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

 

  • PLUMES-AIR FORCE BASES

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Environment Department is asking state lawmakers for $1.2 million to study a plume of toxic chemicals seeping from two U.S. Air Force bases.The Santa Fe New Mexican reports state Environment Secretary James Kenney said the requested money would be used to investigate the plume and is "a critical first step" in knowing how to contain it.
He says the department would hire a private contractor to study the pollution if the Legislature approves the special funding request.
New Mexico regulators first issued a notice of violation to the Air Force last year for failing to address the contamination at the base near Clovis adequately. They followed up earlier this year on Holloman, saying that base had yet to respond to concerns about the pollution near Alamogordo.
 

  • HOMICIDE RECORD

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico authorities have announced three people were shot in less than two days pushing the number of homicides in Albuquerque to 72 and matching the highest year-end total in recent history.The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed two people were killed and another was rushed to the hospital after suffering from gunshot wounds, each in unrelated cases.
Authorities say neither of the alleged homicide cases have been solved.
Mayor Tim Keller says officials expect this year to be one of the worst years on record and announced plans to double the number of homicide detectives among other initiatives.
Keller says Albuquerque was regarded as worst or second-worst nationwide in violent crime, auto theft and robbery leading into 2018.

  • TAOS-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

TAOS, N.M. (AP) — Taos Air has announced it will begin direct charter flights from Taos to Los Angeles and San Diego area.The company said this week it will start direct charter flight service to and from Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Los Angeles and McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California, beginning Jan. 9.
Taos Air says it will provide flights under two and a half hours one way at prices comparable to commercial services. That will make it easy for Southern Californians to experience northern New Mexico's ski resorts.
The new winter California service is expected to run from Jan. 9 through March 29 and consist of one flight to and from each destination every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

  • MEDICAL MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is considering whether to extend its medical cannabis program to dogs with epilepsy and people with attention deficit disorder.Petitions for new qualifying medical conditions have been filed with the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board at its upcoming meeting in December. The Department of Health withheld the names of petition sponsors.
One petition cites recent studies in veterinary medicine to suggest authorization of cannabis for animals coping with seizures. Cannabidiol derived from hemp or marijuana already is widely marketed for pets.
Another petition would allow marijuana for attention deficit-hyperactivity, anxiety disorder and Tourette's syndrome.
New Mexico's medical cannabis program has opened its doors to nearly 80,000 patients who cope with conditions from cancer to HIV. A large majority are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or severe chronic pain.

  • BORDER ACTIVIST TRIAL-THE LATEST

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A jury in Arizona has acquitted an activist on charges he illegally helped two migrant men from Central America evade authorities.Scott Warren was charged with harboring for his role in providing shelter to the men who had crossed the border illegally in January 2018.
The trial was the second for Warren, who maintained he was fulfilling his mission as a humanitarian when he provided basic medical care to the men.
He allowed them to stay at a camp run by volunteers who rescue migrants in desert.
A jury in June deadlocked on charges against him in the first trial.
Prosecutors contended Warren knowingly broke the law by allowing the men to stay at the camp.
They said Warren gave them directions to help them avoid a Border Patrol checkpoint.

  • ELECTION 2020-SENATE NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Elisa Martinez, a Latina Republican and member of the Navajo Nation, is joining the race for an open U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico.Martinez formally announced Wednesday she will seek the GOP nomination to take on likely Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján.
The anti-abortion activist will face contractor Mick Rich and college professor Gavin Clarkson in the Republican primary.
Martinez says she's an advocate for "traditional, New Mexican issues" and blasted "liberal socialist Democrats" for seeking to reform health care.
Martinez grew up in Gallup, New Mexico. Her father has deep Hispanic roots in the state going back 15 generations and her mother's family is Zuni Pueblo and Navajo.
If elected, Martinez would become the first Native American woman elected in the U.S. Senate.

  • VIOLENT CRIME-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque's mayor and police department are pleading for investigative leads in the shooting death of the mother of two State Police officers as the city's annual homicide tally approaches record levels.Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller on Wednesday said a surge in local homicides is the culmination of a decadelong trend linked to drug abuse, gangs and depleted police ranks.
He says the city is preparing an anti-violence initiative while seeking $30 million in new funding from the Legislature to combat crime.
Albuquerque Police Lieutenant Scott Norris says police are searching for a 2000 Jeep Cherokee in connection with the death of a woman whose husband reported she was shot Tuesday morning. Police provided no further details.
The Albuquerque Journal identified the deceased woman as the mother of State Police officers.

  • PRETRIAL DETENTION-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Republicans have unveiled a proposal aimed at changing how state judges decide who remains jailed before trial.State Rep. Bill Rehm said Wednesday he will push a bill that would force judges to consider the seriousness of the suspect's charge and criminal history when considering release.
The Albuquerque Republican says he will work with Democrats to come with a bipartisan proposal to safeguard against violent defendants being released from jail before trial.
The move comes after a state judge ordered a defendant charged in the 2016 brutal killing and dismemberment of a 10-year-old Albuquerque girl to be released from jail pending his trial.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez, the top prosecutor in New Mexico's busiest court district, wants lawmakers to tackle a similar proposal.