The indicted sheriff of Rio Arriba County has had his law enforcement license suspended. Tommy Rodella apparently doesn't need law enforcement certification to serve as sheriff, although he could not perform police duties such as making arrests himself. Rodella and his son were indicted last week for conspiracy to violate a motorist's civil rights during a traffic stop in March. The Albuquerque Journal reports that a letter from New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy to Rodella says that his law enforcement officer is suspended, effective immediately. Rodella has 15 days to request a hearing before the academy's board. The county commission has issued a strongly worded letter calling for Rodella to resign. Rodella says he won't step down and he and his son want a speedy trial.
Republican Governor Susana Martinez and Democratic challenger Gary King have agreed to televised gubernatorial debates in October, including one by a Spanish-language TV station. Martinez campaign spokeswoman Chris Sanchez and King campaign manager Keith Breitbach confirmed Thursday the candidates will participate in debates October sixth by Univision affiliate KLUZ-TV and October 19th by KOAT-TV and the Albuquerque Journal. Martinez will speak in Spanish during the Univision debate. Breitbach said King will use a translator. The candidates previously agreed to a September 22nd forum in Albuquerque by a real estate group and they'll appear separately four days earlier at a New Mexico State University conference.
The Santa Fe County Commission may sidestep a decision on a proposed 50-acre basalt mine on La Bajada mesa a little longer. The New Mexican reports commissioners are scheduled to vote next week an ordinance that would place a 12-month moratorium on developments with countywide impacts. Those developments would include landfills, junkyards, and sand and gravel mining that requires blasting. Under the ordinance, new or existing development applications, like the one for a basalt mine on La Bajada mesa, would be affected. Commissioners postponed a final decision last week on an application by Rockology and Buena Vista Estates to create a mining zone on the La Bajada escarpment. Rockology wants to mine basalt and crush it into aggregate for construction material.
New limits are being put into place on America's most prescribed painkiller. KSFR's Dave Marash has the story. ***Painkiller***
TEXT: Hydrocodone is the most widely prescribed drug in the United States. It is also highly addictive. For both those reasons, the Federal government is finalizing new restrictions which will re-classify Vicodin, Lortab and other generic version of the drug, putting them into the same category as codeine and oxycodone. Patients will be limited to one 90-day supply of the medications, and will have to see a physicians before receiving a refill. This move comes 10 years after the DEA first recommended re-classification because of the risk hydrocodone presents for abuse and addiction. Many physicians and the Food and Drug Administration have opposed the move, saying it will create more paperwork and higher health care costs. For KSFR News, I'm Dave Marash.
Health officials say test results show a New Mexico woman is not infected with the deadly Ebola virus. The New Mexico Department of Health and University of New Mexico Hospital received the results from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. The unidentified woman returned earlier this month to New Mexico after teaching in Sierra Leone, one of several countries in West Africa with known cases of the virus. The woman was admitted to the hospital in stable condition with a sore throat, headache, muscle aches and a fever. The flu-like symptoms can be initial signs of Ebola so the hospital and health department worked with the Centers for Disease Control to test for the virus. Health officials say the woman didn't have any known exposure to Ebola, but the tests were done out of an "abundance of caution."
Santa Fe Weather: Showers and thunderstorms today through tonight—there’s a 90-percent chance for precipitation. Today’s high, 71, the overnight low, 54. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with a 20-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms with a high near 79.