Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gary King's newly hired campaign manager has resigned because of disparaging comments about women and others that he posted on Twitter in the past. The departure of Steve Verzwyvelt (Ver-ZWEI-velt) came Tuesday, one day after King announced he had hired the Louisiana native to run his general election campaign against Republican Governor Susana Martinez. King announced the resignation after a conservative web site, the Washington Free Beacon, posted a story Tuesday on tweets by Verzwyvelt, many of them from 2011 and 2012. King said in a statement he was previously unaware of the personal comments by Verzwyvelt and they were "in direct conflict with my own beliefs of tolerance, respect and decency." Access to Verzwyvelt's Twitter account, meantime, has been restricted.
A fire that has forced residents of two Native American communities on the Arizona-New Mexico border from their homes and is threatening the heart of the Navajo Nation's sheep industry is growing larger. Fire officials say the Assayii (ah-SAH'-he) Lake Fire has ballooned to more than 19 square miles. The flames already have destroyed four structures. About 50 homes near the rural communities of Naschitti (NAS'-chit-ee) and Sheep Springs are threatened.
Crews were bracing Tuesday for wind gusts up to 50 mph, along with more high temperatures and low humidity levels. In California, diminishing winds have helped firefighters surround 75 percent of a blaze burning in the southern Sierra Nevada. Residents were told late Monday they could return to some 1,000 mountain homes.
Santa Fe Schools’ Superintendent Joel Boyd is getting a big raise and a contract extension. The New Mexican reports that the Santa Fe school board voted four-to-one Tuesday night to extend Superintendent Joel Boyd’s contract for two years and give him a nine-thousand dollar a year raise, bringing his annual salary from to 180-thousand. Boyd said he will use the salary hike to create a scholarship fund for economically disadvantaged students. In a statement following the vote, Boyd said, “Together, we have made incredible progress over the last two years, but we still have a long way to go to reach our goal of being the best District in New Mexico. I am looking forward to continuing to work with our 14,000 students, 2,000 employees and the broader community to create a system of truly world-class schools in Santa Fe.”
A tragedy on the Rio Grande—KSFR’s Dave Marash reports: *****
(TEXT: 43 year old Jesse McNamara of Santa Fe has drowned after he was swept away by the current in the Rio Grande near the Rio Bravo Campground. McNamara's girlfriend told the Taos County Sheriff’s Office he had been treading water when, the Journal North reported, "he disappeared under water and didn't come up. His body was recovered by rafters about a quarter-mile downstream, near the Aqua Fria Campground. EMTs tried unsuccessfully to revive him. For KSFR, I'm Dave Marash)
New Mexico health and human services officials say the state Medicaid program now covers the cost of a medicine used to reverse drug overdoses. Officials announced Tuesday that Centennial care will cover Naloxone, which is a prescription medication that can be sprayed into the nose of a person experiencing an overdose from heroin, methadone or prescription pain medications like oxycontin and hydrocodone. The drug has been used for decades by emergency responders and hospitals to revive patients from overdose and has been distributed through public health programs across the country to drug users and their families or friends. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows New Mexico has the second highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country.
A sculpture worth almost a million dollars was damaged by vandals at a downtown Santa Fe gallery. KSFR’s Sophie Wickert has the story.
Q: Std RUNS: 41 Seconds
(TEXT: Santa Fe has 75 pieces of public art on public display, and this past weekend, for the second time in a little over a month, one of them was vandalized. The Harry Bertoia sculpture in front of the Peyton Wright Gallery downtown was attacked Saturday night or early Sunday morning, police say. The copper and brass sculpture is composed of 112 rods, many of which are now bent out of place. The sculpture is worth just under one million dollars. This follows the May attack which took the tail off Santa Fe's donkey statue at Burro Alley downtown. Anyone with any information on either case is asked to please contact the Santa Fe Police. For KSFR news, I’m Sophie Wickert.)
Santa Fe Weather: Partly sunny today with a 20-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms after noon, today’s high 78. Tonight, Partly cloudy and a ten-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms, the overnight low, 53. Tomorrow, mostly sunny and a high near 80.