The winner of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary election—former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton—announced Sunday her second attempt at her party’s nomination in 2016. Clinton announced in a video Sunday that she'll seek the presidency for a second time. She said "everyday Americans need a champion" and she wants to be that champion. However, despite Clinton’s status as the clear front-runner among Democrats, she is seen as a divisive figure. New Mexico GOP Chair, Debbie Maestas: *****041315-Maestas-1 :24***** New Mexico Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman was not immediately available for comment on Sunday. Clinton won the 2008 New Mexico Democratic Primary, out-polling eventual nominee and President, Barack Obama.
Santa Fe Police say a man wanted in connection to a 2010 armed robbery and a murder has been spotted in town. KOB-TV reports 25-year-old Rafael Dominguez shot at a clerk during a robbery at the Latinos Unidos market on Airport Road in 2010. Police say Dominguez has an active warrant for his arrest and is also a suspect in a murder that took place in 2010 in Santa Fe County. Dominguez has ties to a drug cartel and is considered armed and dangerous, police said. He was spotted in Santa Fe on Friday but police continue to search for him.
A New Mexico court has awarded 183-thousand dollars in damages to an Albuquerque firefighter who said she'd been sexually harassed on the job. The Albuquerque Journal reports that Adele Parker, also known as Adele Ortega, filed a lawsuit against the city in 2013. Parker said firefighters had walked in and spied on her in the shower, hid sex toys in her bunk, stole her underwear and watched pornography at a fire station. A 2nd Judicial District Court jury found the city violated the state Human Rights Act. The jury awarded Park 175-thousand dollars for pain and suffering and roughly eight-thousand for past and future medical bills. A spokeswoman for the fire department declined to comment. Parker still works for the AFD.
The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has named a California educator as superintendent. The board picked Luis Valentino for the superintendent's job Saturday from three finalists. The district has nearly 88-thousand students. It has been led by an interim superintendent since August.
A worker at an Albuquerque electric contractor lost his job after police say he was caught taking copper wire from the company’s warehouse and recycle it for cash. According to a criminal complaint, a day after asking to take wire out to a job site, GPS tracking in his truck showed James Hancock was in Santa Fe at a scrap metal company. The owner of the scrap metal company told APD detectives that Hancock had been bringing in copper for three years and showed them about one-thousand dollars’ worth of wire that he had brought in the other day. The contractor, Bixby Electric, identified the wire as belonging to the company. Hancock was fired and a warrant was put out for his arrest. He’s being charged with embezzlement and fraud.
Attempts to rein in payday loans in New Mexico fell by the wayside during the recent 60-day legislative session. While the small loans industry says it helps people in need, consumer advocates say a fix is sorely needed. According to a 2014 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, 14 states and the District of Columbia either ban payday loans or cap interest rates at 36 percent. Nine states have some restrictions, while 27 allow single-repayment loans with rates 391 percent or higher. Predatory lending practices have been a target of consumer advocates for decades in New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the country. Bills that would have capped interest rates at 36 percent went nowhere. Industry members say businesses would be forced to shut down at that rate.
Santa Fe Weather: Partly sunny today with a high near 63 and a slight chance for showers this afternoon. Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance for showers early tonight and the overnight low, 35. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with the high, 66.