Monday night’s intense rainfall in Santa Fe has prompted the Water Division to increase the amount of water being released from Nichols Reservoir. A City news release says as of Tuesday, the flow rate is now at 27 cubic feet per second, or above, into the Santa Fe River. This will continue as necessary throughout the week into the Memorial Day weekend. City officials expect flows to progressively decrease from today through the remainder of the week unless Santa Fe continues to receive similar spells of heavy rain as experienced on Monday night.
Pedestrians along the river are advised to be aware of rising water levels along the outer banks and pools that could appear during the reservoir release. Drivers within Santa Fe County are advised to take caution at all river and arroyo water crossings. The City’s release plans and schedule will be adjusted as needed.
New Mexico's personnel office has issued more than nine-thousand checks to state workers owed back pay under a 2013 court ruling, but officials say there are about one-thousand cases that still need to be sorted out. The office cited the complicated nature of the remaining cases as the reason the process has taken longer than expected. But union officials said Tuesday the state appears to be dragging its feet. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees estimates at least one-fifth of the 30 million-dollar settlement has yet to be paid. Spokesman Miles Conway says that money could be going into the pockets of New Mexico workers and then into the economy. State officials offered no timeline for when the personnel office and its accounting contractor will finish issuing checks.
Flags will be placed on each grave at the Santa Fe National Cemetery in preparation for Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony. Marita Smith is the Cemetery’s administrative officer. *****052015-Smith-3 :29***** Smith says volunteers are being solicited. As for the Memorial Day ceremony itself, Smith says it’ll get underway at 10am and features Congressman Ben Ray Lujan as the keynote speaker. She adds she would love the community to join in the program… and recommends people arrive around 9am because parking will be an issue.
A California-based company has announced plans to build a ground station at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico to boost its satellite communications business. X2nSat and spaceport officials announced Tuesday that a memorandum of agreement has been signed. Negotiations are now underway on a long-term lease that would give the company access to land and infrastructure at the taxpayer-financed spaceport. New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Christine Anderson expects the lease to be signed this summer. She says details such as the value and length of the lease are being worked out. The California company uses small dish antennas and satellites to transfer data from one ground station to another or to access the internet. The data can include anything from credit card transactions to medical records.
Albuquerque council members aren't blocking a four-and-a-half million dollar contract that appoints James Ginger to independently oversee police force reforms for four years. The Albuquerque Journal reports the council voted 6-2 Monday to acknowledge a court order to establish the monitor's office, but Councilor Don Harris said he thought it inappropriate that the man appointed to the task has yet to attend a meeting to answer questions. The justice department reached the agreement with the city last year in light of a federal investigation that showed the Albuquerque Police Department had a pattern of using force and violating people's rights.
Health officials say tests indicate that a fox that bit a woman in southern New Mexico had a new strain of rabies. The 78-year-old woman was bitten in Lincoln County on April 20. She then got rabies vaccinations that prevented her from developing rabies, which is often fatal. The state Department of Health says genetic testing of the virus was done at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. New Mexico Health Secretary Retta Ward says the new strain is related to other rabies strains found in bats. Ward says state and federal officials are going to collect dead foxes and bats in Lincoln County to test them for rabies. Health officials advise that children should be advised to never touch a bat or other wild animal.
The former comptroller of an Albuquerque construction company has pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Stephanie Pyle, of Albuquerque, faces up to a 12-year prison term when she's sentenced and be required to pay restitution that currently is estimated at close to two-and-a-half million. Pyle was charged in February on a 12-count indictment. She pleaded guilty to two counts Tuesday. Prosecutors say Pyle faces up to a 10-year prison term on the credit card fraud charge and a mandatory two-year prison sentence on the aggravated identity theft charge, to be served consecutively. They say Pyle used credit cards and account numbers in the name of a construction company without authorization and with the intent to defraud the business between January 2010 and May 2014.
Santa Fe Weather: Sunny skies today with the high, 69. Tonight: Partly cloudy and breezy with the overnight low dipping to 44, and a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with a 30-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms, the high 64.