News New Mexico

Santa Teresa Industrial Park reopens, hazardous material still a mystery

The Santa Teresa Industrial Park near the U.S Mexico border reopened Wednesday following a mandatory evacuation due to a hazardous material spill.

Around 200 people were sickened Tuesday by an unknown substance reporting difficulty breathing, light-headedness, nausea and dizziness.

A 1-mile area surrounding the Dona Ana County Industrial Park and Mexico border crossing at Santa Teresa was evacuated for a few hours and the county airport was closed. Evacuees were taken to Santa Teresa High School.

An Albuquerque-based civil support team from the New Mexico National Guard headed to Santa Teresa to try to identify the hazardous materials and their source. The investigation initially centered at the FoamEx plant on the industrial park campus but was later expanded to other areas in the park.

Vice president of the Border Industrial Association, Jerry Pacheco, says FoamEx Innovations owns a building about 298,000 square feet in the industrial park that makes polyurethane foam products. Pacheco also says there are a variety of different kinds of companies in the three industrial parks in the Santa Teresa area, around fifty in all.

Dona Ana County emergency officials say the cluster of factories and warehouses in Santa Teresa was reopened at 6 a.m. this morning after testing for hazardous materials was negative. The Dona Ana County Airport also reopened.

Investigations to identify the substance continue.

For Newsbreak New Mexico, I’m Vanessa Dabovich.

Actor Johnny Depp gives Navajo Nation scholarship funds

Johnny Depp as Tonto

Actor Johnny Depp filmed scenes in New Mexico for an upcoming movie and now has given the Navajo Nation $25,000 for scholarships.

Tribal president Ben Shelly accepted the donation and the Navajo Nation's Health Education and Human Services Committee voted Monday to accept the money so it can be appropriated for vocational scholarships.

Depp's spokesperson says the donation is supposed to be private and no further statement will be released on his behalf.

Depp will play Tonto in the movie version of "The Lone Ranger," which is expected to be in theaters in June.

The Shiprock monument in New Mexico can be seen in the movie's recently released trailer and Monument Valley near the Arizona-Utah border also is featured.

Feds conduct immigration operation at Rio Rancho restaurant

Federal agents took four people into custody after storming a Rio Rancho business and home on Monday morning.

Homeland Security agents wasted little time when they moved in, quickly throwing handcuffs on the owner of the Double Dragon Chinese restaurant.

The agents and police were looking for computers and other records that could help bust open an illegal immigration operation that centers partly on fraudulent documents.

Agents also searched at least one Rio Rancho home. Investigators are staying tight-lipped on specifics related to Monday morning's raids.

The four people detained Monday are expected to be dealt immigration charges shortly.

Serious crash closes highway 70 and Bataan Memorial East

A Wednesday morning rollover crash has closed a portion of Highway 70 in both directions and Bataan Memorial East at Sonoma Ranch Boulevard.

The crash was reported shortly after 8 a.m. today and appears to involve two vehicles.

Highway 70 westbound is being diverted to Bataan Memorial West at the Mesa Grande Drive exit and traffic on Highway 70 eastbound is directed to exit at Rinconada Boulevard, head northbound and take surface streets east past Mesa Grande Drive.

If at all possible, motorists are asked to avoid the area or seek an alternative route.

Environmentalists continue to fight Mexican wolves proposal

Environmentalists and a group of scientists are criticizing a draft proposal that outlines options for releasing Mexican gray wolves into the wild.

The plan deals with releasing wolves from captive breeding facilities into the wild in Arizona to replace wolves that are either killed illegally or die from natural causes. It suggests the replacement wolves be selected to maximize genetic diversity of the wild population in Arizona and New Mexico.

The scientists and other critics have sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying releases are needed, but the plan doesn’t do enough to boost the wild population. They also argue that release decisions should hinge on the federal agency rather than guidelines from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission.

There are around 58 wolves in the wild along the New Mexico-Arizona border.

Newsbreak New Mexico 8am Webcast 10/31/12

Newsbreak New Mexico 8am Newscast with Vanessa Dabovich

Listen here:

Santa Teresa Hasmat situation causes evacuation
FBI report shows violent crime down in NM
Gary Johnson aims for 5% of the election vote

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Actor Gene Hackman slaps man in Santa Fe

Gene Hackman

Police in New Mexico say Gene Hackman was acting in self-defense when he slapped a homeless man who had become aggressive toward the Oscar-winning actor and his wife.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in downtown Santa Fe. Police didn't immediately provide any additional details.

A message seeking comment was left for Hackman's publicists at Guttman Associates in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Hackman and his wife have a home in Santa Fe. The 82-year-old actor has won two Academy Awards and been nominated for three others over a career that has spanned five decades.

Libertarian candidate Johnson pushing for 5% of the votes

Gary Johnson

Libertarian candidate for president Gary Johnson has several new campaign ads running in markets across the country.

Johnson is making a push to get 5 percent of the general election vote.

He says it would officially qualify the Libertarian Party for federal funding. He says the result would make the Libertarian Party a bonafide third party.

The candidate supports pulling out of

Afghanistan

now, ending the war on drugs, balancing the budget and marriage equality.

FBI numbers show violent crime down in NM

New Federal Bureau of Investigation numbers show that overall violent crime in New Mexico fell slightly last year.

The annual FBI Uniform Crime report released Monday showed that violent crime in the state dropped around 3 percent in 2011.

According to the report, law enforcement agencies in New Mexico reported a total of 11,817 violent crimes. That's a decrease from 2010 when agencies reported 12,126 violent crimes.

However, the state saw a tiny jump in the number of reported murders. Last year, New Mexico agencies reported 156 murders, a spike from 142 in 2010.

Hazardous material spill led to Santa Teresa Industrial Park evacuation Tuesday

The Doña Ana County Airport and a Santa Teresa industrial park remained closed Tuesday evening while an investigation into a hazardous material spill continued.

Emergency personnel on Tuesday morning evacuated a one-mile radius around the site, about two miles north of the Santa Teresa port of entry on the Mexican border, after the release of unidentified chemicals caused workers to suffer difficulty breathing, light-headedness, nausea and dizziness.

Twenty to 45 people treated at a Santa Teresa High shelter were later released, and three people who went on their own to an El Paso hospital were also released.

An Albuquerque-based civil support team from the New Mexico National Guard headed to Santa Teresa to try to identify the hazardous materials and their source.

The investigation initially centered on the Foamex plant, which produces flexible polyurethane foam products, but other areas were also checked.

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