trust.
“Today we celebrate two new jewels in the National Wildlife Refuge System -- Valle de Oro, an urban oasis for people and wildlife just five miles from downtown Albuquerque, and Rio Mora, which will serve as an anchor for cooperative conservation efforts in the Rio Mora watershed,” Salazar said in a release.
“Both refuges exemplify the goals of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative to establish a 21st century conservation ethic built on partnerships and to fuel economic growth in local communities.”
Information from kob.com
State office space expands as workforce declines
State government office space has expanded by 6 percent in the past four years while the number of state workers had dropped by 14 percent, according to a legislative audit critical of the management of buildings owned and leased by the state.
It’s costing New Mexico taxpayers $47 million a year for the state to lease office space, and a Legislative Finance Committee audit report Wednesday recommends more consolidation in the use of government buildings.
The audit lauded the Property Control Division in the General Services Department for saving $1.2 million on leases in the past year but said more should be done to trim costs by consolidating workers in government-owned buildings and ending leases.
Auditors visited 18 state buildings and found 251 vacant offices and work stations.
“Agencies hold surplus space with the expectation to fill vacancies, but incur lease and operating costs for the empty space,” the report said...
Story from The Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico Lottery scholarship fund faces financial trouble
Lawmakers and Gov. Susana Martinez may have to consider how to shore up a college scholarship fund that's bankrolled by the state lottery.
The Legislative Finance Committee reported Wednesday the scholarship fund is projected to run out of money in the next fiscal year, which starts in July 2013. The Legislature meets in January.
The fund's cash balances are shrinking as scholarship costs exceed annual lottery revenue, which isn't keeping pace with student demand for the scholarships and rising tuition costs
If nothing is done, the LFC said scholarships could be limited to the $40 million expected from the lottery but that's less than the $60 million in scholarships awarded this year. The state can lower the amount of the scholarships to less than the full cost of tuition.
Three new West Nile cases in NM
Three more New Mexico residents have been infected with West Nile virus, bringing the total in the state this year to 31 human cases.One death has been reported so far, a 76-year-old man from Bernalillo County whose death was reported on Sept. 11.
New Mexico Department of Health officials announced Wednesday that the new cases involve a 41-year-old man from San Juan County, a 70-year-old man from Bernalillo County and a 62-year-old man from Sandoval County.
Of the 31 cases, 10 are in Dona Ana County.
Health officials say August and September are peak times for West Nile cases in New Mexico.
Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches.
Human cases of the disease have been reported in the state every year since 2003.
Read more...
Gov. travels to Texas for political events
Gov. Susana Martinez is traveling to political events this week in Tennessee and Texas.The governor's political adviser said Martinez spoke Wednesday at a Republican State Leadership Committee luncheon in Nashville and then returned to New Mexico. The event was part of a project to recruit and elect more Republican women to state and local offices.
Adviser Jay McCleskey said the GOP group covered the governor's travel expenses.
Martinez heads to Texas on Thursday for political events in Austin and Houston. She's raising money for the Republican Governors Association as well as her re-election committee and her political action committee called SusanaPAC.
The governor returns to New Mexico on Friday.
McCleskey said the governor's political organization will cover the costs of the Texas trip.
Read more...
NM prepares for prescription drug take-back day
New Mexico is about to embark on another prescription drug take-back day. On Saturday the state will join the rest of the nation for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
The state is giving anyone their chance to turn in and unused or expired medications to locations in their communities with no questions asked.
The event, which is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Drug Enforcement administration, will provide free, anonymous drop-off sites throughout the state for safe medication disposal.
The Department of Health released statistics showing the state has the highest overdose rate from prescriptions. Between 2001 and 2010, the overdose rate increased by nearly 62 percent between 2001 and 2010.
Information from KOAT.COM
Vaughn police down to a dog
The police chief of the small eastern New Mexico town of Vaughn resigned Wednesday, leaving the town with just one certified member on its police force — a drug-sniffing dog named Nikka.
Dave Romero, attorney for the town, said Wednesday that police Chief Ernest “Chris” Armijo decided to step down after news stories reported that he wasn’t allowed to carry a gun because of his criminal background.
“He decided the attention was distracting,” Romero said.
State officials said Armijo couldn’t carry a gun since acknowledging that he owed tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent child support payments in Texas. Armijo also faces new felony charges after being accused of selling a town-owned rifle and pocketing the cash.
Romero said Armijo is working to clear up the latest case. He said Armijo has not ruled out seeking the police chief’s position again if his case is resolved and the position is open.
According to records, the only qualified member of the Vaughn Police Department is Nikka, a drug-sniffing dog. Vaughn’s other officer isn’t certified and pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery last year.
But Romero said that not having an officer qualified to carry a gun didn’t put Vaughn at risk. “England doesn’t allow police officers to carry guns,” he said. “Sometimes the strongest weapon in law enforcement is communication.”...
Information from The Albuquerque Journal
Update: NMSU President on leave
News late Tuesday that New Mexico State University President Barbara Couture was on a leave of absence stunned the university community, with details still a mystery more than a day later.
Regents and school officials confirmed Tuesday that she was on leave, but refused to provide details, or even whether it was a forced or voluntary leave.
Couture, the former senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was hired at NMSU in 2009 after a national search.
Regents chairman Mike Cheney declined to discuss any details and said more information will be available at a public meeting on Monday.
“I really want to try to adhere to the (New Mexico) Open Meetings Act and try to be as transparent as possible … and make an effort to be honest,” Cheney said.
Faculty Senate chairman Tim Ketelaar said he was surprised to learn of Couture’s leave after seeing it on the news Tuesday evening, and is puzzled over the reason. He said she had a positive relationship with faculty.
Couture, 64, replaced former president Michael Martin, who left for a post in Louisiana. Two interim presidents served in the year between Martin and Couture.
Couture did not return calls seeking comment. Her leave began Monday, two days after regents met in a closed-session on Saturday.
In a statement released Wednesday, NMSU’s senior vice president for external relations, Ben Woods, said Provost Wendy Wilkins will assume Couture’s administrative duties.
He said regents plan a special closed session on Monday from 1 to 3 p.m., to be followed by a public meeting. Cheney said that public meeting will be to address the situation...
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