- ADIOS AMOR-MARIA MORENO
Film explores mystery of Latina union leader who disappearedALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new film dives into the mystery around a Latina labor leader who organized farmworkers years before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and then disappeared.
"Adios Amor: The Search for Maria Moreno" on PBS focuses on a Mexican American mother of 12 who galvanized poor agricultural workers during the late 1950s and early 1960s until she vanished.
Director and producer Laurie Coyle says finding archive photos of Moreno sparked the idea. Coyle says a photographer and radio reporter remembered Moreno as an important advocate but didn't know what happened to her.
The documentary examines how the Texas-born farmworker emerged as a leader in California before moving to Arizona.
The film, a presentation of VOCES, PBS' Latino arts and culture documentary program, is slated to premiere Friday on most PBS stations.
- TEACHER EVALUATIONS-NEW MEXICO
Test scores, teacher attendance dropped from evaluations(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico education officials say test scores and teacher attendance will no longer be included in the state's teacher evaluation system.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the state Public Education Department recently released an outline of an interim teacher evaluation system that drops test scores and teacher attendance but keep observations and parent surveys.
Deputy Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment says the interim plan for the 2019-20 school year will be used while state officials work on a new system.
The change comes amid uncertainty after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham scrapped much of the education reforms under former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
Teachers unions had been critical of the old evaluation system and said it wasn't a fair measurement of teachers. Supporters have said the state needs to maintain some stability to measure educators.
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- CARLSBAD-SINKHOLE REPAIR
$54M project to stabilize Carlsbad decommissioned brine well(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A $54 million project to stabilize a decommissioned brine well that's threatening an area of Carlsbad is ready to begin.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the Carlsbad Brine Well Remediation Authority signed off on the final proposals to acquire access to land in the area.
It means the process of buttressing the well to prevent a massive collapse could start Sept. 30.
That's 11 years after the well was closed down.
The brine well was drilled in the 1970s into a shallow layer of salt about 500 feet (152 meters) below the surface.
It operated for decades, producing nearly 7 million barrels of brine for oilfield use.
The process also hollowed out an area the size of two football fields, eventually destabilizing the land above.
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- KIDNAPPED WOMAN-SEARCH
Albuquerque police: Woman missing, not a kidnapping victimALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police in Albuquerque say they've determined a woman who reportedly was kidnapped is no longer considered a kidnap victim.
But they say 37-year-old Chamisa Toya still is considered missing and they were searching for her Sunday.
Police originally were told Toya was taken by force after her and her boyfriend spent time with an unknown man.
The suspected kidnapper allegedly put Toya in a headlock while she was in his car and drove away from a convenience store early Saturday.
Now police say detectives have determined the woman willingly and safely left the truck shortly after it departed from the store.
However, the say Toya has not been seen or heard from since then.
- NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE
New Mexico coalition remains optimistic on nuke storage plan(Information from: Hobbs News-Sun, http://www.hobbsnews.com)
HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — The head of a southeastern New Mexico coalition supporting plans to build a facility to temporary store spent nuclear fuel says supporters have around 18 months to go.
The Hobbs News-Sun reports Eddy Lea Energy Alliance Chairman John Heaton last week encouraged fellow board members to keep pushing for the proposed multimillion-dollar facility despite opposition from environmentalists and nuclear watchdog groups.
Heaton says a number of agencies are set in the coming months to release environmental and safety reports followed by hearings.
New Jersey-based Holtec International is seeking a 40-year license from federal regulators to build the complex near Carlsbad.
The Eddy Lea Energy Alliance is a public entity formed through a joint powers agreement among the New Mexico cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs and Eddy and Lea counties.
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- FRIENDS-YOUNG FANS
25 years later, a new generation gets immersed in 'Friends'LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Friends" marks its 25th anniversary this week, and the quintessential 1990s sitcom has attracted a new fanbase barely half that age.
Tween and teen girls in particular have embraced the show with huge enthusiasm, taking a series that belonged to Generation X and making it their own.
They binge all 10 seasons on Netflix through their laptops and phones, and push it on their classmates and social media followers.
Ten-year-old Lucia Mozingo says she spreads "Friends" ''like a disease" among her own friends.
Many girls say they like it because it depicts a life they aspire to.
Twelve-year-old Imogen Schwartz says when she watches it she wishes she lived across the hall from her best friends and had a Rachel, a Chandler and a Phoebe in her life.
"Friends" premiered on Sept. 22, 1994 on NBC.
- EDDY COUNTY-JAIL FENCE
Eddy County jail in Carlsbad to be ringed by security fenceCARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — The Eddy County jail will get a security fence to provide an additional layer of separation between inmates in the facility in downtown Carlsbad and the public.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports that the county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $40,000 contract with Roswell-based Waide Construction Co. for an 8-foot (2.4-meter) chain link fence around the jail's main building.
Warden Billy Massingill said the fence will enhance security at the jail's front entrance and provide a barrier for people trying to get the attention of inmates by throwing objects on the building's roof.
Sheriff Mark Cage said adding the security fence is a good move because the detention center is in the heart of Carlsbad and will "provide another necessary layer of security" for the public and correctional workers.
- ALBUQUERQUE-FATAL SHOOTINGS
3 killed in Albuquerque in separate shootings Friday nightALBQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say three people are dead following separate shootings Friday night.
Police say the shootings say the shootings include an apparently accidental one in which several people were detained. According to police, a 911 caller said several people had been drinking and that one person accidentally shot another.
Another involved a man being fatally wounded in a parking lot and witnesses telling police they saw two people running away. No suspects were immediately identified.
Police said detectives were conducting interviews regarding the third fatal shooting and no additional information was immediately released.