- UNIVERSITY-HONEY BEE HIVE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of swarming bees and several pounds of dripping honeycomb have been removed from a building on the University of New Mexico's main campus.Officials said Thursday the bee hive was nested within the decorative trim over a window near one of the entrances of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
Unlike more aggressive wasps and hornets, university officials say there's minimal risk to humans when honey bees are involved. But groundskeepers decided to move the hive to limit the possibility of passers-by being stung and to prevent damage to the building due to the weight of the honeycomb.
The university got help moving the hive from the group Albuquerque Beekeepers.
The removal process took multiple sessions over two days before the hive could be transported to a local farm.
- ENDANGERED WOLVES-DEATH
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wildlife managers say investigators are looking into the death of a Mexican gray wolf that found last month in New Mexico.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the male endangered wolf belonged to the Elk Horn pack, which has been roaming an area just west of the Arizona-New Mexico state line.
Officials say there have been eight documented wolf mortalities in the first six months of 2019. They have not released any details about the circumstances of the deaths.
Survey results released earlier this year indicated there were at least 131 wolves in the mountain ranges spanning southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.
A subspecies of the Western gray wolf, Mexican wolves have faced a difficult road to recovery that has been complicated by politics and conflicts with livestock.
- LAS CRUCES-COOLING STATIONS
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — One southern New Mexico city has activated its cooling stations as high temperatures near triple digits.Las Cruces officials say the cooling stations will be open until 8 p.m. every week night and from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends.
The stations are places where the elderly, other high-risk residents and the general public can find temporary shelter from the heat. They include community centers and other city buildings such as the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.
Officials say city museums also are open to provide relief during regular business hours.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say they expect record and near record warmth for portions of New Mexico's central valley and eastern plains through Saturday. While no records are likely in the south, they say it'll be very warm.
- CODE TALKER'S GRANDDAUGHTER
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The granddaughter of deceased World War II Navajo code talker and state legislator John Pinto will serve out his term in the state Senate through 2020.Navajo Nation member and teacher Shannon Pinto was appointed Thursday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to represent a district that extends from the Four Corners to Gallup.
John Pinto died in May at the age of 94 after serving over four decades in the Legislature. He voted this year in favor of a successful bill to expand background checks on gun sales and was a supporter of abortion rights.
In a news release Pinto said she will fight for common sense gun violence prevention measures and be "a champion for efforts that support women and their personal health care decisions."
- TRIBAL ARTIFACTS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Democrats are making a renewed push in Congress to ban collectors and vendors from exporting Native American ceremonial items.Sen Martin Heinrich, U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Deb Haaland, and others intend to reintroduce legislation Thursday that also would increase penalties for trafficking objects that tribes hold sacred.
The legislation follows a similar proposal from Heinrich in 2016.
It aimed to address what senators described as a loophole in federal law that officials say hampered efforts to have a Paris auction house return a ceremonial shield to Acoma Pueblo.
Lawmakers say U.S. law prohibits the trafficking of certain items domestically but does not explicitly ban dealers from exporting them.
- GAMBLING DOLDRUMS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An analysis of tribal casino revenues and taxes from racetrack gambling in New Mexico suggests the local industry may be static or contracting.A written brief from the state's legislative watchdog agency shows a 10% decline from 2012-2018 in annual revenues that are shared by tribal casinos with the state. State tax income from gambling at racetrack casinos declined by 3% for the period.
Officials at the state Gaming Control Board declined immediate comment Thursday on the statistics.
More recently, three tribal casinos have initiated or announced sportsbooks for wagering on sporting events after the U.S. Supreme Court last year lifted the ban that restricted sports betting outside of Nevada.
New Mexico has 24 tribal casinos that share revenues with the state under a compact renegotiated in 2015.
- LOS ALAMOS LAB-ECONOMY
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Los Alamos National Laboratory supports more than 24,000 direct and indirect jobs and infuses more than $3 billion a year into New Mexico's economy through federal funding and spending by employees and vendors.The lab on Thursday released the findings of an economic impact report prepared by the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
Lab Director Thom Mason says the report underlines Los Alamos' role as a major employer that has created good paying high-tech jobs. He also says the lab's need for goods and services from local businesses results in a ripple effect for the economy.
The analysis looked at payroll, procurement and spending data for the last three federal fiscal years.
The birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos is one of the nation's premier nuclear labs.
- DRUNK BUS DRIVER-SENTENCING
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 49-year-old New Mexican man who drove a school bus carrying 25 students while under the influence of alcohol has been sentenced to 1½ years in federal prison.Duane Aaron Skeet of Chichiltah (chi-CHIL'-tah) was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Albuquerque on his March guilty plea to felony child abuse.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for New Mexico said Skeet endangered the lives and health of 25 Navajo Nation children on Sept. 24, 2018 by consuming alcohol before arriving for work as a Bureau of Indian Education employee at a school on the tribe's reservation.
The office said the students ages 5-12 weren't injured despite being thrown back and forth inside the bus as it swerved, nearly went off the road and almost flipped while making a sharp turn.