New Mexico Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn has put the brakes on a two-billion dollars transmission project that would carry electricity generated by renewable resources in New Mexico and Arizona to markets across the West. Dunn announced late Wednesday that he was issuing a 60-day suspension after meeting with the developers. He says that will give his office time to review the project before any further development affects state trust lands. The Land Office says nearly 30 percent of the proposed line will cross state land. Two public meetings have also been scheduled for March in Deming and Socorro to discuss the project. Federal officials gave SunZia the green light last week. Approval followed months of negotiations over the line's route near White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico.
A New Mexico State Senator wants to do away with most taxes and replace them with a flat tax on things people buy. Farmington Republican William Sharer introduced his legislation Wednesday. *****012815-Sharer-1 :33***** Sharer says of the two-percent take, one-percent, or half the tax on gross receipts would go to the state, one-half of one percent would go to counties and the same half-percent for cities. He first floated the idea of a flat tax for the state two years ago. Sharer says a University of New Mexico analysis done at the time found the flat tax would bring in one-point-seven billion dollars more for the general fund than the three-point-nine billion generated from all taxes combined. Sharer says he hopes New Mexico will lead the way for the rest of the nation with the adoption of a flat tax.
Five years in federal prison—that’s the sentence for former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, who told an undercover FBI agent he could build 40 nuclear weapons for Venezuela in 10 years and design a bomb targeted for New York City. In audio recordings played Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, Mascheroni tells an agent posing as a Venezuelan official that the bombs would prevent the United States from invading the socialist South American country. Mascheroni said his New York bomb wouldn't kill anyone but would disable the city's electrical system and help Venezuela become a nuclear superpower. Mascheroni, who’s 79, pleaded guilty in 2013 to offering to help develop nuclear weapons for Venezuela through dealings with the undercover agent.
Some sportsmen are worried that legislation calling for the transfer of federal public lands to state control could be introduced in New Mexico. While no such bills have been filed yet, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and other groups are planning to rally Thursday at the State Capitol to voice their opposition to the idea. Critics say a transfer law, like the one Utah passed in 2012, would amount to an assault on hunting and fishing access. They also argue that the state would be saddled with the costs of managing the land. New Mexico includes about 9 million acres of national forests and 13 million acres of land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. The director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, Garrett VeneKlasen, says hunters and anglers have been using these lands for generations.
A new bipartisan bill to be introduced this legislative session could ensure that Uber, Lyft and other ride sharing companies stay in business in New Mexico. Local taxi companies have been pushing hard for new regulations. Republican Representative Monica Youngblood told ABQ Business First that she and Democratic Senator Phil Griego are introducing a bill that will tighten insurance regulations, require drug policies and background checks, and clarify via state law that ride-sharing companies are allowed to operate here.
A man serving a life sentence in the 1986 murder of a University of New Mexico student has died in prison. State Department of Corrections officials say 74-year-old Johnny Zinn died last week. The cause of death wasn't immediately released. The Albuquerque Journal reports Zinn had been housed at the long-term care unit of the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas. Zinn was convicted of first-degree murder and 18 other charges in the death of Linda Lee Daniels. The 22-year-old anthropology major was abducted on Jan. 12, 1986 by three men sent by Zinn to find a woman for a pornographic video. Prosecutors say Daniels was taken to a motel where the men raped her. She was later shot in the head and left under a bridge.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy today with the high reaching 47. Tonight, expect cloudy skies with a 40-percent chance for snow mainly past 11pm with an overnight low of 28. Tomorrow: snow likely—there’s a 70-percent chance for snow, with between one and three inches possible, tomorrow’s high, 35.