A Santa Fe County Grand Jury will determine whether there was justification in the fatal State Police shooting last month of 39-year old Jeanette Anaya of Santa Fe. Anaya was shot early November seventh in a Santa Fe residential area following a high speed chase. Santa Fe Police would normally have been on the scene, but didn’t follow-up because the state police officer in pursuit of Anaya didn’t provide SFPD with a reason for the chase. State Police Officer Oliver Wilson says he fired at Anaya as she aggressively backed her car toward him. Dashcam video of the incident has not been released.
The 2013 legislature repealed the so-called “hold-harmless” provision where the state paid local governments the funds they lost when lawmakers removed gross receipts taxes from food and medicine nine years ago. Lawmakers opted to phase it out, allowing city and county governments to raise taxes, effectively shifting the tax-increase burden to them. Bill Fulginiti is executive director of the New Mexico Municipal League: *****Dec. 18 Fulginiti-1 :15***** Fulginiti says the 15-year phase-out of hold-harmless will cost local governments 150-million dollars a year. He’s scheduled to testify before a legislative committee on the topic today.
Two bars—one in Santa Fe, the other in Las Vegas-- have been fined and had their liquor licenses suspended for over-serving patrons who caused separate fatal drunk driving crashes.
The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department says both the Blue Corn Cafe in Santa Fe and the El Alto Bar in Las Vegas have been fined and had to cease alcohol service for some time.
Actor Wes Studi has pleaded no contest to drunk driving charges and was given a 90-day suspended jail sentence in Santa Fe. Studi entered the plea last week as part of a deal with prosecutors. He was placed on probation for a year, ordered to perform 24 hours of community service, to attend DWI school and a victim-impact panel. Studi will also have an interlock system installed in his vehicle.
New Mexico is in the dog house when it comes to getting tough on animal abuse. A new report from the national Animal Legal Defense Fund says New Mexico is one of the best five states to be an animal abuser. ALDF attorney and report editor Lora Dunn says New Mexico has inadequate penalties for neglect and abandonment. *****Dec. 18 Dunn-1 :13***** Dunn says New Mexico joins Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming and Kentucky as states where animal abusers get off easy.
The City of Santa Fe’s website is sporting a new look. City spokeswoman Jody McGinnis-Porter says the new site, developed by Santa Fe Desert Elements Design went online Friday afternoon. She says the new site is more attractive than the previous one, but she concedes that it does have a few dead links *****Dec. 18 McGinnis-Porter-1 :13***** McGinnis-Porter predicts the new website’s link to weekly city government meetings will be a popular one.
Santa Fe Weather: Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.