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June 25 First News: Santa Fe City Council To Consider "People To The Plaza" Plan (Listen)

When the Santa Fe City Council meets tonight, Councilors will consider an updated version of Mayor Javier Gonzales’ “People to the Plaza” plan, which calls for the closure of Lincoln Avenue and Old Santa Fe Trail to through traffic. City spokeswoman, Jodi McGinnis-Porter: *****062514-McGinnis-Porter-3 (q: to through traffic) :20***** The initiative has undergone numerous changes and has been before a host of city committees prior to tonight’s meeting.

Congressman Steve Pearce is among the seven lawmakers chosen to participate in a working group that will focus on the continuing flood of immigrants crossing the U.S. border illegally. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 52-thousand immigrant children crossing the border during the last eight months. They have also arrested more than 39-thousand adults with children during that same period. The Obama administration has plans to open additional detention centers for the families, including one in the southeastern New Mexico community of Artesia. Pearce, a New Mexico Republican, says he has many unanswered questions related to the holding facility. He says the flood of immigrants has resulted in a disastrous situation that won't end until the borders are secured and the country develops an orderly process for legal immigration.

Fire crews are working to suppress the Tomas Fire, located in the Capulin area. The fire, first reported on Monday afternoon, was determined to be lightning caused.  It is burning in Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, on a steep slope, and is approximately nine to 10 acres in size. Currently, one engine crew and one Hotshot crew are on the scene. There is no estimated date for containment.

Meantime, firefighters say a wildfire that has burned nearly 23 square miles on the Navajo Nation just east of the Arizona-New Mexico border is nearing full containment. Fire officials say that the Assayii (UH'-saw-he) Lake Fire is now 75 percent contained. Crews say they are continuing to patrol the area for any hot spots, clearing debris and securing fire lines.

Primary Day is over, but more than the memory lingers on.  KSFR's Dave Marash reports.             *****1:03 std *****TEXT:  You may have thought NM's primary election was over...well, almost   One race is still being contested.  Democratic Rep. Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces has filed a lawsuit contesting returns in Dona Ana County that showed her losing by 16 votes to Bealquin "Bill" Gomez of La Mesa.  

Garcia has also complained to the NM Secy of State's office that signatures on absentee ballots in the Sunland Park area don't match the signatures of registered voters. 

Meanwhile the final official figures confirm that voter participation took a sharp drop compared to the preceding Primary of 2010.  Overall turnout was down 28%, but the biggest drop was among Republicans, who unlike the hotly contested races of 2010, had little to draw them to the polls in 2014...dropping the GOP voter participation rate by almost half.  For KSFR, I'm Dave Marash.

A federal judge has come down hard on Ruidoso City Council officials who tried to ban residents from saying anything negative at council meetings. The Albuquerque Journal reports the judge called it "an unconstitutional burden on free speech" and issued an injunction against the rule. The judge said limits can be placed on time and topic, but not on the speaker's opinion.

Santa Fe Weather: Sunny today and tomorrow with highs in the upper 80s. Tonight, mostly clear with the low 56.