- ALZHEIMER'S CAFE
Santa Fe's monthly 'Alzheimer's Café' helps spark movement(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Monthly gatherings in Santa Fe focused on creative stimulus for those living with Alzheimer's or dementia are helping a growing trend nationwide.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the city hosts an initiative called Alzheimer's Café as part of a movement to accommodate the growing number of patients with forms of dementia.
The two-hour meeting focuses on snacking together and creating crafts as a way to stimulate the mind.
Founded in Santa Fe by Alzheimer's specialist and Denmark native Jytte Lokvig in 2008, Alzheimer's Café grew out of a concept introduced more than a decade earlier in the Netherlands by a psychiatrist.
The National Alzheimer's Café Alliance says the concept caught on quickly throughout Europe, but the Santa Fe gathering was the first official Memory Café in North America.
- MOTHER DAUGHTER SLAYINGS
Social worker and daughter found slain in Albuquerque home(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police are calling the deaths of a veteran New Mexico social worker and her 19-year-old daughter in their southeast Albuquerque home a double killing, and have not identified a suspect.
Albuquerque police spokesman Simon Drobik tells the Albuquerque Journal that detectives are investigating.
The New Mexico Law Office of the Public Defender says the victims were 58-year-old Laura Hanish and her daughter, Shanta Hanish.
A statement said Laura Hanish was due to retire this year after 24 years as a social worker, and Shanta Hanish was studying education at the University of New Mexico.
It said Laura Hanish's parents, brother and sister were reeling following the deaths and asked for privacy.
Officers found the bodies about 9 a.m. Friday after one of the women failed to show up for work.
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- ARIZONA WILDFIRE-THE LATEST
The Latest: Wildfire snarls I-17 traffic north of PhoenixSUPERIOR, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say a fire east of Interstate 17 north of Phoenix caused traffic backups of several miles and prompted warnings from federal officials for motorists to use caution because of smoke and reduced visibility.
Incident commanders posted a summary Saturday saying the fire was spotted Friday afternoon adjacent to the freeway about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of Cordes Lakes. That's nearly 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of Phoenix.
Officials say the fire burned a little more than 2 square miles (5.2 square kilometers) into the Agua Fria National Monument.
No structures or communities were threatened. Several roads and trails were closed.
About 150 firefighters gained 20% containment of the fire in grass and brush on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land.
The cause of the fire was being investigated, but it was believed to have been started by a human.
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- STUN GUN-STUDENT
Certification of New Mexico deputy in stun gun flap debated(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico sheriff's office is disputing a claim that a deputy under fire for using a stun gun on a teen doesn't have an active law enforcement certification.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office said this week Deputy Jeremy Barnes had a certification that is valid and he is eligible to be a commissioned officer in the state.
Barnes has faced criticism after a video showed him using a stun gun on an Española Valley High School student with special needs in May.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Herman Lovato says Barnes had let his certification lapse for too long.
The Rio Grande Sun reported that Barnes had previously been the subject of an excessive force lawsuit as a Grants police officer.
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- EMPLOYMENT-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico unemployment rate holds at 5%SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's unemployment rate in May remained unchanged from the previous month at 5%. Among states, only Alaska has higher unemployment.
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions on Friday published the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. It was an increase from 4.8% a year ago.
The national unemployment rate also held at 3.6% in May, down from 3.8%.
For New Mexico, mining and construction accounted for the most significant job gains. The sectors added 5,500 jobs for the year ending in May 2019. Retail sales employment fell.
- CLERGY ABUSE-NEW MEXICO
APNewsBreak: 395 claims filed in church bankruptcy caseALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe say nearly 400 claims have been filed as part of a pending bankruptcy case that stems from the clergy sex abuse scandal.
The archdiocese released the numbers Friday, saying 374 claims involved allegations of sex abuse. The remaining 21 were related to other grievances.
The archdiocese shocked parishioners across much of New Mexico when it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last year, joining other dioceses around the United States that have struggling with fallout from the abuse scandal.
Church officials say they're hopeful mediation through the bankruptcy proceeding will result in an equitable resolution for the claimants.
Lawyers will be gathering more information on the archdiocese's finances to determine how much is available to divvy up. It's expected to take many months for the case to be resolved.
- NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE
Political opposition grows to nuclear waste storage planALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Another member of New Mexico's congressional delegation is weighing in on plans to build a multimillion-dollar facility in the state to temporary store spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors around the U.S.
Congresswoman Deb Haaland on Friday joined the growing list of politicians in opposition, sending a letter to the U.S. Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that detailed her concerns.
New Jersey-based Holtec International is seeking a 40-year license from federal regulators to build the complex near Carlsbad.
Holtec says the project is needed since the federal government has yet to find a permanent solution for dealing with the tons of high-level waste building up at nuclear power plants.
The topic will be up for discussion when the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets next week.