- LEGISLATURE LIQUOR LAWS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The governor has signed a sweeping liquor reform law that will allow home delivery in New Mexico. The bipartisan law makes it easier for businesses to get a liquor license. To compensate existing license holders, it provides for a tax break. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she signed the reform in part to increase revenue opportunities for the hospitality industry, which has been hit hard by shutdowns during the pandemic. The bill directs officials to study the effect of the delivery policy on public health, and it bans the sale of wine and spirits at gas stations in McKinley County. The prohibition was included at the urging of a centrist Democrat representing that area of northwestern New Mexico, citing high levels of alcoholism.
- STATE BUDGET-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Senate opened deliberations Friday on the provisions of a $7.45 billion budget plan that would shore up educational spending and provide an array of relief to low-income workers and businesses. Recent amendments to the spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 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. Full Senate approval sends recent amendments to the House for approval or a negotiated settlement by conference committee. The Legislature has until noon Saturday to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO-EMHOFF
KEWA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris joined officials in New Mexico on Wednesday to tour a tribal vaccination clinic. Kewa Pueblo has vaccinated the majority of its tribal members. Doug Emhoff called it a vaccination model and acknowledged how hard the coronavirus has hit Native American communities. He says he was inspired by the work Kewa and other New Mexico pueblos have done to bring their communities together at a trying time. Nearby pueblos also have vaccinated tribal members at high rates. Many of them focused initially on cultural leaders and those who are fluent in their native languages.
- BOTTLED WATER RECALL-VEGAS FIRM
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health officials are warning people not to drink a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, after linking it to liver illness in five hospitalized children. Company President Brent Jones on Wednesday said stores should stop selling the product until the issue is resolved. It comes in boxy blue plastic bottles labeled "alkalized" and "infused with negative ions" at stores in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the Los Angeles area. The company also was sued Tuesday in Nevada state court by a father, mother and their young son seeking damages and saying they became sick from the water.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise is planning to reopen two of its casinos this week with reduced capacity. The casinos in northwestern New Mexico near Gallup and Farmington will open Friday after being closed for a year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as the tribe eases its restrictions on businesses and sees a downward swing in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The casinos will operate at 25% capacity with no food or drink services and allow only residents of the reservation. The enterprise will keep two other casinos east of Flagstaff and in northwestern New Mexico closed in the meantime.
- POLICING REFORMS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill that would end police immunity from prosecution in New Mexico to allow civil right lawsuits in state court cleared its last major hurdle with Senate approval, as Democratic legislators responded to concerns about police brutality and accountability. The state Senate on Wednesday endorsed the bill 26-15. The proposal would apply to violations of state civil rights guarantees ranging from racial discrimination to illegal search and seizure and freedom of speech violations. County sheriffs, police associations and insurance authorities for local governments assembled a united front against the initiative. The U.S. Justice Department has intervened in Albuquerque to resolve concerns about excessive force by police.
- AP-US-PRISON-GANG-TRIAL-CONVICTED-NEW-MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal court jury has convicted a self-proclaimed member of a New Mexico prison gang of ordering and participating in the 2008 killing of a man who allegedly disrespected the gang and was left dead, naked and facedown in an icy river. The Albuquerque Journal reported that 41-year-old Jody Rufino Martinez faces life in prison after the jury found him guilty on Tuesday of racketeering and murder in the death of 34-year-old David Romero to advance his own standing in the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico gang. Three other people who allegedly participated in Romero's killing gave statements that implicated Martinez. Martinez's defense attorney Nicholas Hart said the claims were false.
- FORMER TAX OFFICIAL-INDICTMENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former New Mexico state tax official faces charges of wire fraud and other crimes accusing him of stealing nearly $690,000 by altering taxpayers' refunds and routing them to his own bank accounts. George Martinez of Albuquerque was arrested Tuesday on 42 counts each of wire fraud and identity theft plus six counts of money laundering. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Martinez between May 2011 and July 2018 allegedly used his position as head of the Taxation and Revenue Department's questionable refund unit to manipulate the system. Online court records did not list an attorney for Martinez who could comment on the allegations.