- STATE OF STATE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is urging legislators at the outset of the state's annual legislative session to rally around new financial commitments to public education. The commitments range from a trust fund for early childhood educational to free college tuition for local residents. Lujan Grisham on Tuesday delivered her second State of the State speech as legislators weigh pending priorities for an $800 million budget surplus tied to a booming oil sector. She boasted about job growth and called for the legalization of recreational marijuana, saying it has the potential to be "the next frontier" of New Mexico's economic expansion.
- LEGISLATURE CONVENES-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham urged legislators to legalize recreational marijuana, underwrite tuition-free college for local residents and boost spending on early childhood education amid efforts to improve economic opportunity. The Legislature convened Tuesday for a 30-day legislative session. New Mexico's Democrat-led Legislature is reaching for new ways to bolster a lagging public education system, open up new employment opportunities. Public safety also are on the agenda in the wake of the August 2019 mass shooting in nearby El Paso, Texas, and a spate of homicides in Albuquerque.
- NEW MEXICO ENERGY FUTURE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico regulators are hearing from the public as they consider plans by the state's largest electric utility to replace the power that will be lost when the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station closes in 2022. The hearing that began Tuesday before the Public Regulation Commission will stretch into next week, but it could be months before a decision is reached as other aspects of the case are in legal limbo. Public Service Co. of New Mexico says the least costly option for customers involves a mix of solar, wind, natural gas and battery storage. Some critics want the proceedings suspended, saying the utility hasn't proposed viable alternatives beyond its preferred option.
- VEHICLE COLLISION-TWO DEAD
BERNARDO, N.M. (AP) — Authorities in New Mexico say an elderly Colorado couple has died after their car was struck by a semi-truck on a highway. New Mexico State Police say 94-year-old Harlan Leroy Swanson and 92-year-old Elinor Swanson were traveling east of Bernardo when their vehicle made a left onto US 60. A semi-truck hit their SUV. State Police say the Swansons, of Colorado Springs, were pronounced dead at the scene. The 52-year-old Belen man driving the semi was transported to a hospital with unknown injuries. Investigators say alcohol does not appear to be a factor and the couple was wearing seat belts.
- LEGISLATURE-WHAT TO WATCH
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana, fund tuition-free college and shore up pensions for state and local government workers are top priorities as the New Mexico Legislature convenes. The 30-day session convenes on Tuesday. The entire Democratic-led Legislature is up for election this year as debate ensues on issues of restricting gun access, teacher pay and new criminal penalties for acts of domestic terrorism. State government is flush with income linked to record breaking oil production in the southeast corner of the state.
- SOLAR POWER PLANTS-SRP
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — One of Arizona's largest utilities is seeking companies to build solar plants to provide up to 400 megawatts of power, including 200 megawatts from Navajo Nation facilities. The Farmington Daily Times reported Salt River Project issued a request for proposals Jan. 15. SRP officials say the energy will be delivered to customers in central Arizona. The request from the Phoenix-based utility asks for proposals for plants that can produce between 100 and 200 megawatts. The company says Navajo Nation plants could be located anywhere within its territory that can connect to the SRP grid.
- FIRST RAINBOW COALITION
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., (AP) — A new PBS documentary is exploring a little-known movement in 1960s Chicago that brought together blacks, Latinos and poor whites from Appalachia. "The First Rainbow Coalition," scheduled to begin airing Jan. 27, on most PBS stations, shows how Black Panther Party members organized Puerto Rican radicals and Confederate flag-waving white southerners to help tackle poverty and discrimination. Filmmaker Ray Santisteban says its a project that took him 14 years to complete. In 1969, Bobby Lee as a member of the Black Panther Party, reached out to southern white migrants living in Chicago to join him in fighting poverty and police misconduct.
- TRIBAL CASINOS-WATER
PHOENIX (AP) — Republican leaders have introduced legislation to require Native American tribes in Arizona to resolve longstanding water disputes with the state before negotiating new gambling pacts. Cosponsors of the legislation, House Bill 2447, include House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, and Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott. The bill's chief sponsor, Prescott Republican Rep. Steve Pierce, told the Arizona Republic that it would help speed up the state's complex and lengthy negotiations with tribes over water rights because tribes want to retain the economic benefits of gambling casinos. Many tribes' current tribes expire in 2023.