- LEGISLATURE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Democrat-led Legislature is haggling over annual spending priorities as a yearly 30-day session winds down. Lawmakers are racing to lock in significant policy initiatives on public safety, education funding, tobacco regulation, and incentives for infrastructure investments. The session marks a second consecutive year of unified Democratic control of the governor's office and both chambers in the Legislature. A sweeping overhaul of the state's collective bargaining laws for public employees was approved by the Legislature that could reduce delays on petitions to unionize workplaces. The Legislature has until Thursday at noon to send an approved budget and other bills to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
- AP-US-WILDFIRES-ECONOMICS-OF-REDUCING-RISK
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal report shows that projects to reduce the risk of wildfires and protect water sources in the U.S. West have created jobs and infused more money in local economies. The U.S. Geological Survey study focused on several counties along the New Mexico-Colorado border that make up the watershed of one of North America's longest rivers, the Rio Grande. The projects include forest thinning and other work funded by a partnership between governments and businesses that has become a model in other countries. The Nature Conservancy launched the partnership and estimates it has resulted in an economic impact of about $18 million within five years.
- PNM-CUSTOMER SERVICE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's largest electric utility is changing the way it interacts with customers. Public Service Co. of New Mexico said Wednesday that new communication methods are being implemented to make it easier for New Mexicans to do business with the utility. Those methods include a phone system that allows for reporting outages and the ability to retrieve account balances, requesting payment extensions or report outages via text. With the changes, the company says it has seen a drop in call volume where nearly 100,000 inquiries have been fielded through other channels instead of over the phone.
- TV-BLACK IN SPACE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new documentary looks at the final frontier of civil rights: getting black astronauts into space amid segregation, discrimination and the Cold War. "Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier" is scheduled to air Monday on the Smithsonian Channel. It examines the race to get black astronauts onto rockets. The effort began under President John F. Kennedy. But the U.S. wouldn't send a black astronaut into space until 1983. The film shows how former Soviet Union beat the U.S. and sent into space Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez. He was the first Latin American and first person of African descent to reach space.
- BANDELIER-NATIONAL PARK BILL
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — A conservation group is calling on members of New Mexico's congressional delegation to rethink proposed legislation that would change the designation of Bandelier National Monument to a national park. The nonprofit group Caldera Action said the name change would attract more tourists to the region, but the site would not be able to cope with additional crowding because of inadequate and crumbling infrastructure and limited staffing. The group's board of directors sent a letter to U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich outlining their concerns. They are also worried about opening up parts of Bandelier to hunting and trapping.
- ENDANGERED WOLVES-DEATHS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State and federal wildlife managers are investigating the death of three endangered Mexican gray wolves found last month in Arizona. Officials with the wolf recovery team did not release any details about the circumstances of the animals' deaths or the specific areas where they were found. One of the wolves was a female that belonged to the Saffel Pack. The other two were single females. Officials also reported that wolves were found to be responsible for seven livestock kills and two nuisance incidents in January. The wolf reintroduction program covers parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
- SOLDIER REMEMBERED
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered flags to fly at half-staff Friday in honor of a New Mexico soldier who was killed in eastern Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of Defense identified 28-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez of Las Cruces as one of two servicemen who died during a combat operation earlier this month. Rodriguez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The governor said Rodriguez had distinguished himself as a soldier through 10 deployments in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan.
- PROPANE SCHOOL BUSES
MORIARTY, N.M. (AP) — Three New Mexico school districts will be rolling out the state's first propane-fueled buses in time for the upcoming school year. Districts that serve schools in Los Lunas, Magdalena and the Moriarty area have purchased propane buses as part of a partnership with the state Public Education Department. Officials say the 17 new buses will help cut costs since propane prices average 50% less than diesel and maintenance costs are expected to be less. The buses also will emit less pollution. Other school districts have expressed interest.