Morning Word: Pope Names New Santa Fe Archbishop

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ew Mexico's Catholic Church has a new archbishop. Pope Francis has selected a Salt Lake City bishop to head the Santa Fe Archdioceses. That plus we may be paying an average of $2.37 a gallon, but that's still $1.09 less a gallon than this time last year.

It's Monday, April 27, 2015

As longtime Archbishop Michael Sheehan prepares to retire, the pope has decided who will replace him.

Read more about the appointment here.

Gas prices are back on the rise but are still lower than last year’s rate. See more at KRQE.com  KOB reports that two Taos County residents got caught in that massive earthquake in Nepal on Saturday. Fortunately, both men were unharmed. Read what they witnessed here.  The American Red Cross is rushing to provide aid around the region. To donate to the relief effort, check out their Web page here.  Navajo Nation President-elect Russell Begaye won’t be sworn in until May 12, but he says he’s already rolled up his sleeves and started work on his transition. Begaye says one of his first priorities will be to fix the mangled election process. His vice president, Jonathan Nez, has announced he’ll focus on bringing members back to the tribal nation.

Read it at the Navajo Times.  Meanwhile, Democrats have elected the first Native American woman to lead their state party for the next two years.

Joey Peters has more at New Mexico Political Report.  The union representing nurses at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center says administrators fired one of its members for speaking up about the hospital’s failure to meet minimum staffing levels. Read more here.  Four members of the Rio Rancho Governing Body have censured Councilor Chuck Wilkins for the second time in four months. The New Mexico attorney general’s office is investigating potential conflicts of interest. Read more at the Rio Rancho Observer.  The State Personnel Office is investigating more than 200 employees for taking time off work to vote in last fall’s general election but allegedly never cast a ballot. Union reps are questioning the validity of the audit’s findings, which are based on cross-referencing employees' Social Security numbers with those in voter databases with the secretary of state's office. Deborah Baker has more details.  With or without capital outlay money, Portales City Manager Sammy Standefer says some of the city’s priority projects will get started, but they’ll just take longer to complete. Read it at the Portales News Tribune.  Meanwhile, Deming Economic Development Director Cassie Arias says an economic development program can accelerate business opportunities on a local scale. Read more at the Deming Headlight.  Back in Roosevelt County, commissioners are debating whether the cost to continue their legal battles against the Mexican gray wolf and prairie chicken are worth it.

Read more at the Portales News-Tribune.  A federal task force in New Mexico is targeting the sale of illegal painkillers, especially to teenagers.

Last week, the state launched

an ad campaign to highlight the serious risks of addiction and overdose from prescription painkiller abuse.

Mike Gallagher reports for the Albuquerque Journal. 

Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique "Kiki" Vigil continues to raise concerns about the mass exodus of deputies.

Read it at the Las Cruces Sun-News. A multi-jurisdiction law enforcement task force raided three Ruidoso-area businesses last week, looking for synthetic marijuana. Read more at the Ruidoso News.  On Saturday, The Los Angeles Times took another long look at the tension building between the Albuquerque Police Department and Second Judicial District Attorney’s office. Read Nigel Duara's story here.  Embudo Valley Library is getting some well-earned recognition from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It’s one of 10 libraries around the country that have earned the equivalent of a gold medal. Read it in the Taos News.  Officials in Socorro County say there’s little risk to humans from an isolated incident of avian influenza discovered in a cinnamon teal duck in the Bosque del Apache. Eric Heinz has the story.  While most of the attention on seismic activity from fracking has been focused on Oklahoma, the United States Geological Survey has also been studying two oil field regions here in New Mexico. Read more at the New Mexico Political Report.   Hard to believe, but it snowed in Santa Fe on Sunday. Of course, that means traffic got snarled and people slid off the road. The weather will start returning to spring-like conditions today. It will be cloudy today, but don’t expect too much moisture.

Read it at the Santa Fe New Mexican. 

Santa Fe Reporter