The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the victim in Saturday’s fatal, suspected drunken-driving head-on crash on State Road 30. Lieutenant Joe McLaughlin says 36-year old Elizabeth Quintana of Santa Cruz died at the scene following the crash. McLaughlin says the driver of the vehicle that apparently swerved into Quintana’s car—37-year old Robbin Wood of Los Alamos—is currently jailed in Los Alamos County, where he faces unrelated charges from another law-enforcement agency. McLaughlin says Wood refused field sobriety tests, but that a blood sample was drawn later. He says those results won’t be known for another week to ten days. McLaughlin says Wood’s 40-year old female passenger in his vehicle—whose name was not released—is not facing charges. He said she was in stable condition at Christus-St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
The Bernalillo County Commission is accepting applications for a vacant seat in the state Senate. Tim Keller, a Democrat who represented much of Albuquerque's Southeast Heights, won the race to become state auditor. The commission is tasked with recommending at least one person to replace him. State law requires that the governor choose someone from the list supplied by the commissioners. Applications are being accepted through noon Wednesday. The commission expects to make its selection at a special meeting Thursday.
Police searching for a man who fired shots at a business in southeast Albuquerque Monday have come up empty handed. A lockdown of schools and businesses in the area was lifted last night after authorities said they couldn't find the man. Dozens of police vehicles flooded the area after the initial calls. Police say they'll continue investigating to try to identify the man believed to be in his 20s, wearing all black.
A lawyer says an Albuquerque officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old woman and did not record the encounter has been fired. Attorney Thomas Grover, who represents Officer Jeremy Dear, told reporters Monday that his client was terminated after an internal investigation. Grover says the probe centered on Dear's lapel camera use and the type of gloves he wore. Dear had been on administrative leave since he fatally shot suspected truck thief Mary Hawkes following an April chase. Authorities say Dear shot Hawkes after she pulled a weapon on him. An autopsy showed Hawkes died from three gunshot wounds to the head, neck and chest. A toxicology report later showed Hawkes had methamphetamine in her system.
Nearly 12-thousand acres that adjoins the Carson National Forest has been permanently protected from development through a conservation easement. A conservation effort on the Upper Rio Chama River property in northern New Mexico began in 2009. The final and largest piece of the property became part of the easement Monday. The more-than eight-million dollar project aims to protect the local water supply and wildlife habitat. Nearly half of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program. The state of New Mexico and the landowner chipped in as well. The property will remain in private ownership but will be safeguarded through requirements of the easement held by the New Mexico State Forestry Division. The land includes mixed conifer, aspen and spruce-fir trees, meadows and tributary creeks.
The beloved name of New Mexico's legendary basketball arena has changed. A local restaurant chain—WisePies Pizza and Salad—has donated five-million dollars to the University of New Mexico, securing the naming rights for The Pit for the next 10 years. It will now be called WisePies Arena. The donation is the largest cash gift ever made to the athletics department. The money will be used to pay off 60 million dollars spent for recent renovations. The WisePies Pizza & Salad logo will appear on signs outside the arena, on the court and on tickets. Naming rights generate big revenue for colleges, but changing the name of The Pit spurred a steady stream of profanities and disbelief on social media after the announcement was made Monday. The arena built in 1966 is one of college basketball's most famous buildings.
Yesterday--December First—was the first day of “meteorological” winter. Jason Frazier is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque: *****120114-Frazier-1 :27***** Frazier says the long-term forecast is calling for a better chance for above-normal levels of precipitation this winter.
Santa Fe Weather: Partly sunny today through tomorrow with highs in the low 50s—there’s a slight chance for showers tomorrow. Tonight: Expect mostly cloudy skies with the overnight low, 33.