- NEW MEXICO COMPOUND
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a woman charged with kidnapping, firearm and terrorism-related counts to be hospitalized, saying she suffers from mental illness.The decision Thursday orders up to four months of hospitalization for Jany Leveille, with plans to reevaluate later whether she might be competent to stand trial.
Leveille has been among five suspects awaiting trial in the case after officers raided their Taos County compound last year. Authorities say they found 11 hungry children there living in filth, and the remains of a missing Georgia boy who had suffered from untreated disabilities.
The boy's father, Leveille and the three other suspects are accused in court documents of conspiring to attack officers, military members and government employees.
All, except the father, are charged with kidnapping the boy.
- MEDICAL SCHOOL-RESIDENCY PROGRAM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The University of New Mexico School of Medicine's neurosurgery residency program is going to lose its accreditation next summer.The Albuquerque Journal reports the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recently announced it is withdrawing the school's accreditation for the program effective June 30. The council says the University of New Mexico is the only neurosurgery residency program in the country to lose its credentials this school year.
The loss of accreditation means eight resident physicians in the program will have to leave the university to complete their training at an accredited program.
University of New Mexico Health System vice chancellor for clinical affairs Michael Richards says the school will have to pay the resident doctors' salaries even after they leave to finish their training.
- SCHOOLS CHIEF-STATE SENATE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The superintendent of the Santa Fe Public Schools district has ended her bid for a state Senate seat a week after announcing her candidacy.Veronica Garcia said Thursday she doesn't have time to run the school district and campaign.
Garcia had planned to run as a Democrat for the Albuquerque-area seat held by Republic Sen. Mark Moores where she lives. District 21 leans Republican.
She told The Santa Few New Mexican she had been inspired to run by a state district judge's ruling that said vulnerable students are denied the right to an education because schools are underfunded. She says she wanted an opportunity to respond as a lawmaker.
Garcia's contract as superintendent in Santa Fe ends in June 2021.
She served as state education secretary under former Gov. Bill Richardson.
- NATIONAL PARKS-CAMPGROUNDS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Food trucks. Wi-Fi. Hot showers.Those campground upgrades could be coming to a national park near you.
The Interior Department is considering recommendations to modernize campgrounds within the National Park Service.
The recommendations posted this week come from an advisory committee created under former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. It has been looking at ways for private businesses to operate on public lands.
Derrick Crandall is the vice chairman of the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee. He says many campgrounds fail to meet visitors' expectations and allowing the private sector to run them would free up money for maintenance elsewhere in the parks.
National parks have more than 1,400 campgrounds combined. About 6% are operated by concessionaires.
Environmentalists say the proposal would price out some visitors and benefit special interest groups.
- NEW MEXICO TEACHER OF YEAR
PLACITAS, N.M. (AP) — A third-grade teacher in the Bernalillo school district who got her start volunteering at an after-school program teaching English as a second language in a low-income housing community has been named the New Mexico Teacher of the Year.State Public Education Secretary-Designate Ryan Stewart announced Mandi Torrez as the winner Friday based partly on her efforts to focus on cultural responsiveness, inclusivity and equity in the classroom.
For the first time in the 56-year-history of the award, a one-year, paid sabbatical is being financed by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Torrez also gets up to $10,000 in professional development opportunities and will represent New Mexico in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Torrez has been teaching for 10 years, including eight at Placitas Elementary School where she's worked to organize annual cultural celebrations.
- THE CASAGRANDES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nickelodeon's "The Casagrandes" premiered this week and became one of the first cartoons in U.S. history to feature a multigenerational Mexican American family.The long awaited spin-off from the network's popular animation series, "The Loud House," comes as more networks take chances on Latino-themed shows.
The series centers around an 11-year-old Mexican American, skateboarding girl trying to survive in the fictional town of Great Lake City. Her apartment is above The Casagrandes bodega, owned by grandpa and in front of a subway track.
Unlike some previous cartoons with Latinos, "The Casagrandes" seeks to tackle family-oriented themes like love, friendship, and jealousy.
Supervising director Miguel Puga says creators wanted to show how normal and relatable Latino families are.
- O'KEEFFE MUSEUM-CONSERVATION
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum has won a grant from Bank of America that will support conservation of the artist's pivotal painting entitled "Spring."In addition to supporting research and conservation, the funding will enable the museum to share its work online.
Officials say "Spring" marks a turning point in O'Keeffe's life.
Her husband, famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz, died in 1946 and for three years, she suspended her trips to New Mexico to stay in New York and settle his estate. "Spring" is one of her few creations from that period.
The conservation work will address cracks, flaking paints and darkening surface stains.
The painting also has a history of water damage caused by a leak in O'Keeffe's Abiquiú home. The conservation and research into the painting's past treatments are expected to take about a year.
- NURSING PARTNERSHIP
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the state's largest health care providers is partnering with the University of New Mexico's nursing college to expand access to health care in rural communities by creating a new residency program.The program will be paid for by a $3.2 million grant awarded to Presbyterian Healthcare Services by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
The program will focus on providing care in medically underserved areas.
The clinics that will be part of the residency are in Capitan, Carrizozo, Corona, Ruidoso, southwest Albuquerque, Socorro, Belen, Los Lunas and Tucumcari.
Officials say all but one of the communities served through the grant also have higher than average poverty rates.
The priorities for the residents who will participate in the program include combating the opioid crisis and addressing mental health issues.