- FATAL SHOOTING-BAR
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a fatal shooting occurred Friday night outside a bar where a person was shot during a confrontation with security personnel. Police say a woman called 911 to report that a "male subject" was breaking into her vehicle and then shots were fired as security personnel approached the subject. Police said arriving officers found that person unresponsive and that fire department personnel found no signs of life. Police didn't say whether the dead person was armed, provide that person's age or say whether the woman was inside the vehicle when she called police. No identities were released.
- AIRPORT GRANTS-NEW MEXICO
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Airports in several New Mexico communities will share nearly $2 million in federal funds to make runway infrastructure improvements. The Federal Aviation Administration announced the grants this week. The money includes $750,000 for the Roswell International Air Center as a revenue guarantee and for a marketing program to facilitate direct service to Denver via United Airlines. Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation applauded the funding, saying the state's regional airports serve as critical lifelines for rural communities and their economies. Gallup, Carlsbad and Portales were among the other communities to get grants.
- ENDANGERED MOUSE-LAWSUIT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Environmentalists say U.S. land managers are failing to keep livestock and wild horses out of streams and other wetlands in Arizona's White Mountains, resulting in damage to habitat that a rare species of mouse depends on. They are suing in federal court. The battle over the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse has been ongoing for years. The mouse was listed as an endangered species in 2014. That prompted the U.S. Forest Service to fence off streams and watering holes in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado to protect habitat thought to be ideal. Forest officials said Friday that work is continuing and disputed the allegations.
- PECAN CONFERENCE
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Pecan growers from across the West will be gathering in southern New Mexico in the coming weeks to talk about the potential for a pecan market in India, drip irrigation and weevils. New Mexico State University says the annual Western Pecan Growers Conference will kick off on March 1 in Las Cruces. This will be the 54th year for the gathering, which draws growers from New Mexico, Arizona, West Texas and California. Experts from New Mexico State and the University of Georgia will be among the presenters. New Mexico led the nation in pecan production in 2019, followed by Georgia.
- TV-WHO KILLED MALCOLM X?
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new Netflix series is tackling questions around the 1965 assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X. "Who Killed Malcolm X?" dives into questions surrounding his accused killers and allegations of a botched investigation. The series follows an activist-scholar who revisits the assassination through interviews and archives. He argues that at least two of the men charged with the slaying were innocent and that the real killers got away. Malcolm X was killed in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom by gunmen who opened fire during a speaking engagement in 1965. Friday marked the 55th anniversary of his death.
- MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has stopped issuing medical marijuana enrollment cards to people who live outside the state but will soon allow nonresident patients enrolled in other state programs to buy pot. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday reinstated a residency requirement for participation in the state's medical cannabis program by signing a measure passed by lawmakers. At least 613 nonresidents have enrolled in the medical pot program since the residency requirement was dropped last year. On July 1, New Mexico will recognize medical marijuana cards issued by other states. Officials say the goal of recognizing out-of-state cards is to allow patients to access cannabis just like other medications.
- HEMP-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The state is funneling more economic development dollars to the hemp industry, as another business plans to expand its operations in southern New Mexico. The Economic Development Department said Friday it has committed $600,000 in local economic development funding to Natural ReLeaf. That will be matched by more than $5 million in private investment. The company began growing hemp last year and is ready to expand its manufacturing capacity and add more greenhouses that would be capable of growing the crop year-round. State officials say Natural ReLeaf is expected to create 56 jobs over the next two to three years.
- EX-DEPUTY-SENTENCING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Colfax County sheriff's deputy to seven years in prison for drug trafficking and theft in New Mexico. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the former deputy said at his sentencing hearing Thursday that he was tempted by the money and had disgraced his law enforcement agency, the public and his family. Prosecutors say he hid $4,200 in cash in the tailpipe of his truck, stole more than $13,000 and confiscated marijuana from two men, and accepted $10,000 to escort a load of cocaine through Colfax County. He pleaded guilty in 2016.