New Mexico’s high vacancy rate in employment at its prisons could be due to low wages and high turnaround and burnout, and new laws could mean more inmates and more strain on the system. That’s according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, reporting today that the prison system could reach 98-percent capacity by July. Some prison guards work up to 72 hours per week overseeing an average 7-thousand prisoners – a number that’s growing every year, according to the New Mexican. Most new guards quit after three years. Prison guards make among the lowest pay in the US at an average of $14-dollars per hour. With tougher sentences in store soon for drunk drivers and pornographers, more prison time is in order, creating more work and more stress for an already taxed system. You can read more on this story in today’s Santa Fe New Mexican.
New Mexico is reducing testing requirements for ninth and tenth grade students under a new law signed by the governor. Gov. Susana Martinez signed legislation Monday that removes an assessment in reading, language arts and math from state requirements. Democratic Rep. Andres Romero of Albuquerque sponsored the legislation. The governor’s action comes as a district court judge moved back a hearing on the state’s teacher assessments until October. The state’s public education department had sought the delay.
The governor also signed several other initiatives into law Monday. One makes it easier for out-of-state workers to repair energy and telecommunications infrastructure when a disaster is declared by the state governor or the U.S. president. That law reduces taxes, fees and paperwork.
Drivers of commercial vehicles who are caught texting while driving will face new penalties under another new law. And a measure introduced by retiring Senator Sue Wilson Beffort signed yesterday expands the school year for struggling students through the fifth grade. The law is aimed at narrowing the achievement gap. The pilot project will be in 20 schools for four years.
A former New Mexico dairy worker has pleaded no contest in an animal cruelty case. entered his pleas Monday before a state district judge in Chaves County. The judge suspended a 364-day jail sentence pending the defendant's successful completion of probation. Another worker received the same sentence in December after pleading no contest to animal cruelty charges. Cases are pending against two more workers at Winchester Dairy.
Legislative candidates are lining up in New Mexico to run for election to every seat in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democrat-dominated Senate. Incumbent lawmakers and challengers are filing petitions Tuesday to participate in party primaries on June 7. The November general election will decide all 112 seats. A handful of contested seats could alter the partisan balance of power. New Mexico is one of eight state legislatures with chambers divided along party lines. Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in Santa Fe in 2014, ending 60 years of Democratic majorities.
An accused leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel has been extradited to the United States to face charges in San Diego. Victor Emilio Cazares Gastellum made an initial court appearance Monday on conspiracy and money laundering charges. Prosecutors said he was extradited nearly four years after his arrest by Mexican authorities near Guadalajara. Prosecutors say Cazares Gastellum's organization smuggled tons of cocaine to the United States.
New Mexico officials have announced funeral arrangements for Health Secretary Retta Ward. The former state administrator died last week. The Health Department says mourners and well-wishers will gather Wednesday to honor Ward and contributions to a charity in her name. Ward died last week after her car veered off a road and came to a stop on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Deputies say the death may have been related to a medical episode, and state medical examiners have not determined the cause of death. Deputy Secretaries Lynn Gallagher and Gabrielle Sanchez-Sandoval are now overseeing the Health Department. It is not clear when a new health secretary will be named.
New Mexico's congressional delegation has concerns with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over delays in compensation for expenses and damages caused by last fall’s Gold King Mine spill. The delegation's five members are asking the agency to process reimbursement claims submitted by the state and the Navajo Nation and to set up a claims office to begin processing compensation for victims. The lawmakers also want EPA to approve a long-term water monitoring plan that's acceptable to state regulators. They're pushing for the cleanup of water and soil contaminated by the spill in southwestern Colorado that fouled rivers in three western states. They suggest that spring runoff could stir up heavy metals in the Animas and San Juan rivers.
A decorated U.S. veteran who served in the Vietnam War is now a United States citizen. Fofo Tuitele recently completed his naturalization requirements and took the oath of allegiance during a special ceremony in Albuquerque last week. The American Samoa-native who served in the U.S. Marines says he just decided "to put the icing on the cake" and get his citizenship. American Samoa remains the only place in the United States where U.S. citizenship is not granted at birth. He joined the Marine Corps when he turned 18 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Less than 24 hours after officially becoming an American citizen, the 67-year-old Rio Rancho resident registered to vote.
A Santa Fe man has pleaded guilty to an armed bank robbery and could be facing a 25-year sentence in federal prison. Prosecutors say 25-year-old Jacob P. Wheeler entered his plea Monday in federal court in Albuquerque. Wheeler was arrested last May 26 and charged with robbing the Century Bank in Santa Fe 11 days earlier. The complaint alleged Wheeler pointed a gun at the bank teller, demanded money and then climbed up onto the teller's counter to grab money from a cash drawer. The FBI received a tip identifying Wheeler as the bank robber. He was indicted in the case last June.