- HORSE RACING-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Horse racing regulators in New Mexico have adopted several changes to the state's doping rules to align with the latest guidelines and recommendations issued by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The amendments come as tracks here and elsewhere brace for implementation next year of a new federal law that aims to set national medication and safety standards for the industry. The executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission said Thursday the constitutionality of the new law is being challenged by a national horsemen's group. He also said the commission's staff is getting ready for live racing to resume in the state.
- EDUCATION FUNDING-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state Senate is debating a constitutional amendment that could increase funding for early childhood and K-12 education by hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Passage would be a victory for Democrats who have tried to increase the withdrawal of funding from the Land Grant Permanent Fund for over a decade. The measure would increase withdrawals from the fund by 1.25%, with most of the money going to early childhood education and some going to K-12 schools. The state's $20 billion endowment has doubled in the past 11 years thanks to oil and gas royalties and market investments. Critics say future revenues could fall.
- MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Legislation to legalize cannabis in New Mexico advanced Thursday toward a decisive Senate floor vote under a framework that emphasizes government oversight of pricing and supplies along with social services for communities where the criminalization of pot has led to aggressive policing. The Senate judiciary committee advanced a Democrat-sponsored bill on a 5-4 vote amid stinging criticism from Democratic Sen. Joseph Cervantes, who fears the regulatory framework will create a powerful, government-protected monopoly. The Senate has until noon Saturday to send a legalization bill to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Legislators discarded a Republican-sponsored proposal that stressed low taxes and cheap consumer prices to stamp out illicit marijuana.
- CONGRESS-HAALAND'S SUCCESSOR
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's secretary of state has announced that a special general election will be held June 1 to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Deb Haaland. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver made the announcement Wednesday after Haaland officially resigned the post Tuesday after being confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, which manages public and tribal lands. Haaland, a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo, said she is now able to act as a role model to "little girls everywhere" in her new position. Haaland's initial election to Congress in 2018 and Cabinet confirmation set new milestones for Native American women in the U.S. government.
- BC-SCI-SPRING FORECAST
Government forecasters say the spring in the United States looks like it will be dry and warm with little flooding. Thursday's spring outlook is bad news for the West, which has been under a megadrought for more than 20 years. About two-thirds of the country is now abnormally dry or under drought conditions. Forecasters say that's only going to get worse. They expect water use cutbacks, dangerous wildfires, low reservoir levels and damage to wheat crops. Forecasters expect nearly the entire country to be warmer than normal for the next three months, and that worsens drought.
- MEXICAN GRAY WOLF DEATH
EAGAR, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating what it says is a suspicious death of an endangered Mexican gray wolf near Eagar. The agency and others are offering a reward of up to $37,000 for information that leads to a conviction. Federal law enforcement officers removed the carcass from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on Feb. 19. They say a vehicle was seen stopped or driving slowly near the Saffel Canyon trailhead the night before. The wolf was part of the Hoodoo pack that was hazed away from Nutrioso in December.
- GRAND CANYON-TOURIST TOWN
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Grand Canyon National Park officials tentatively plan to reopen the park's eastern entrance in late May, but some in the community of Page say sooner would be better. Page is a tourist-dependent small city in northern Arizona with many empty campsites and other vacant facilities. Park officials closed the east entrance last year as a courtesy to the neighboring Navajo Nation, which was hit hard by the pandemic. But with the slowing of the outbreak, the tribe is reopening some of its own facilities. Park officials say there are several factors to consider and that May 21 is the tentative date for reopening the park's eastern entrance.
- STATE BUDGET-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state Senate approved an annual budget plan for state government that increases general fund spending by nearly 5% to shore up educational funding, bolster environmental oversight and provide an array of economic relief to low-income workers and businesses. The state Senate voted 29-13 on Wednesday with most Republicans in opposition to approved a $7.45 billion spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1. Recent budget amendments would tap into newly approved federal pandemic aid to pay down the state's unemployment insurance debt and funnel more dollars toward health care for the poor under Medicaid.