Rio Arriba County’s new sheriff is facing challenges in winning over supporters of his recently convicted predecessor as well as combating a county that’s dealing with a heroin epidemic and a struggling economy. James Lujan takes over an office just a week after former Sheriff Tommy Rodella was convicted of brandishing a firearm and deprivation of rights during a traffic stop. Rodella, a powerful politician, was ousted from office Thursday by county commissioners after he refused to resign. Lujan defeated Rodella in the June Democratic primary by 200 votes. Steve Martinez, an assistant history professor at Santa Fe Community College, says Lujan will lead a sheriff's office that still has Rodella supporters.
New Mexicans have only a few more days to become eligible to vote in the November fourth general election. Tuesday is the deadline to register as a voter. That's also the first day that New Mexicans can cast ballots in person at a county clerk's office. County clerks also can start mailing out absentee ballots to voters on Tuesday. Early voting will expand to more locations statewide on October 18th. The Secretary of State’s office says nearly one-and-a-third million New Mexicans were registered to vote at the start of the month. Four years ago when Republican Susana Martinez was elected governor, more than 600-thousand New Mexicans cast ballots in the general election. That represented not quite 53 percent of those registered to vote.
Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are asking President Barack Obama to take action on the state's request for a major disaster declaration due to summer flooding. Severe storms in late July and early August resulted in flooding that damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure in several New Mexico counties and tribal communities. A disaster declaration would free up federal funding to help with recovery efforts and repairs. Governor Susana Martinez requested the declaration in a letter sent Monday. Her office says damages resulting from the storms have currently been assessed at nearly four million dollars. The greatest overall damage occurred at Acoma Pueblo, where access to the backcountry was cut off for residents. Extreme weather also caused significant damage in southeastern New Mexico.
More than a dozen tribal energy and mineral development projects in New Mexico will be getting a boost of federal funding. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich say more than nearly three-million dollars has been awarded to the projects through a program within the U.S. Interior Department. The senators say the money will help the tribes better evaluate and make use of their energy and mineral resources. The Navajo Nation, the Jicarilla Apache and the pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Nambe, Jemez, San Felipe and Zuni will share in the grants. The projects include everything from a sand and gravel exploration study to the manufacture of adobe bricks and a feasibility study for hydroelectric power.
A federal judge has dealt a blow to environmentalists who have been pushing for endangered species protections for a lizard found in New Mexico and West Texas. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted lawfully when it decided in 2012 not to list the dunes sagebrush lizard. Federal officials have said the decision not to list was based partly on voluntary conservation agreements now in place with landowners in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Supporters say the conservation agreements aim to protect the lizard and its habitat while allowing oil and gas development to continue in parts of the Permian Basin. The Center for Biological Diversity said Thursday's it's reviewing the ruling and hasn't decided whether to appeal.
An effort to promote sex education and raise awareness of sexual assault at the University of New Mexico has backfired, forcing administrators to apologize. Vice President for Student Affairs Eliseo Torres issued an apology Wednesday after officials received dozens of complaints about "Celebrate Sex Week at UNM." The four-day program by the Women's Resource Center and the Graduate and Professional Students Association began Monday. Critics say some workshops' titles seemed to endorse promiscuity and multiple-partner encounters. Student fees paid for the event. Torres says a lack of supervision allowed for the inclusion of topics that were "sensational and controversial." Angela Catena, a gender violence program assistant, told the Daily Lobo topics like bondage and masochism were scheduled to be discussed. Women's Resource Center director Summer Little says the week was meant to promote safe sex.
Santa Fe Weather: Sunny today, with the high reaching 69. Tonight: Clear with the overnight low, 39. Tomorrow: Sunny skies with the high, 74.