SHOOTING-DEPUTIES INJURED
Deputies injured during gunfire while conducting drug raid
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Bernalillo County sheriff's officials say two deputies suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening as shots were fired from inside an Albuquerque-area home during a drug raid Wednesday night.
Sheriff Manny Gonzales said a man inside the home opened fire on the deputies before barricading himself inside and eventually surrendering.
Gonzales said the nature and details on the deputies' injuries weren't immediately available, and a sheriff's spokeswoman said the deputies were taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Officials said deputies returned fire but that the man who was the target of the search, 36-year-old Kenneth Sondergard, was not injured.
Sondergard was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and battery on a police office.
Court records didn't list an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS-PLUTONIUM
Groups threaten to sue over nuclear weapons work at US labs
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Nuclear watchdog groups say they will sue if the U.S. government doesn't conduct a nationwide programmatic environmental review of its plans to expand production of key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Federal officials have set a deadline of 2030 for ramped-up production of plutonium pits. The work will be split between Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Lawyers for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch and Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment threatened legal action in a letter sent this week to officials.
In June, the National Nuclear Security Administration said it would prepare an environmental impact statement on pit-making at Savannah River. A less extensive review was planned for Los Alamos.
METHANE DETECTION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico brings big data to bear on methane pollution
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State regulators in New Mexico are turning to the private sector for new tools including satellite data to detect and monitor methane pollution in a thriving zone for U.S. oil production.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday a collaborative effort with the data-crunching company Descartes Labs to use new technologies that can chart emissions of the potent heat-trapping gas.
Descartes Labs CEO Mark Johnson says his company is developing a data "refinery" that can chart industrial methane emissions using satellite imagery and other sensors.
New Mexico is scaling up regulation of methane as the Trump administration dials back its oversight.
A summit in Santa Fe on Thursday brought together oil industry executives, regulators and environmentalists to explore technical challenges in conserving methane.
HIGHER EDUCATION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico wants more students to apply for federal aid
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico education officials want to encourage more high school students to apply for federal financial aid to help pay for college.
The initiative was announced Thursday, a day after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposed a scholarship program to bridge the gap between federal aid and state lottery-funded scholarships so more people can afford college.
If more students are awarded federal aid, that would lessen what the state would have to pick up through the proposed scholarship program.
Officials want to increase the annual statewide rate for federal financial aid applications to 80%. Currently, about 65% of New Mexico high school students apply.
New Mexico has been struggling for years to address the cost of higher education. The lottery scholarship covered full tuition for nearly two decades until demand and costs began to outpace revenues.
PRISON GANG-RACKETEERING
New Mexico inmate facing federal racketeering charges
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a New Mexico inmate is accused of racketeering and other crimes stemming from his alleged connections to a prison gang.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico says 37-year-old Jonathan Gomez of Albuquerque was arrested Thursday by federal agents at the state penitentiary, where records show he was serving time for a murder conviction.
Gomez — known as "Baby G" — is an alleged member of Syndicato de Nueva Mexico, a gang formed following a deadly prison riot in 1980. The group has since expanded throughout the prison system.
Prosecutors say the gang has controlled and profited from drug trafficking and has used violence to protect its territory.
According to a criminal complaint, Gomez is accused of conspiring with other gang members between 2002 and 2016.
NETFLIX MOVIE PREMIERE
'Breaking Bad' movie to play in New Mexico theaters
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Netflix has announced a new movie filmed in New Mexico is expected to hit U.S. theaters for a limited time.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the streaming company announced the release of "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie" in select New Mexico theaters from Oct. 11-13.
Movie officials say the film centers around a man who has to come to terms with his past after breaking free from captivity.
Officials say the project began under the title "Greenbrier" and filmed in Albuquerque from November 2018 through February.
A New Mexico film office says the production employed about 300 crew members, 16 actors and about 450 background talent all from within the state.
Netflix says the film is expected to be available for streaming the same day.
___
COURT FUNDING-JUDGES
New Mexico courts request funds to add judges and staff
(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico district courts have requested funds to add judges and multiple staff positions amid an increasing workload.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Wednesday that multiple district courts recorded a shortage of district judges, district court staff and magistrate court staff across the state.
Court officials say the Santa Fe-based First District has requested a $389,800 increase to its base budget and about $330,000 to fund a new judge.
Officials say the Albuquerque-based 2nd District has requested a $1.4 million increase, or a 5.6% increase compared to what was given this year, in addition to more than $700,000 for two judges.
Officials say courts in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 12th districts have also requested additional funding.
Court officials say if funding is denied, judges must carry large caseloads.
___
THREATENED OWL-TIMBER PROJECTS
Court halts timber activity in Southwest over threatened owl
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal court has halted timber activity across tens of thousands of square miles of the American Southwest over a threatened owl.
An order issued earlier this month out of the U.S. District Court in Tucson covers 18,750 square miles (48,562 square kilometers) in all five New Mexico national forests and one in Arizona.
It says timber management activities will be sidelined until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service get a better handle on how to track the population of Mexican spotted owls.
It's unclear what activities will stop. Federal land managers have been using logging, mechanical thinning and prescribed burns to lessen the chances of catastrophic wildfires that threaten the owl and its habitat.
