The State House is the next stop for a bill seeking to ask that employers only consider an applicant’s criminal record once a candidate has passed the initial screening of applicants. The measure, Senate Bill 583, passed the Senate last week. Albuquerque Democrat Bill O’Neill is the bill’s Senate sponsor. *****020915-O’Neill-2 :20***** O’Neill stresses the bill does not seek to prevent employers from doing their due diligence when it comes to hiring. *****020915-O’Neill-3 :37***** The effort to get the bill approved is a bi-partisan one—the measure is sponsored in the House by Republican Alonzo Baldonado of Los Lunas. It’s been called the “ban the box” bill because it would do away with checking an application’s yes or no box to answer the question: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?”
A bill that would allow the unlicensed hunting of cougars and other mountain cats in New Mexico has cleared a hurdle in the state Legislature. The New Mexican reports that the House Agriculture, Water and Wildlife Committee voted 8-2 last week to move along legislation that would reverse a law that requires license to hunt cougars. Under the proposal, people will be able to trap and shoot any number of mountain cats at any time. Representative Zach Cook, who is sponsoring the bill, says the measure is a way to better control cougar populations. Opponents say the state Department of Game and Fish should be in charge of that task but would lose authority under the bill. Officials estimate between 3,000 and 4,500 cougars reside in New Mexico.
The State of New Mexico has more than four-billion dollars in unspent funds tied up in hundreds of state agencies. That, according to a report released Saturday by the State Auditor's Office. The 25-page report made public by state Auditor Tim Keller looks at whether some of the four-and-a-half billion dollars in reserved funds could be spent on other projects. The New Mexican reports that this is the first time such a study has been done by Keller's newly established Government Accountability office. The funds cited in the report do not include employee salaries, operating costs or retirement and permanent trust funds. The dormant bank balances were mostly allocated for projects involving infrastructure, water and roads. Medicaid and a state job-training program also harbor unused funds. In all, the unused funding is spread across 737 state agencies.
Fire Department officials in Espanola are investigating an arson at the Rio Grande Sun newspaper. The New Mexican reports that firefighters were called to a blaze at the muckraking weekly around 5:30am Saturday. Crews contained the blaze to an office before it could spread. Espanola police spokesman Daniel Espinoza says a window was broken and someone had poured gasoline before lighting the room on fire. Espinoza says investigators are looking at surveillance video but have yet to identify any suspects. Publisher Robert Trapp says he has no idea who would target the weekly newspaper, which was founded by Trapp’s parents in 1956. Trapp says the newspaper's staff planned report to work today.
Dona Ana County officials will get an update this week on the progress of Spaceport America. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that spaceport authority executive director Christine Anderson is scheduled to speak tomorrow morning at a county commissioners meeting. Anderson will make a presentation to the five-member panel about the spaceport, which is about 60 miles north of Las Cruces. Taxes imposed in Dona Ana and Sierra counties have helped pay for the spaceport, which has cost more than 200 million dollars. Some state lawmakers say they are tired of taxpayers having to foot the bill. Gallup Senator George Munoz introduced a bill last month that would call for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and other agencies to sell the futuristic hangar. Taxes that pay for the project would be rescinded.
The test site of the world's first atomic bomb will be open for visitors for one day next month. The Alamogordo Daily News reports that the public can access Trinity Site during an open house on April fourth. Visitors will be able to walk about a quarter-mile to where a small obelisk marks the spot where the bomb went off. They can also ride a shuttle to the ranch house where scientists put together the bomb's plutonium core. The only other day Trinity Site will be open this year is Oct. 3. Scientists first detonated the atomic bomb at the site at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945. Today, the area lies within the boundaries of White Sands Missile Range.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with a slight chance for showers, the high today, 53. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32, with a 10-percent chance for showers in the early evening. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with the high, 54.