- ELECTION 2020-SENATE-NEW MEXICO
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces businessman has entered the contest for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, adding to a list of Republicans looking for a nomination. Las Cruces Sun News reported Thursday that 72-year-old Rick Montoya announced his candidacy at Roberto's Mexican Restaurant in Las Cruces. Montoya is the sixth Republican who announced their run for the at-large seat ahead of the June primary election. Officials say the seat was held by Democratic Sen. Tom Udall who announced in March that he would not seek a third term. He told a crowd of supporters that his campaign strategy relies on counties in southern New Mexico.
- NEW MEXICO TRAPPING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Trappers now have to complete an education course and new restrictions will be imposed on setting wildlife traps and snares around designated trailheads and on select public lands in New Mexico. The changes are part of a measure adopted by the state Game Commission. State wildlife managers suggested they tried to strike a balance, but trappers argued the changes are burdensome. Environmentalists also were upset with the decision since many had called for the commission to end trapping altogether. Trapping and snaring had triggered an emotionally charged debate during the last legislative session. A measure to ban trapping never came to a floor vote.
- ENERGY ROYALTIES
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A conservation group can seek details from the Trump Administration on whether it used the recommendations of a disbanded committee to craft policies on oil, gas and coal extraction. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy says there is "a significant question" on whether the administration followed the advice of the Royalty Policy Committee. The industry-dominated panel was created under former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to remove obstacles to natural resource extraction. It was disbanded last year, and Molloy later said it had been established illegally. The judge's ruling Thursday allows the Western Organization of Resource Councils to seek documents, depositions and other materials from the administration.
- IMMIGRATION-TRANSGENDER MIGRANTS
Lawyers for a transgender woman from El Salvador who won her release from immigration detention say she has been arrested and taken back to the same New Mexico facility because the U.S. government is appealing a judge's decision. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement re-arrested the woman Monday during what her lawyers expected would be a routine check-in. One of her lawyers says Joselin suffers from seizures as well as symptoms of a traumatic brain injury and had been released from the hospital days before the check-in. Her lawyer says Joselin's detention is unnecessary because she had a place to stay and was not a flight risk. ICE did not respond to requests for comment Thursday and Friday.
- VALLES CALDERA-LAND PURCHASE
JEMEZ SPRINGS, N.M. (AP) — A national preserve in northern New Mexico that is sometimes referred to as the "Yellowstone of the Southwest" has added another piece of property to its land holdings that contains sulfuric acid hot springs, volcanic fumaroles and steaming mud pots. The National Park Service recently completed the purchase of a 40-acre parcel known as Sulphur Springs within the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Officials say many of the geothermal features on the property are found nowhere else in New Mexico, and similar sites are very rare in the Western U.S. The acidic pools and streams also are home to a range of "extremophile" algae and bacteria.
- GAME COMMISSION-LEADERSHIP
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A panel charged with overseeing hunting and fishing regulations and managing wildlife across New Mexico is meeting for the first time following a shakeup. There is an ongoing dispute that involves public access to rivers and streams that flow through private property. Former Game Commission chairwoman Joanna Prukop ran afoul of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last fall when she and other commissioners voted to reconsider the contested rule that limits access. Questions have been raised about its constitutionality. The commission had the support of sportsmen groups, conservationists and members of Congress, but the governor's office opted to replace her.
- WINTER WEATHER-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Winter weather caused school closures and delayed openings Friday due to slick roads from snow and freezing rain across much of northern New Mexico as authorities warned that strong winds could create hazardous driving conditions. Public schools in Santa Fe were closed while Albuquerque's public schools and the University of New Mexico delayed their openings by two hours. The National Weather Service said gusts near 60 mph were expected across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains southward toward Clines Corner, which is 60 miles east of Albuquerque along Interstate 40. Forecasters also warned of freezing fog in some areas.
- LOBBYISTS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A watchdog group on ethics in government is highlighting the influence of paid lobbyists on the legislative process in New Mexico. A report published Friday advocates for greater public disclosures on lobbying and a change in the culture of local Statehouse politics. New Mexico Ethics Watch issued the report that names that state's top registered lobbyists in terms of expenditures and how many clients they represent. It also traces the influence of lobbyists on recent initiatives for gun control, recreational marijuana legalization, film industry incentives and taxes on tobacco products.