News

A plan is being developed to turn Santa Fe's old Manderfield elementary school into a combination of residential units and artist work spaces.  Clare and Michael Maraist (mah-RAY) say they have approval from the school board to buy the building for nearly $1 million  but want to make sure their plans are approved before completing the sale. The 12,000-square-foot building near Canyon Road has been unused for years. 

A talk with the Santa Fe Police Department as drug busts have dramatically lowered property crimes in the city.  And a briefing on a public seminar Friday to help Santa Feans prepare for a dangerous fire season.  A talk with Senator Martin Heinrich...plus 60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen.

A committee at city hall has voted in favor of a measure to eliminate plastic shopping bags in Santa Fe. The 5 to 1 vote by the Business and Quality of Life Committee paves the way for city councilors to begin sending it to various council committees for review.  While plastic bags would be banned, retailers could sell shoppers a paper bag for 10 cents. A number of other cities already ban plastic bags.

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  On Tuesday's midday report: The drought continues. Is it time for cloud seeding? …The sequester cuts may be cutting into federal firefighting efforts…Santa Fe school teachers have to tighten their belts for another year…headlines..60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen...

Santa Fe police say they have achieved a first in the department's history. They eliminated four major drug trafficking organizations over the past 10 months. That has helped bring the burglary rate in the city to a ten-year low. There were fewer than 90 burglaries in the city in April, the least since they started keeping monthly records.  Last year, the month of April saw nearly twice that number.

  On Monday's midday report:  We’ll get details of a new residential solar program proposal that Santa Fe County Commissioners will be discussing at their Tuesday meeting…New Mexico is high on the list of states where college students are behind on their student loan repayments. The financial advisor at Santa Fe Community College will tell us about the local picture…And UNM researchers are investigating a new treatment for prostate cancer…headlines...60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen...

New Mexico and Washington no longer will be the only states offering drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. The governors of Oregon and Maryland have just signed bills making the licenses available in their states. Lawmakers in Colorado approved a similar measure a few days ago.  Other states considering such a law are Connecticut and Rhode Island, in addition to Washington D.C. 

  On Friday's midday report: Sen. Tom Udall says he’s on a quest to change New Mexico’s high school graduation rate. He calls it unacceptably low…We’ll be joined by Congressman Ben Ray Lujan who says pretty titles on legislation could actually mean the opposition of what they say…And the biggest healthcare insurer in New Mexico is gearing up to tell people about the new federal affordable care act…headlines...60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen...

New Mexico stands to lose as much as $25 million a year in mineral royalties unless Sen. Tom Udall is successful in stopping it. He's introducing legislation that would remove that budget item from the sequester cuts. The royalties typically are shared by the federal government with states where there's oil and gas development on federal land. After Wyoming, New Mexico gets the most mineral royalties in the country. 

  On Thursday's midday report:  City Councilor Patti Bushee has tossed her hat in the ring for mayor of Santa Fe. We'll re-visit our conversation with her to find out what's on her miind...City councilors have approved a balanced budget for next year in the face of declining revenues. How will they tackle the following year?...Santa Fe police have introduced new models in their fleet of patrol vehicles, including cars with sirens that rumble while wailing….headlines...60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen...

In the face of lower revenue projections, Santa Fe city councilors have approved a budget of about $320 million for the coming fiscal year. The vote came after City Manager Robert Romero described the steps budget planners went through in examining virtually every aspect of operations at city hall. *** In addition to not cutting actual jobs, the city has stepped up its spending on employee retirement and health insurance. 

  After local news, a talk with city councilor Rebecca Wurzburger about tomorrow's tourism expo.  AG Gary King talks about assistance for distressed homeowners facing foreclosure.  And Mayor David coss offers some comments on his time in office.

Another departure has been announced at Santa Fe city hall.  City Manager Robert Romero says he plans to retire from his $128,000-a-year job. His announcement comes just days after Mayor David Coss said he would not seek a third term in office. Romero has been with city government for 13 years. The mayor says he believes Romero will stay on the job until the March 2014 city elections.

On Tuesday's midday report: When Telemedicine legislation takes effect next month, what's in store for rural New Mexico?...UNM hospital offers a new type of surgery for some types of cancer...Sen. Tom Udall says LANL to get cleanup funds and he feels stymied by others' opposition to close Guantanamo...headlines...60 Seconds with Christopher Hagen...