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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 11:20 a.m. MDT

 

  • TRIBAL ARTIFACTS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Democrats are making a renewed push in Congress to ban collectors and vendors from exporting Native American ceremonial items.Sen Martin Heinrich, U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Deb Haaland, and others intend to reintroduce legislation Thursday that also would increase penalties for trafficking objects that tribes hold sacred.
The legislation follows a similar proposal from Heinrich in 2016.
It aimed to address what senators described as a loophole in federal law that officials say hampered efforts to have a Paris auction house return a ceremonial shield to Acoma Pueblo.
Lawmakers say U.S. law prohibits the trafficking of certain items domestically but does not explicitly ban dealers from exporting them.

  • LOS ALAMOS LAB-ECONOMY

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Los Alamos National Laboratory supports more than 24,000 direct and indirect jobs and infuses more than $3 billion a year into New Mexico's economy through federal funding and spending by employees and vendors.The lab on Thursday released the findings of an economic impact report prepared by the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
Lab Director Thom Mason says the report underlines Los Alamos' role as a major employer that has created good paying high-tech jobs. He also says the lab's need for goods and services from local businesses results in a ripple effect for the economy.
The analysis looked at payroll, procurement and spending data for the last three federal fiscal years.
The birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos is one of the nation's premier nuclear labs.

  • INMATE ATTACK

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Officials say two guards were taken to a hospital after they were attacked by inmates at a New Mexico prison.The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Las Cruces was placed on lockdown Tuesday evening.
The state Corrections Department's constituent services liaison, Ricardo Montoya, says multiple inmates were involved in the attack on the guards.
New Mexico State Police is investigating the attack.
 

  • COURT CONSOLIDATIONS-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is consolidating administration of most magistrate and district courts across the state.The state Administrative Office of the Courts said the reorganization means the office no longer will manage the dozens of magistrate courts statewide and that those courts' hiring and staffing decisions instead will be instead by overseen locally by judicial districts that already administer district courts.
Officials say the transition allows sharing of employees and jury pools and was completed with the new fiscal year's July 1 start.
It applies statewide except Bernalillo County. The Metropolitan Court and District Court systems for the Albuquerque area will continue to be administered separately.
The Administrative Office of the Courts will continue to conduct oversight and support functions for magistrate courts, such as audits and building leases.

  • ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-VALERIE PLAME

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of small campaign contributions from undisclosed sources have propelled former CIA operative and author Valerie Plame to the financial pole position in a crowded primary competition for an open congressional seat in 2020.Plame spokesman Daniel Garcia says small, non-itemized contributions to the campaign since April 1 are evidence of broad political support from everyday people.
Plame's campaign for the Democratic nomination raised $239,000 from April through June and has drawn criticism from rival campaigns for not revealing the source of more than 3,000 contributions of under $200. Garcia says that is standard practice in federal campaigns.
Democratic state Rep. Joseph Sanchez says he also chose not to itemize small contributions to his congressional campaign but will in the future to highlight his local base of support.

  • NUCLEAR POWER-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It will be up to New Mexico regulators how to address concerns surrounding decisions by the state's largest electric utility to reinvest in a nuclear power plant in neighboring Arizona.The Public Regulation Commission heard oral arguments Wednesday from Public Service Co. of New Mexico, environmental groups and others.
The case was sent back to regulators after the New Mexico Supreme Court in May upheld an earlier finding by the commission that PNM's investments in the Palo Verde plant were imprudent.
The court also found PNM's due process rights were violated when the commission denied it the ability to recoup future decommissioning costs.
Some lawyers say the matter can be settled in future rate cases. Others argue the utility should be required to prove the cost-effectiveness of its decisions to ensure ratepayers' interests are protected.

  • CHACO CANYON-DRILLING

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal legislation aimed at limiting oil and gas development near a national park in New Mexico held sacred by Native Americans has been endorsed by a key congressional committee.The House natural resources panel on Wednesday approved the Democrat-sponsored bill. A similar measure is pending in the Senate.
Tribes and environmentalists have been advocating for more protections beyond the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, saying the region is full of culturally significant sites.
The legislation would permanently ban drilling on federal land within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the park.
Most of the land surrounding the park belongs to the Navajo Nation or individual Navajo allotment owners. While top Navajo officials support cultural preservation, they have stopped short of asking for a drilling ban because development in the region nets substantial revenue.

  • NAMBE ACQUISITION

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Santa Fe-based company known for its polished aluminum alloy kitchenware and home décor has been acquired by a British manufacturer and worldwide distributor.The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Portmeirion Group's purchase of Nambé LLC for $12 million from the Hillenbrand family closed Tuesday.
Portmeirion CEO Lawrence Bryan says he has always enjoyed Nambe's design ethic, describing it as contemporary and chic.
The sale included the Nambé headquarters building in Santa Fe, all rights and intellectual property and a distribution center in nearby Española.
Nambé brings in $18 million in annual revenue, with its products available at Nambe stores in New Mexico and Arizona and other retailers in the U.S. such as Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.
Bryan says he expects to open Nambé shops in other states.