- MINI ALCOHOL BOTTLE BAN
New Mexico city eyes banning miniature liquor bottles(Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A northwestern New Mexico city is examining if it can ban the sale of miniature liquor bottles littering the grounds across town.
The Farmington Daily Times reports Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett recently asked City Attorney Jennifer Breakell to investigate if the city could pass an ordinance banning the small liquor bottles.
Duckett made the request during the May 14 City Council meeting. That request came after a Farmington resident showed up at a City Council meeting with a bag full of miniature liquor bottles he had picked up while walking near Ladera Elementary School.
New Mexico Petroleum Marketers Association state executive Ruben Baca says banning miniature liquor bottles from being sold would likely be a hard battle for the city to win.
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- SECOND CHANCE ACT
North Carolina moves to help offenders clear their recordsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More people in North Carolina could soon qualify to have their criminal records wiped clean, thanks to a bipartisan bill loosening the requirements.
Offenders with multiple nonviolent misdemeanor or low level felony convictions would be eligible to have their records expunged, regardless of age. The bill also expands expunctions for misdemeanors and minor felonies committed by 16- and 17-year olds. Currently, only nonviolent, first-time convictions are eligible.
"The Second Chance Act," introduced by Democratic Sen. Floyd McKissick of Durham County, recently passed the state Senate and now goes to the House. It comes two years after North Carolina raised the age for automatic prosecution as an adult to 18 and about four months after President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation focusing on criminal justice reform and lowering recidivism rates.
- ALBUQUERQUE WRECK-TWO KILLED
Albuquerque police: 2 killed, 1 injured in 2-car wreckALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police say two people were killed and a third injured in a two-car wreck Friday night in northeast Albuquerque.
Officer Simon Drobik says those killed were rear-seat passengers in a car that collided with a car making a left turn from Alameda Boulevard onto Pan American Freeway.
Drobik says one of the drivers was injured and transported to a hospital in stable condition.
Cause of the crash was under investigation but Drobik says the driver of the car carrying the two people who were killed showed signs of impairment.
No identities were released.
- CATTLE KILLING PLANTS
Toxic plants suspected of killing cows in Four Corners(Information from: Gallup Independent, http://www.gallupindependent.com)
SHIPROCK, N.M. (AP) — Ranchers in northwestern New Mexico suspect toxic plants are responsible for the recent deaths of more than a dozen cows.
The Gallup Independent reports at least 15 cows from different herds in the Shiprock area have died of a mysterious illness in the past three weeks. And ranchers say the purple plant known as the tall mountain larkspur is the likely cause.
The plant is growing in abundance on the range thanks to unusually wet weather. It is used in Navajo and Hopi religious ceremonies and as after-birth wash.
Navajo botanist and geologist Arnold Clifford says the plant is toxic to cows because of its high concentrations of alkaloid.
He says because the Shiprock range is nearly devoid of forage, cattle tend to supplement their diet with any plant species just to fill their stomachs.
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