The vacant District 39 State Senate seat will be filled soon. That word from Governor Martinez who indicated Tuesday that her office is still interviewing candidates for the post. The six New Mexico Counties that are in the District—Santa Fe, San Miguel, Bernalillo, Lincoln, Valencia and Torrance— have made their selections. Santa Fe County Commissioner Liz Stefanics, a Democrat, has received the nod from three of them. Stefanics concedes it’s likely a Republican will be appointed to the post. *****040215-Stefanics 2 :37***** Stefanics served as Senator from District 39 from 1993 through 1996. She says that after losing her Senate seat, she thought she was done with politics. But Stefanics tells KSFR she ran for the Santa Fe County Commission over concern of the threat of oil and gas drilling in the Galisteo basin, where she resides. The former Senator from District 39, Phil Griego, abruptly resigned the post last month. Griego held the seat for more than 18 years but submitted his resignation last month because of an ethics issue that stemmed from his role in the sale of a state-owned building in Santa Fe
New Mexico Senate Democrats have joined the call for a special session to address millions of dollars in public works projects. The Legislature adjourned last month without approving a more than 260 million-dollar package that would have funded work around the state. Albuquerque business leaders asked Governor Susana Martinez in letters this week to call a special session so lawmakers can pass a capital outlay bill. They say thousands of jobs are at stake. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, a Belen Democrat, weighed in Wednesday. He says he and other Democrats may be willing to support a special session. Sanchez says creating jobs is the most important priority and only a special session can accomplish it. Sanchez mentioned compromise in his statement but said the Senate bill would have serve as the starting point for negotiations.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and several Albuquerque business leaders meantime have asked Martinez to call a special session so lawmakers could pass a capital outlay bill. They say thousands of jobs are at stake. However…the Governor says there's no reason to call a special session to address public works projects unless Senate Democrats are willing to compromise. Her comments came Wednesday after Senate Majority Leader Sanchez brought-up the issue. Martinez says the Senate proposal failed to include any projects from the House or the executive branch. The governor also acknowledged that New Mexicans are tired of the partisan fighting.
Helping New Mexico recruit and retain child abuse caseworkers is the goal of a bill signed Wednesday by Governor Martinez. The measure establishes a student loan repayment program for eligible social workers at the state Children, Youth and Families Department. It targets those who incurred debt while pursuing degrees in social work or other fields critical to protective services and juvenile justice. They must have worked for the agency for at least a year and serve in positions or areas where recruitment is a challenge. Martinez acknowledged that caseworkers have difficult jobs and that the agency has been hampered by staffing shortages and an overwhelming caseload. Another recruiting tool has been stipends for college student who commit to work for the child welfare agency. Nearly 850-thousand dollars has been budgeted for this fiscal year.
Albuquerque police say they have a person in custody in connection with at least one of several fires sparked along the Rio Grande. Crews contained the flames yesterday afternoon. They were all believed to be human-caused. Police say 37-year-old Audie Helms was booked on suspicion of one count of starting a fire on state land.
Forecasters are warning that low humidity and strong winds are creating critical conditions for wildfires in much of New Mexico. The National Weather Service says a red flag warning is in effect into late Wednesday in west-central New Mexico and along and east of the central mountain chain. The service also issued a fire weather watch for this afternoon and evening for much of northern and central New Mexico due to strong winds and low humidity.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today and tomorrow with windy conditions this afternoon through tonight with gusts as high as 40 miles an hour.. Today’s high, 65, cooling to 58 tomorrow. Tonight’s forecast calling for clear skies and the overnight low 35.