NCAA apologizes to the Aggies

New Mexico State athletic director McKinley Boston says the NCAA has apologized for making the Aggies fly home immediately after their second-round tournament loss and inadequate bus transportation from the airport. 

NMSU and San Diego State were told before Thursday's game in Spokane that the loser would have to fly home that night. 

After the game, SDSU coach Steve Fisher called the policy "disgraceful" and added: "For the billions of dollars that we have here, for them not to find a way to accommodate these kids, the student-athletes - you can't tell me they couldn't find charter planes." 

When the Aggies arrived in El Paso, Texas, only one bus was at the airport to meet them. The bus had to make two trips to get everyone to the campus in Las Cruces.

Information from The AP. 

NCAA apologizes to the Aggies

Jeb Bush campaigning in NM

Jeb Bush

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is to visit New Mexico this week to raise campaign money for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. 

Martinez political spokesman Danny Diaz said Bush will attend a fundraiser Tuesday in Farmington and another in Santa Fe on Wednesday. 

Central Consolidated School District announced that Bush, Martinez and Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera will speak at an elementary school in Shiprock Wednesday morning. 

Martinez has advocated some of the educational policies that Bush implemented in Florida, including holding back third-graders who can't read proficiently and giving schools A-to-F grades and performance-based pay bonuses for teachers. 

Martinez's education secretary, Hanna Skandera, worked for the Bush administration in Florida as a deputy commissioner of education.

Information from The AP. 

Jeb Bush campaigning in NM

Portales peanut plant in bidding war

A troubled peanut plant in Portales that closed following a nationwide salmonella outbreak is now at the center of a bidding war. 

The plant filed for bankruptcy after the outbreak sickened 40 people in 20 states. The plant closed in October, leaving more than 100 workers without a job. 

In an auction last week, Hampton Farms of North Carolina had the winning bid of $20 million dollars. But just before the sale was complete, a last minute cash offer of $25 million came in from Canada’s Golden Boy Foods. 

It’s up to a federal bankruptcy judge in Albuquerque to decide who gets the plant. Hampton Farms has said it does plan to re-open the plant. Canada’s Golden Boy Foods has not said what it has planned for the plant if it gets the deal.

Portales peanut plant in bidding war