The New Mexico Court of Appeals has cleared the way for farm and ranch laborers to receive workers' compensation benefits. In a ruling issued this week, the court declared unconstitutional a provision in state law that had excluded those workers from the system that provides benefits for employees injured on the job. That exclusion had been in place since the 1930s. Gail Evans is the staff attorney for the Albuquerque-based New Mexico Center for Law and Poverty. *****070315-Evans-1 :48***** Evans says the ruling will apply to claims going back to 2012, when the Center for Law and Poverty first took the matter to the courts. *****070315-Evans-2 :17***** Evans says the agriculture industry along with insurance firms ignored the lower court’s decision, prompting the Center to take the issue to the state Court of Appeals. She says keeping the agricultural workers’ out of the benefit system for employees injured on the job dates back to the reconstruction era.
New Mexico’s Department of Aging and Long-Term Services has a new cabinet secretary. Governor Susana Martinez announcing Thursday that now former-secretary Gino Rinaldi, who’s been in the job for more than two years is being replaced by the agency’s deputy secretary since 2013 is being replaced by Myles Copeland, who had been the Aging and Long-Term Services Department’s deputy-secretary a bit more than two years. No word on why Rinaldi is out. The Governor’s office says Copeland, a former radio reporter and producer, has worked with issues relating to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and he has a passion for helping the elderly and those who care for them each day.
Governor Martinez says a pump-and-treat system designed to clean up a massive plume of jet fuel at the edge of Albuquerque is now in use. She made the announcement Wednesday and praised her administration for putting pressure on the U.S. Air Force to clean up the plume. First detected in 1999, the fuel leak is believed to have been seeping into the ground for decades. Estimates of the amount of fuel spilled range from 6 million to 24 million gallons.The greatest concern has been that the spill would contaminate drinking water wells in the Southeast Heights. The treatment system is part of an effort to keep the contamination from reaching those wells. After treatment, some of the water will be used on Kirtland Air Force Base's golf course.
The city of Albuquerque is paying a man a half-million dollar settlement to conclude an excessive force lawsuit. The Albuquerque Journal reports this new amount includes 200-thousand dollars’ previously awarded by a jury to Jerry Rodriguez for compensatory damages and eliminates a second trial phase that would have focused on municipal liability. Rodriguez and his long-time partner Elaine Romero filed the lawsuit over a 2010 incident with police that took place a month after they questioned him about a homicide. The lawsuit says Rodriguez thought he was being carjacked when officers pointed guns at him and Romero and tackled him to the ground. Russell Perea was the only officer found to have used excessive force in the incident.
A Utah man is the Navajo Nation Council's newest member, winning a seat vacated by the tribe's vice president. Unofficial results from a special election this week show Herman Daniels Jr., of Monument Pass, winning the post. He defeated several others for the job. Daniels served on the council in 2010 and 2011, filling in for his father who died while in office. He'll represent four Navajo communities on the 24-member council. The Navajo Nation's vice president, Jonathan Nez, was re-elected to the post last November. He resigned in May to be sworn in as vice president following a belated election. Daniels has been the president of the Oljato Chapter since 2013. A date for him to be sworn in as a Tribal Council delegate hasn't been set.
A mecca for master artisans from around the world, Santa Fe is in the final stages of preparing for this year's International Folk Art Market. In its 12th year, the market will feature more than 150 artists from around the world. The three-day event begins July 10 in Santa Fe and some 20,000 people are expected to attend. Organizers say the recent wave of interest in all things handmade has helped the market to grow exponentially over the last couple of years. Last year alone, sales topped $3 million for the weekend and artists — many of whom are from developing countries — took 90 percent of that home with them. Market co-founder Judy Espinar says the market has evolved into a tool for artists to better their lives and their communities.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy today with the high reaching 78. There’s a 50-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms. Tonight: expect mostly cloudy skies with the low 60 and a 40-percent chance for precipitation. For Independence Day: mostly cloudy with a high near 80 and a 40-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms.