New Mexico officer accused of claiming fake hours, tickets
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico State Police officer assigned to the Alamogordo area is accused of claiming hours he didn't work and claiming to have written hundreds of fake traffic citations that didn't exist.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that a criminal complaint filed Thursday accuses 25-year-old Joseph Andrew Gonzalez, of El Paso, Texas, of receiving public money for services not rendered and forgery.
The State Police said it doesn't tolerate dishonesty and that Gonzalez faces discipline that could include termination.
The agency said it began investigating after a supervisor noticed a discrepancy between how many traffic citations that Gonzalez claimed in his activity log compared with the number logged in the state's computer system.
Court records don't list a defense attorney for Gonzalez who could comment on the allegations.
Border Patrol arrests 290 migrants near port in New Mexico
ANTELOPE WELLS, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested 290 Central Americans who entered the country illegally near a port of entry in a remote area of southwestern New Mexico.
Customs and Border Protection said the migrants arrested early Friday near Antelope Wells 122 miles (197 kilometers) west of El Paso, Texas, were from Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras and that they included a boy who appeared to be ill and who was taken to a hospital for treatment.
CBP said over 27 groups of more than 100 people have been apprehended in the area in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.
It is unclear what's driving the uptick of large groups in remote areas but families make up a large and growing percentage of arrests across the border.
Santa Fe also seeing benefits of good ski season
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An abundance of snow this winter is drawing skiers and snowboarders to the peaks above Santa Fe, and those tourist dollars are trickling into town.
Santa Fe's ski shops, hotels and restaurants report booming business like they haven't seen in years, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported .
"This year so far is the second biggest year we've had," said Kale Snider, a manager at Cottam's Ski Shop near Hyde Memorial State Park.
And Ski-Tech Santa Fe manager Jonah Boudreau says the area has seen its best snow since 1998 and the most tourists he's ever seen.
Ski Santa Fe in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains has had higher base and snowfall numbers — 57 inches (145 centimeters) and 140 inches (356 centimeters), respectively — in early February than some Colorado resorts, Snider said.
As a result, skiers are coming from all over, and businesses around town are feeling the effects.
"We get a lot from Texas; we get a lot from the upper part of the Midwest, Michigan and Iowa," Boudreau said.
Lawrence Gonzales, general manager at Tomasita's Santa Fe, said he knows skiers are having an impact on business because they're walking into the popular downtown restaurant with their ski gear and lift passes on their jackets.
"The skiers I'm talking to are coming from California, Texas primarily, Oklahoma," Gonzales said. "A lot of skiers we are seeing are younger, younger groups of 20-somethings."
The snow effect can be seen at hotels as well.
The Santa Fe Sage Inn & Suites has had occupancy rates above 50 percent through January, compared with the typical 30 percent for the month, said Starla Gomez, sales and marketing director.
"This season is better than the last three," Gomez said. For hotels, "January and February are very hard months in Santa Fe in general."
Drury Plaza Hotel had sold 170 ski packages through Jan. 30, triple the number from last year and on pace to be the record since the hotel opened four years ago, general manager Keith Kirk said.
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico State Police officer assigned to the Alamogordo area is accused of claiming hours he didn't work and claiming to have written hundreds of fake traffic citations that didn't exist.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that a criminal complaint filed Thursday accuses 25-year-old Joseph Andrew Gonzalez, of El Paso, Texas, of receiving public money for services not rendered and forgery.
The State Police said it doesn't tolerate dishonesty and that Gonzalez faces discipline that could include termination.
The agency said it began investigating after a supervisor noticed a discrepancy between how many traffic citations that Gonzalez claimed in his activity log compared with the number logged in the state's computer system.
Court records don't list a defense attorney for Gonzalez who could comment on the allegations.
Border Patrol arrests 290 migrants near port in New Mexico
ANTELOPE WELLS, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested 290 Central Americans who entered the country illegally near a port of entry in a remote area of southwestern New Mexico.
Customs and Border Protection said the migrants arrested early Friday near Antelope Wells 122 miles (197 kilometers) west of El Paso, Texas, were from Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras and that they included a boy who appeared to be ill and who was taken to a hospital for treatment.
CBP said over 27 groups of more than 100 people have been apprehended in the area in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.
It is unclear what's driving the uptick of large groups in remote areas but families make up a large and growing percentage of arrests across the border.
Santa Fe also seeing benefits of good ski season
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An abundance of snow this winter is drawing skiers and snowboarders to the peaks above Santa Fe, and those tourist dollars are trickling into town.
Santa Fe's ski shops, hotels and restaurants report booming business like they haven't seen in years, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported .
"This year so far is the second biggest year we've had," said Kale Snider, a manager at Cottam's Ski Shop near Hyde Memorial State Park.
And Ski-Tech Santa Fe manager Jonah Boudreau says the area has seen its best snow since 1998 and the most tourists he's ever seen.
Ski Santa Fe in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains has had higher base and snowfall numbers — 57 inches (145 centimeters) and 140 inches (356 centimeters), respectively — in early February than some Colorado resorts, Snider said.
As a result, skiers are coming from all over, and businesses around town are feeling the effects.
"We get a lot from Texas; we get a lot from the upper part of the Midwest, Michigan and Iowa," Boudreau said.
Lawrence Gonzales, general manager at Tomasita's Santa Fe, said he knows skiers are having an impact on business because they're walking into the popular downtown restaurant with their ski gear and lift passes on their jackets.
"The skiers I'm talking to are coming from California, Texas primarily, Oklahoma," Gonzales said. "A lot of skiers we are seeing are younger, younger groups of 20-somethings."
The snow effect can be seen at hotels as well.
The Santa Fe Sage Inn & Suites has had occupancy rates above 50 percent through January, compared with the typical 30 percent for the month, said Starla Gomez, sales and marketing director.
"This season is better than the last three," Gomez said. For hotels, "January and February are very hard months in Santa Fe in general."
Drury Plaza Hotel had sold 170 ski packages through Jan. 30, triple the number from last year and on pace to be the record since the hotel opened four years ago, general manager Keith Kirk said.
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