The Forest Service says it's complying with the order.
Deputies injured during gunfire while conducting drug raid
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Bernalillo County sheriff's officials say two deputies suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening as shots were fired from inside an Albuquerque-area home during a drug raid Wednesday night.
Sheriff Manny Gonzales said a man inside the home opened fire on the deputies before barricading himself inside and eventually surrendering.
Gonzales said the nature and details on the deputies' injuries weren't immediately available, and a sheriff's spokeswoman said the deputies were taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Officials said deputies returned fire but that the man who was the target of the search, 36-year-old Kenneth Sondergard, was not injured.
Sondergard was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and battery on a police office.
Court records didn't list an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS-PLUTONIUM
Groups threaten to sue over nuclear weapons work at US labs
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Nuclear watchdog groups say they will sue if the U.S. government doesn't conduct a nationwide programmatic environmental review of its plans to expand production of key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Federal officials have set a deadline of 2030 for ramped-up production of plutonium pits. The work will be split between Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Lawyers for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch and Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment threatened legal action in a letter sent this week to officials.
In June, the National Nuclear Security Administration said it would prepare an environmental impact statement on pit-making at Savannah River. A less extensive review was planned for Los Alamos.
METHANE DETECTION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico brings big data to bear on methane pollution
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State regulators in New Mexico are turning to the private sector for new tools including satellite data to detect and monitor methane pollution in a thriving zone for U.S. oil production.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday a collaborative effort with the data-crunching company Descartes Labs to use new technologies that can chart emissions of the potent heat-trapping gas.
Descartes Labs CEO Mark Johnson says his company is developing a data "refinery" that can chart industrial methane emissions using satellite imagery and other sensors.
New Mexico is scaling up regulation of methane as the Trump administration dials back its oversight.
A summit in Santa Fe on Thursday brought together oil industry executives, regulators and environmentalists to explore technical challenges in conserving methane.
HIGHER EDUCATION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico wants more students to apply for federal aid
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico education officials want to encourage more high school students to apply for federal financial aid to help pay for college.
The initiative was announced Thursday, a day after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposed a scholarship program to bridge the gap between federal aid and state lottery-funded scholarships so more people can afford college.
If more students are awarded federal aid, that would lessen what the state would have to pick up through the proposed scholarship program.
Officials want to increase the annual statewide rate for federal financial aid applications to 80%. Currently, about 65% of New Mexico high school students apply.
New Mexico has been struggling for years to address the cost of higher education. The lottery scholarship covered full tuition for nearly two decades until demand and costs began to outpace revenues.
PRISON GANG-RACKETEERING
New Mexico inmate facing federal racketeering charges
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a New Mexico inmate is accused of racketeering and other crimes stemming from his alleged connections to a prison gang.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico says 37-year-old Jonathan Gomez of Albuquerque was arrested Thursday by federal agents at the state penitentiary, where records show he was serving time for a murder conviction.
Gomez — known as "Baby G" — is an alleged member of Syndicato de Nueva Mexico, a gang formed following a deadly prison riot in 1980. The group has since expanded throughout the prison system.
Prosecutors say the gang has controlled and profited from drug trafficking and has used violence to protect its territory.
According to a criminal complaint, Gomez is accused of conspiring with other gang members between 2002 and 2016.
NETFLIX MOVIE PREMIERE
'Breaking Bad' movie to play in New Mexico theaters
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Netflix has announced a new movie filmed in New Mexico is expected to hit U.S. theaters for a limited time.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the streaming company announced the release of "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie" in select New Mexico theaters from Oct. 11-13.
Movie officials say the film centers around a man who has to come to terms with his past after breaking free from captivity.
Officials say the project began under the title "Greenbrier" and filmed in Albuquerque from November 2018 through February.
A New Mexico film office says the production employed about 300 crew members, 16 actors and about 450 background talent all from within the state.
Netflix says the film is expected to be available for streaming the same day.
___
COURT FUNDING-JUDGES
New Mexico courts request funds to add judges and staff
(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico district courts have requested funds to add judges and multiple staff positions amid an increasing workload.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Wednesday that multiple district courts recorded a shortage of district judges, district court staff and magistrate court staff across the state.
Court officials say the Santa Fe-based First District has requested a $389,800 increase to its base budget and about $330,000 to fund a new judge.
Officials say the Albuquerque-based 2nd District has requested a $1.4 million increase, or a 5.6% increase compared to what was given this year, in addition to more than $700,000 for two judges.
Officials say courts in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 12th districts have also requested additional funding.
Court officials say if funding is denied, judges must carry large caseloads.
___
THREATENED OWL-TIMBER PROJECTS
Court halts timber activity in Southwest over threatened owl
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal court has halted timber activity across tens of thousands of square miles of the American Southwest over a threatened owl.
An order issued earlier this month out of the U.S. District Court in Tucson covers 18,750 square miles (48,562 square kilometers) in all five New Mexico national forests and one in Arizona.
It says timber management activities will be sidelined until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service get a better handle on how to track the population of Mexican spotted owls.
It's unclear what activities will stop. Federal land managers have been using logging, mechanical thinning and prescribed burns to lessen the chances of catastrophic wildfires that threaten the owl and its habitat.
The Forest Service says it's complying with the order.
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