- FILM-COMEBACK TRAIL
Big names headed to New Mexico to film 'The Comeback Trail'SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar winners Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman soon will be on their way to New Mexico to start work on "The Comeback Trail."
The feature film will begin shooting in early June in Albuquerque, Tojajilee and other locations. Work is expected to last about a month and will include more than a dozen New Mexico actors and about 300 extras.
Directed by George Gallo, the film is about two movie producers who owe money to the mob. They set up an aging movie star as part of a scam to save themselves but wind up getting more than they bargained for.
The state film office will be hosting Gallo for a screening of his film "Midnight Run" on Saturday at the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque.
- SCHOOL VOUCHERS-ARIZONA
Arizona lawmakers weigh fix for Navajo school vouchersPHOENIX (AP) — Arizona lawmakers are nearing a vote on emergency legislation to give a handful of Navajo children another year to use their vouchers for private school tuition in New Mexico.
The House and Senate could vote as soon as Friday. The bipartisan legislation would sidestep a law requiring the vouchers to be used at Arizona schools after the Department of Education discovered the vouchers were being used out of state.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman says the legislation will allow the children to stay another year in their school without expanding the voucher program.
The school choice advocacy group American Federation for Children called the children victims of an overbearing government.
- AGRICULTURAL LEASES
New Mexico land office weighs changes to agricultural leasesSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The State Land Office is considering changes to rules that govern agricultural leases.
The agency has scheduled a Friday hearing in Santa Fe to take public comments on the proposed amendments, which would modify the requirements for applications to renew an agricultural lease.
Rather than requiring applicants to provide an antiquated appraisement form to capture the value of the land, the agency would look to existing formulas to determine value and rental fees.
The changes also would allow applicants to seek a re-evaluation of the carrying capacity for grazing land.
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard says she's been looking for ways to streamline the agency's processes.
She says agriculture accounts for the agency's largest geographical business operation, with about 12,750 square miles (over 35,612 square kilometers) of state trust land used for grazing.
- VEHICULAR HOMICIDE-SENTENCING
Las Cruces man gets prison sentence in ex-girlfriend's deathLAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces man has been sentenced to nine years in prison in a vehicular homicide case.
Prosecutors say 40-year-old Angel Saenz also must serve three years of probation with 100 hours of community service in the 2017 death of his ex-girlfriend Sonia Castillo.
He faced charges of homicide by vehicle and knowingly leaving the scene of an accident.
Saenz was convicted for running over the 42-year-old Castillo with his pickup truck in December 2017.
Authorities say Castillo died at a hospital from multiple injuries sustained in the incident.
According to police records, Castillo had requested a restraining order against Saenz the moth before the fatal hit-and-run accident.
- SUPREME COURT-MURDER CASE
Court upholds Albuquerque man's 2nd-degree murder convictionSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction of an Albuquerque man for a fatal shooting in a dispute over a $30 drug debt.
But the state's high court threw out a first-degree felony murder conviction for the same killing.
Jason Comitz was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 15 years for the murder and other crimes during the shooting at the home of Paul Randy Rael in February 2015.
Rael died and his son and stepson were wounded.
In its unanimous ruling Thursday, the court also affirmed Comitz's convictions of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, child abuse and sentencing enhancements for the use of a firearm in the crimes.
Several other convictions were vacated.
- NEW MEXICO SETTLEMENTS
Agreements prompt review of New Mexico's settlement system(Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Questions about $1.7 million in payouts by New Mexico to settle legal claims have prompted a review of policies and procedures regarding such agreements.
Albuquerque television station KRQE reports the settlements were made near the end of former Gov. Susana Martinez's administration. She has denied involvement in the agreements.
The cases included past members of the former governor's security detail and involved what one lawyer for the plaintiffs described as damaging personal information.
Details will remain secret since the settlements are sealed until 2023.
Open records advocates tell the Santa Fe New Mexican there's no legal basis for sealing settlements that long.
The attorney general's office has received complaints regarding the settlements, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is developing new procedures to ensure reviews are done for all claims.
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- ENDANGERED WOLVES-ILLEGAL KILLINGS
Politics, killings stifle wolf recovery amid hefty price tagRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Illegal killings and political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves despite more than $80 million in government spending.
Wildlife officials warn the red wolves of North Carolina could be gone from the wild within a decade. In the Southwest, Mexican gray wolves continue to struggle despite recent gains.
Biologists say poaching has a big effect.
The Associated Press found that over the last two decades, more than half of Mexican wolf deaths and about one in four red wolf deaths resulted from gunshots or were otherwise deemed illegal.
Their recovery has been further hindered by opposition over attacks on livestock or game animals.
A third wolf type — the Western gray wolf — has thrived since reintroduction and could soon lose federal protection.
- GENDER NEUTRAL RULEBOOKS-NEW MEXICO
She can take it, but not 'him': Gender-specific nouns nixedSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The first female to oversee New Mexico's multibillion-dollar mineral resources is proposing to do away with gender-specific pronouns such as "he," ''his" or "him" in state agency rulebooks.
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard says her agency will hold a public hearing Friday in Santa Fe on the proposed changes. Gender-specific pronouns would be replaced by more neutral or specific references.
Garcia Richard says current agency rules use male pronouns throughout to refer to her position. She says it's no surprise that some written wording has grown outdated at the 120-year-old agency.
The commissioner has final say on the language changes.
The State Land Office oversees energy leases across about 14,000 square miles (36,000 square kilometers) of state trust land to help fund schools, universities and hospitals.