The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office is investigating the apparent homicide of a Santa Fe County woman. Deputies say 30-year-old Julieanne Kelly's father reported her missing around 2:30 a.m. Friday. He told deputies that she had not returned home after about four hours. Investigators conducted a follow up later that afternoon to see if she had returned home. While at the residence, investigators conducted a walkthrough of the property in the two-thousand block of Callejon de Rita, off Rufina Street. Deputies say they located her body in the back of the property. According to a Sheriff's Office news release, the autopsy revealed that Kelly suffered lacerations to the upper torso and blunt force trauma.
Their priorities aren't much different — lift New Mexico from the bottom of the nation's education rankings, keep the state's children safe and find a way to boost economic development- and job creation. The best route for accomplishing those goals is what Republican Governor Susana Martinez and the state Legislature will be hashing out when the 60-day session begins tomorrow. Efforts to stop the state from issuing driver's licenses to immigrants in the country illegally and right-to-work legislation are also expected to pepper the debate. Martinez and lawmakers also will be wading into an unfamiliar political landscape. The dynamics in the Roundhouse are expected to be different this year since Republicans now hold the majority in the House of Representatives, something the state hasn't seen in 60 years.
New Mexico Senator Tom Udall recently took to the floor of the U-S Senate to speak out against Congress’ effort to approve the controversial Keystone X-L pipeline that would transport tar sands oil from Canada to the U-S Gulf Coast. Udall also called on Congress to set priorities for developing a clean energy economy, with a broader energy policy that includes oil and gas, but also emphasizes renewable energy and new technology. *****011915-Udall-1 :23***** The Democrat said New Mexicans are already seeing the impact of global warming, noting that the Southwest is “at the eye of the storm,” with historic drought, with severe flooding when it does rain, and with more wildfires. *****011915-Udall-2 :29***** Senator Tom Udall.
Police are trying to track down a man who they say left behind nearly one-thousand dollars in cash at an Albuquerque thrift store. Authorities say a manager at Savers found the cash while cleaning up the store Wednesday. Surveillance video shows a man with the bag paying for merchandise Wednesday morning and then sitting down by the door to put things into his backpack. Manager Nathan Fisher says he believes that is when the man forgot his money. Police believe the man may be a transient and are hoping someone will recognize him. Fisher says he did not consider keeping the money and is glad it wasn't found by someone who might have kept it.
A Las Cruces cemetery where more than 65 African Americans are buried has become a final resting place for trash and overrun weeds. The NAACP's Dona Ana County branch is asking city and community leaders for help in cleaning and renovating the neglected graveyard. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that improvements to the cemetery could add up to as much as 100-thousand dollars. The NAACP has started a fundraising campaign and is proposing the two-acre burial ground become a historical landmark. Records show burials at the cemetery date back to 1940 and the last one was in 2001. At one time, the cemetery was the only place in Las Cruces that African Americans could be buried because of segregation laws.
Santa Fe's minimum wage is set to go up by 18 cents an hour starting March first. The annual adjustment is based on the latest Consumer Price Index for the western region. It will raise the local wage floor to ten-dollars, 84-cents, which keeps it among the highest in the nation. The federal mandatory minimum remains at Seven dollars and 25-cents. The state minimum wage is $7.50. Santa Fe adopted its minimum wage ordinance in 2003 and amended it four years later to provide annual adjustments tied to increases in the Consumer Price Index. Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales says paying workers a living wage amounts to a moral issue and the city must not let workers fall through the cracks as the costs of things like groceries go up.
Santa Fe Weather: Expect mostly sunny skies today through tomorrow, with the high today, 51, tomorrow it’ll be 46. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies with the overnight low, 28.