Gov. signs legislation for online professional license renewal

Susana Martinez

Engineers, nurses and professionals in other fields will be able to apply for and renew their state licenses online under legislation that's been signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez.
The governor said Monday the state Regulation and Licensing Department estimates the current paper-based licensing system costs nearly $300,000 in postage and other supplies.
The state hopes to speed up the licensing system and reduce costs by allowing agencies to accept applications and renewals online.
The measure was approved by lawmakers during the recently completed 60-day session of the Legislature.

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Senator Udall in NM this week

Tom Udall 

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall is scheduled this week to visit southeastern New Mexico to discuss drought, energy policy and agricultural issues.
The New Mexico Democrat is slated Tuesday to participate in a panel on agricultural and drought issues at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell. Udall is then expected to visit with Roswell-area veterans to get an update on health care and transportation issues.
The senator also is schedule Wednesday to visit the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia to talk border security, training and enforcement issues with Indian County Law Enforcement, Border Patrol, and other federal agentss.
Later in the week Udall will visit New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs for an announcement on a new technology education partnership.

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Fires and smoking prohibited on state lands

Ray Powell

State Land Commissioner Ray Powell is prohibiting smoking, open fires and fireworks on state trust land because of the risk of wildfires.
Powell announced the restrictions on Monday. He said the potential for human-caused fires is high because of drought conditions as well as recent high winds.
The Land Office manages nine million acres of state-owned land and 13 million acres of subsurface rights to oil, natural gas and minerals.
Revenue from grazing, mining and oil and gas production on state trust lands helps support public schools and other state institutions.
Powell said the Legislature approved $500,000 for the Land Office starting in July to reduce fire risks by thinning forests and other prevention efforts.

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Santa Fe Police Department offering free gun locks

From KOB-TV.com - Santa Fe Police Chief Raymond Rael announced Monday that his department is offering free trigger locks to City of Santa Fe residents to ensure public safety. The trigger locks will be handed out free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last at the main Santa Fe Police Station at 2515 Camino Entrada off Cerrillos Road. They will be available at the front desk Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
     “Residents with firearms in their homes must take common sense steps to avoid accidental shootings,” said Chief Raymond Rael. “The Police Department encourages storing weapons locked and unloaded with ammunition secured in a separate place.”
     Santa Fe’s Public Safety Committee unanimously passed a resolution earlier this month recommending that all city gun stores sell trigger locks with every firearm. Current law states only new guns are required to be sold with them.
      The resolution recommends any gun sold, old or new, in Santa Fe includes the simple device which prevents the gun from accidentally firing. The resolution was amended to include weapons purchased at pawn shops and other businesses. The resolution simply encourages gun shops to obey. It is not currently illegal in the city to sell a used gun without a trigger lock. Read more


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Group in Santa Fe to give Gov. min. wage petitions


A group called Working America says it will be in Santa Fe today to try and persuade Gov. Susana Martinez to sign a minimum wage increase. 
The group says it will deliver thousands of photo petitions and petition signatures to the governor's office in support of a just-passed Senate Bill to increase the state's minimum wage from $7.50 to $8.50 an hour. 
Martinez has said she opposes the bill because it would make the state's minimum wage the fourth highest in the nation. She says she told lawmakers she would support raising the minimum wage to $7.80 an hour, the same as Arizona, but that the full dollar-an-hour increase was simply unsustainable.



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State sees drop in TB cases


New Mexico health officials say there has been a drop in the number of tuberculosis cases in the state. 

The state Health Department says there were a total of 40 cases of active tuberculosis diagnosed in New Mexico in 2012. That's down from 49 cases the previous year. The rate of tuberculosis in New Mexico stands at 1.9 cases per 100,000 people. The national rate is more than 3 cases per 100,000 people. 

Despite the good news, health officials say New Mexico is still experiencing a higher than average TB mortality rate of 15 percent. Nationally, the mortality rate stands at 4 percent. 

The signs and symptoms of infectious active TB include a persistent cough, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, fatigue and loss of appetite.

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FAA says Santa Fe airport will lose control tower


The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that Santa Fe is among 149 airports around the country set to lose funding for their air traffic control towers because of federal budget cuts.
 It was not immediately clear what impact the cuts will have on the state capital and mountain tourism destination, which has just in the past few years won back commercial jet service. 
American Airlines currently has daily flights between Santa Fe and Dallas and Los Angeles, and United plans to begin service to Denver later this spring. 
Double Eagle, a general aviation airport in west Albuquerque, is also losing tower funding.

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President to designate Rio Grande del Norte National Monument


Retired U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich will join President Obama at a National Monument Proclamations Signing Ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday to establish the Río Grande del Norte in northern New Mexico as a U.S. National Monument. 
 In 2007, now-retired Senator Jeff Bingaman's office began working with residents of Taos and Rio Arriba Counties to identify how to best protect the land. 
Since then, Bingaman, Sens. Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Rep. Ben Ray Luján have worked to advance legislation through Congress to protect the area and asked the White House to consider a monument designation. 


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Family of man shot by neighbor says he was murdered

From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The family of a man shot by a neighbor in a northwest Albuquerque neighborhood says he was murdered. They say the man who shot 23-year-old Jonathan Mitchell was trying to play cop – and ended up gunning down a veteran.
     Police say residents in the Ventana Ranch neighborhood called 911 after Mitchell was seen standing in a neighbor’s driveway holding a gun. The neighbors also called neighbor Donnie Pearson for assistance. Pearson later pulled in front of Mitchell’s house and the two exchanged gunfire – with Mitchell firing first. Mitchell died from the gunshot wound.
     “This case almost mirrors the George Zimmerman case,” said Aaron Mitchell, Jonathan’s older brother and a Florida police officer. “[Pearson] had no business driving around looking for an armed assailant. That's not his job.”
     Mitchell’s brother Aaron Mitchell, a police officer in Florida, says APD was too quick to portray Pearson as a Good Samaritan. “My brother did fire first. But he fired because he saw a threat. He's military trained. He's a combat veteran,” he said.
     The family doesn’t know why Mitchell would have been in the neighbor’s driveway with a gun. “I think if those concerns were valid, I think a reasonable thing for a citizen to do is to call those who are sworn to protect, not take matters into their own hands,” his father Isaac said.
     APD will turn the results of its investigation over to the DA for a decision on charges. Read more
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Senate committee may hold summer hearing on Skandera

From the Santa Fe New Mexican - by Robert Nott - The Senate Rules Committee may continue its confirmation hearing for Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera sometime this spring or summer. But even so, Skandera would have to wait until the next legislative session in early 2014 before the full Senate body can vote on her confirmation.
     During the recent 60-day legislative session, the Rules Committee held about 10 hours of testimony and questioning over three days of confirmation hearings on Skandera. But it didn't finish the process.
     The committee can vote to recommend or not recommend confirmation, but the full Senate makes the final call. If the Senate does not confirm Skandera, she will be fired from the position. Until that vote goes to the Senate floor, Skandera may continue to serve as secretary-designate. Read more
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