Protestors upset over recent Albuquerque Police shootings shut down Monday night’s Albuquerque city council meeting. KRQE-TV reports the unruly crowd even tried to serve an arrest warrant on Police Chief Gorden Eden. City councilors were scheduled to debate dueling proposals on how future police chiefs are selected. One resolution calls for councilors to approve Albuquerque’s top cop, and another one requiring voters to elect a police chief. The move comes following the U.S. Justice Department’s report on APD and its use of excessive force. Right now the chief is chosen by the mayor.
The death of a man in his 30s attempting to cross Santa Fe’s St. Francis Drive Sunday night is being looked at as both a hit-and-run crime as well as a pedestrian error. Santa Fe Police spokeswoman Celina Westervelt says the victim of Sunday’s ten-pm crash is believed to be a transient, who was poorly dressed to cross the highway. *****050614-Westervelt-3 :35****Westervelt says the suspect vehicle is a1995-through-98 Jeep Cherokee.
KSFR was on the line Monday when Senator Martin Heinrich announced four AmeriCorps grants totaling nearly one-million-dollars awarded to New Mexico organizations. The grants will support more than 230 AmeriCorps members who will be serving New Mexico communities. Senator Heinrich knows a bit about the AmeriCorps program, having served in it. *****050614-Heinrich-1 :24***** Among the recipients: the Taos-based Rocky Mountain Youth Corps that works to support environmental stewardship projects across northern New Mexico, which is getting nearly one-half million-dollars.
Nominations are now in order for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government's 2014 Free Speech Awards. KSFR's Sam Parker has the story. *****:38
Espanola Police are crediting determined parishioners for thwarting an attempted theft of the Santa Cruz-de—la-Canada-Parish’s collection basket Sunday. The New Mexican reports 23-year old Richard Horton of Santa Cruz was in the Santa Fe County jail on charges of burglary and larceny following Sunday’s incident during a fiesta celebration at the church. Apparently one of the church-goers spotted Horton fleeing the church with what was estimated to be about 25-hundred dollars’ collected… with several pursuing and eventually catching him until police arrived.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 42. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and windy, with the high near 63.