New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera is proposing a big pay hike for first-time teachers in the fall of 2017. The Education Secretary on Thursday telling the Legislative Finance Committee on Thursday she wants to increase starting salaries for public school teachers by two-thousand dollars to 36-thousand annually next year to better compete with neighboring states. That’s a six-percent raise. It would apply to nearly 37-hundred new teachers if the Legislature approves. The suggestion prompted a question to Secretary Skandera from Democratic Representative Patricia Lundstrom from Gallup: *****121115-Lundstrom+ :42***** Skandera urged members of the Legislative Finance Committee to combine the increase in base pay with strategic salary increases for the state's top-performing teachers. She’s proposing doubling funding for one performance-based incentive program to 15-million. During this year’s session, the Legislature approved an effort by Governor Susana Martinez's administration to boost base- pay by two-thousand dollars a year.
New Mexico lawmakers are wading through nearly two-billion dollars’ in funding requests for infrastructure projects submitted by state and local agencies for next year. The state's Legislative Finance Committee continues its week of meetings at the State Capitol to weigh capital spending priorities. Government watchdogs want the state to reconsider the way it selects and pays for public works projects. A recent review by legislative analysts identified more than one-billion in funds that went unspent for projects approved over the last several years. Funding will be made available to only a small fraction of the new request for improvements to prison facilities, foster care housing, medical centers, roads and bridges.
A federal audit of Los Alamos National Laboratory shows weaknesses in the way federal officials keep track of deficiencies, concerns from employees and contractors and other problems at one of the nation's premiere nuclear weapons laboratories. The findings of the audit by U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general were outlined in an audit released Thursday. Investigators say the National Nuclear Security Administration's office that oversees operations at the Laboratory has failed to implement an effective management program that includes tracking actions taken to fix problems at LANL. Watchdogs say the findings are serious since the NNSA's field office serves as the primary check on the lab's safety and operational integrity. The lab has been docked in recent years for operational and safety violations. NNSA officials plan to address the recommendations in the audit.
New Mexico’s newest Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura will be sworn-in later today during a ceremony in Albuquerque. Governor Martinez selected the Second Judicial District Court judge to fill the seat of retiring Justice Richard Bosson. Nakamura is a longtime Albuquerque resident and a University of New Mexico law school graduate who previously served as chief judge in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court before moving to the Second Judicial District Court in 2013. She will have to seek election next year if she wants to keep her seat on the five-member Supreme Court.
A New Mexico man who police say fled the state three decades ago after shooting and killing his brother-in-law, and injuring his wife and another man has been arrested in Illinois. Albuquerque police said Thursday that 62-year-old Valentin Vasquez was arrested more than a week ago in Moline, Illinois, where he got into a traffic accident. According to police, Moline officers ran a check on Vasquez and learned he was wanted in Albuquerque on a murder charge in the March 1984 shooting death of Juan Gutierrez. Officer Tanner Tixier (tee-shay), an Albuquerque police spokesman, says Vasquez had been living in Moline under an assumed identify since 1988. He is expected to be extradited to Albuquerque next week.
A New Mexico State University graduate is developing a networking app that will allow like-minded filmmakers to find each other in their cities. Jared Ortega says he created the app, called "filmcrU," to address the lack of networking resources for aspiring filmmakers. Ortega designed the app to show the profiles of other filmmakers living within a 20-mile radius of the user's location. The NMSU Department of Individualized Studies graduate says the app will allow a user to create a profile that includes their personal bio, links to portfolios, pictures and equipment lists. Once a profile is created, users can start looking for other filmmakers in their area.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy today, with a high near 51. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with the overnight low dropping to 33, and a slight chance of rain and snow showers after 11pm. Tomorrow: Cloudy with the high reaching 37, and a 40 percent chance of snow showers with one to two-inches of accumulation possible.