In a settlement to the State of New Mexico, the U.S. Energy Department has agreed to fund more than 73-million dollars in infrastructure projects around the state to settle a dispute over the incident that led to the closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. WIPP has been closed since a radiation leak at the federal government's troubled nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico. The agreement was announced Thursday following months of negotiations. It represents the largest settlement in DOE's history. The state initially levied more than 54 million dollars in penalties against the agency and its contractors for numerous permit violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at WIPP. A drum of waste packed at Los Alamos and shipped to the repository contained incompatible ingredients. A chemical reaction ensued, the lid breached and radiation escaped. New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn says the DOE needed to be held accountable for what happened.
A New Mexico review has found that Albuquerque's former police chief potentially violated ethics rules by influencing a nearly two-million dollar contract to purchase body cameras and then going to work as a consultant for the supplier. State Auditor Tim Keller released a report Thursday that says former Chief Ray Schultz and his subordinates gave Taser International an unfair advantage for the 2013 contact. Keller says the contract circumvented the competitive- bidding process. He cited an email sent by Schultz to a Taser salesman that assured the company the deal was "greased." Keller is referring the findings to prosecutors to determine whether Schultz, now the assistant police chief in Memorial Villages, Texas, or anyone else should face criminal charges. Schultz and Taser have denied wrongdoing in the case.
Four men have been charged with cruelty to animals after undercover video showed workers at a southern New Mexico dairy whipping cows with chains and wire cables and kicking and punching the animals. The Roswell Daily Record reports that the four were charged Monday. They were employees of the former Winchester Dairy LLC near Dexter. All four men are scheduled to be arraigned May 11th. The farm ceased operations in September after an undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals documented employees whipping, kicking, stabbing and shocking the animals. After the video was released, the dairy said in a statement that animal care and well-being are central to its operations.
A middle school student in northwest New Mexico says she was sent to the principal's office and asked if she sold drugs or was involved with a gang after she wore her rosary to school. Eighth-grader LatanyiaClah tells KOB-TV that she and her sister began wearing their rosaries to school after receiving them as Christmas gifts. The administration at Tibbetts Middle School in Farmington said the Catholic prayer beads are inappropriate attire. A Farmington Municipal Schools spokesman said they consulted a priest and found a prevalence of gang members using rosaries as symbols, which prompted administrators to ask students to stop visibly wearing them. Latanyia's mother says she does not see why her faith means her children are in a gang.
Authorities say 12 people have been arrested in an investigation targeting a methamphetamine trafficking ring operating in New Mexico's Grant County. The probe began in March 2014 and culminated Thursday with the arrests. The 12 alleged members of the meth trafficking ring are charged in a 34-count indictment. Authorities executed federal search warrants at seven homes and one business in Grant County. During the course of the investigation, authorities say they seized about seven ounces of methamphetamine, several pounds of marijuana, some $17,000 in cash, 28 firearms, three vehicles and seven motorcycles.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm…today’s high, 77. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Tomorrow: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. There’s a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the early morning and in the afternoon.