The Obama administration plans to close the Artesia immigration detention center in New Mexico by the end of the year. The government told members of Congress on Tuesday about the planned closing. Immigration and Customs Enforcement opened the temporary jail at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia in late June. That was during a crush of tens of thousands of Central American families caught crossing the border illegally. In the advisory to Congress, ICE officials said newly apprehended families have not been sent to the temporary jail since Nov. 7. The remaining roughly 450 people being held in Artesia are mostly mothers and young children. They will be either released to await immigration court hearings or transferred to another family jail.
Los Alamos National Laboratory may have known of a volatile chemical combination in barrels of waste bound for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and sent the barrels to be stored at WIPP nonetheless. That from a recent article in the New Mexican written by investigative reporter Patrick Malone. WIPP has been closed since one of the barrels exploded. A change in the type of kitty litter used has been identified as the cause of the trouble. Malone’s story indicates that Lab officials overlooked protocol to meet a deadline, and then neglected to mention to WIPP officials the possible dangers of the cargo. *****111914-Malone-1 :33*****WIPP has been closed since the mid-February barrel rupture and radiation leak.
Meantime, New Mexico’s two U-S Senators are seeking an additional 113 million-dollars to help fund ongoing recovery efforts at WIPP. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich outlined their request Tuesday in a letter to the chairman and ranking member of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
The former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering his fellow deputy in Las Cruces is out of jail, but 27-year old Tai Chan won’t be coming home anytime soon. Chan will have to remain in Dona Ana County as part of the conditions of his release. He posted a 600-thousand dollar property bond Tuesday night. Chan waived his court appearance for an arraignment on a first-degree murder charge in District Court Monday morning. His attorney entered a not guilty plea. Police say Chan shot and killed fellow deputy Jeremy Martin during a drunken fight at a Las Cruces hotel last month. The two deputies were staying in Las Cruces on their way back to Santa Fe after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.
The Democrat-controlled Senate has defeated a bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The Senate's 59-41 vote Tuesday night was a nail-biter to the end. The bill needed 60 votes to reach the White House. The House passed it overwhelmingly last week. New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall both voted against building the pipeline. President Barack Obama did not support the bill, but the White House has been mum on whether he would veto it. All Republicans said publicly they supported the Senate bill, as did several moderate Democrats.
Search teams are hunting for a single-engine plane with two people aboard that was reported missing after it left New Mexico last week bound for Colorado. Aircraft were searching in both states Tuesday. Ground crews were looking in Colorado. The New Mexico State Police say 55-year-old Howard Guthrie and 42-year-old Melissa Watson were aboard. Both are from Albuquerque. Investigators say the plane left Moriarity on Friday and was headed for Pagosa- Springs, Colorado. Authorities say the plane couldn't land in Pagosa Springs because of bad weather and turned around. They say the plane's path was tracked as far as Buckles Lake about 15 miles southeast of Pagosa Springs.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe is being hit with five additional lawsuits from plaintiffs who are accusing priests of sexual abusing them as young children and teens decades ago. The lawsuits filed in New Mexico State District Court in Albuquerque come as more than two dozen victims have made similar claims in recent years against priests in court documents. According to the latest lawsuits, three of the victims were abused by priests in Las Vegas in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Court documents say another victim, a female, was abuse by a priest in Albuquerque on a church bus. The lawsuits seek an unspecified amount in damages. An Archdiocese of Santa Fe spokeswoman says she was looking into the lawsuits.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny through tomorrow with highs in the mid to upper 40s. It’ll be partly cloudy tonight with the overnight low down to 20.