- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico ups social-distancing recommendations amid virusALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Corrections Department isn't allowing any contact visits at the state's prisons and county jails have suspended visitations to minimize the spread of the new coronavirus. Albuquerque's Metropolitan Detention Center and lockups in Santa Fe and San Miguel counties are among those temporarily discontinuing visits. New Mexico has reported 17 infections as testing ramps up around the state. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed five executive orders to free up more than $3 million in additional funding for emergency response and disaster relief efforts. The state also has hardened social-distancing recommendations to restrict restaurant service as some tribal casinos have closed. All state parks are closed.
- NUCLEAR WASTE-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico officials: Proposed US cleanup budget falls shortALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Top New Mexico officials are concerned the U.S. government isn't taking seriously its obligations to clean up waste left behind by decades of nuclear research and bomb-making at one of the nation's premier laboratories. The birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos National Laboratory would see only a fraction of the $6 billion the U.S. Energy Department is proposing to spend next year on cleanup work nationwide. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is taking another look whether it can make stronger a 2016 agreement with the federal government that spells out cleanup milestones and consequences for not achieving them.
- ENMU PRESIDENT CONTRACT
ENMU chancellor will not seek contract renewalPORTALES, N.M. (AP) — The head of Eastern New Mexico University System is stepping down. University officials announced over the weekend that Chancellor and ENMU-Portales President Dr. Jeff Elwell is not extending his contract. Elwell notified the ENMU Board of Regents that his tenure will end June 30, 2021. He says he wanted to give early notice so the board has plenty of time to search for a successor. Elwell is credited with furthering unity between all three campuses of the ENMU system through his "One Eastern" plan.
- VETERANS CLINIC
New veterans clinic coming to southeastern New MexicoHOBBS, N.M, (AP) — U.S. military veterans are getting a new clinic in southeastern New Mexico. The Hobbs News-Sun reports the planned veterans clinic has been placed on a "fast track" to be completed by the end of 2020. Officials say the lack of a options for veterans in Hobbs force many of them to make the grueling trip out of state to receive care. According to statistics from the Veterans Medical Center in Big Spring, Texas, there are around 6,000 veterans living in New Mexico's Lea County. The clinic comes after Hobbs City Commissioner Dwayne Penick had been working on bringing a veterans clinic to the Hobbs and Lea County area for around a year.
- PUNCHING STUDENT-LAWSUIT
District settles for $475K after teacher punched boy, 9ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico school district has agreed to pay $475,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a boy who was punched by a music teacher. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports a copy of the settlement says New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority agreed to make the payout on behalf of Tony E. Quintana "Sombrillo" Elementary School in December. The school is part of Española Public Schools. The boy's parents filed the suit in November 2017, two months after former teacher John Andrew Valdez pleaded guilty to three counts of battery. He agreed to complete 18 months of probation as part of the plea agreement. Prosecutors say Valdez struck the then-9-year-old boy and two other children.
- CATHOLIC CHURCH-EL FUTURO
US Hispanic Catholics are future, but priest numbers dismalPHOENIX (AP) — A booming Hispanic population is seen by many U.S. Roman Catholics as a key to the church's future. In large parts of the United States, recent years have been difficult for the church. Hundreds of schools and parishes have closed, and bankruptcy stemming from sexual abuse has hit hard in the Northeast. There's a different mood in the Southwest. Hispanics now account for 40% of all U.S. Catholics and a solid majority of school-age Catholics. But there are also some big challenges. Catholic researchers say Hispanics are strikingly underrepresented in Catholic schools and in the priesthood, and there's hard work ahead to try to close those gaps.
- ALBUQUERQUE SHOOTING-FOUR SHOT
Albuquerque police say shooting leaves 1 dead, 3 injuredALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a shooting Saturday morning left one person dead and three others injured.No identities were released and police said their investigation was in its early stages as detectives conducted interviews and obtained a search warrant.The incident occurred in southeast Albuquerque neighborhood near Broadway Boulevard and Coal Avenue.
- ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-LATINOS
Tuesday's primaries offer chance for Biden to reach LatinosPHOENIX (AP) — Tuesday's primaries in Arizona and Florida offer Joe Biden a chance to show he can make up ground with Latinos, a crucial group of voters he'll need in his corner to defeat President Donald Trump. In Biden's pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination, he's run repeatedly into a wall in the West, where Bernie Sanders' strength among Latinos propelled his campaign even as he struggled with other groups. Biden is playing catch-up when it comes to engaging Latino voters and is weighed down by anger over the high rate of deportations during the Obama administration, which left scars for many immigrants and their families.