Republican Governor Susana Martinez is expressing her disappointment with the leadership of the Senate during this year's legislative session. Martinez told a real estate luncheon in Albuquerque Monday that the upper chamber ignored her calls for lawmakers to embrace reform and put aside partisanship. She faulted Senate Democrats for approving a Capital Outlay bill without input from the House, which has a Republican Majority. She called that unprecedented. The measure failed in the waning minutes of the 60-day session. A number of Republican-sponsored bills also failed in the Senate, including a right-to-work initiative, a ban on late-term abortions and repealing the law allowing driver's licenses for people in the county without documentation. *****033115-Martinez-1 :23***** Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, a Democrat from Belen, speculated in a separate message that the Governor and GOP House allies doomed 77-million dollars’ worth of projects as a special favor to her biggest political donors. Sanchez writes that they, quoting: “hoped taxpayers would foot the bill for expensive road improvements in southeast New Mexico for the heavy rigs that use those roads. They also thought they could shift the focus from their irresponsible behavior by blaming Senate Democrats,” unquote.
New Mexico transportation officials say crews have been busy preparing routes for the annual Good Friday pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo. Crews have repaired the shoulders along some of the popular routes to control erosion, while debris and litter have been removed to create safe walking paths. Starting Thursday, crews will work around the clock to put up signs and orange barrels to warn motorists of the increased foot traffic. Pilgrims are encouraged to wear bright clothing. Some pilgrims will make the 90-mile, three-day walk from Albuquerque to the shrine that houses "el pocito," a small pit of dirt that some believe possesses curing powers. Chimayo is a National Historic Landmark, and some 200-thousand people are estimated to visit each year, with the bulk occurring during Holy Week.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has announced new reforms on hiring private lawyers to file lawsuits on behalf of the attorney general's office. Balderas on Monday unveiled new policy changes on the practice and promises to make all documents from a bidding process available to the public. The move comes after a New York Times story in December that showed how more attorneys general were hiring private law firms to file lawsuits. The story, which featured former New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, reported that private lawyers search public records for potential cases then approach attorneys general. State officials hire the firms to do the necessary legwork, and in return, the firms get a percentage of any money won in court cases.
Federal labor officials say oil and natural gas workers in New Mexico and West Texas have been underpaid by more than one-point-three million dollars. The U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division making the announcement Monday. The findings stem from an enforcement initiative launched by the division last year. Officials say overtime violations led to the underpayment to some 13-hundred workers. Among the problems found, employers were failing to include bonus payments when calculating overtime rates, weren't paying for time spent working off-the-clock and paying flat rates despite the hours worked by employees. There were also instances of workers being misclassified as independent contractors. A regional labor official, Cynthia Watson, says there's a misconception that because oil and gas workers typically earn more than minimum wage that they're being paid legally.
An independent Native American science fiction film called ““Legends from the Sky” about a veteran burdened by survivor’s guilt after a disastrous military tour is playing in Santa Fe. Arizona filmmaker Travis Holt Hamilton, himself a non-native veteran of the Iraq war, says his work is based on a variety of stories he gleaned while deployed. *****033115-Holt-2 :28***** Hamilton says the film focuses on the survivor’s search upon his return from the war for his missing grandfather, whose ancestral land was mysteriously taken over by the federal government. The Navajo language plays a role in the plot, and accounts for about 15 minutes of the film's dialogue. The movie is playing at the DeVargas Mall Cinema through Thursday.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with the high near 70 and a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms after noon. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low, 42. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with the high near 70.