- LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico legislators forged a budget agreement Thursday that increases annual spending on government programs and school districts more than a half-billion dollars. The spending includes new investments in early childhood education and college scholarships in a state afflicted by high rates of childhood poverty. In the predawn hours, the state House endorsed a $7.6 billion general fund budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. It raises annual spending by $536 million, or nearly 8%. In the final hours of the session, lawmakers approved the reinstatement of a rooftop solar tax credit that expired in 2016.
- FLU-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health is telling the state's residents that it's more important to be concerned about the flu than the virus receiving attention globally. The department said the COVID-19 virus should be subject to "heightened awareness"" but that the flu "remains a more significant illness" in New Mexico. Health Secretary Kathy Kunke says there haven't been any cases of the virus in New Mexico but that the flu season is continuing with hospitals and clinics still reporting many cases.
- LEGISLATURE-NEW MEXICO-GLANCE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's lawmakers have used a 30-day legislative session to bolster restrictions on firearms, underwrite college tuition, shore up a public pension fund and expand state oversight of vaping and e-cigarette sales. An effort to legalize recreational marijuana fell flat. The Legislature on Thursday was scheduled to conclude its second annual session since Democrats took control of the governor's office in 2018 and expanded their House majority. Lawmakers also approved significant new investments in public school education and agreed to license and regulate sales of vaping cartridges and other tobacco products. Minority Republicans say nearly 8% increase in state spending is unsustainable and unfair to taxpayers.
- JUVENILE DETENTION
AZTEC, N.M. (AP) — The San Juan County Juvenile Detention Center will soon house youth from two more New Mexico counties. The county commission this week approved contracts with Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties to keep youth at the facility in Farmington at a cost of $225 per individual per day. San Juan County already has agreements with McKinley and Cibola counties. Youth from Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties currently are housed at Santa Fe County's juvenile detention center but that facility is limiting who it takes in and could close in the future. There are six juvenile detention centers in New Mexico and two may close.
- BANDELIER-NATIONAL PARK BILL
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — A conservation group is calling on members of New Mexico's congressional delegation to rethink proposed legislation that would change the designation of Bandelier National Monument to a national park. The nonprofit group Caldera Action said the name change would attract more tourists to the region, but the site would not be able to cope with additional crowding because of inadequate and crumbling infrastructure and limited staffing. The group's board of directors sent a letter to U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich outlining their concerns. They are also worried about opening up parts of Bandelier to hunting and trapping.
- ENDANGERED WOLVES-DEATHS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State and federal wildlife managers are investigating the death of three endangered Mexican gray wolves found last month in Arizona. Officials with the wolf recovery team did not release any details about the circumstances of the animals' deaths or the specific areas where they were found. One of the wolves was a female that belonged to the Saffel Pack. The other two were single females. Officials also reported that wolves were found to be responsible for seven livestock kills and two nuisance incidents in January. The wolf reintroduction program covers parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
- AP-US-WILDFIRES-ECONOMICS-OF-REDUCING-RISK
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal report shows that projects to reduce the risk of wildfires and protect water sources in the U.S. West have created jobs and infused more money in local economies. The U.S. Geological Survey study focused on several counties along the New Mexico-Colorado border that make up the watershed of one of North America's longest rivers, the Rio Grande. The projects include forest thinning and other work funded by a partnership between governments and businesses that has become a model in other countries. The Nature Conservancy launched the partnership and estimates it has resulted in an economic impact of about $18 million within five years.
- AP-US-TV-BLACK-IN-SPACE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new documentary looks at the final frontier of civil rights: getting black astronauts into space amid segregation, discrimination and the Cold War. "Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier" is scheduled to air Monday on the Smithsonian Channel. It examines the race to get black astronauts onto rockets. The effort began under President John F. Kennedy. But the U.S. wouldn't send a black astronaut into space until 1983. The film shows how former Soviet Union beat the U.S. and sent into space Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez. He was the first Latin American and first person of African descent to reach space.