Morning Word: Education Reform Passes Senate

It's Friday, July 17, 2015

On Thursday, New Mexico’s two US senators joined the majority to pass a big education reform bill aimed at giving states more control over local school districts. The sweeping measure will require creating education standards in order to continue receiving federal funds. Journalist Michael Coleman reports the measure will “de-emphasize the controversial Common Core standards regimen.”

Read it at the ABQ Journal.  Seventy years after scientists tested the world’s first atomic bomb at the Trinity site, Udall supports compensating nearby Tularosa Basin residents who suffered from radiation-related illnesses.

Read it at the Las Cruces Sun-News.  Several state legislators on the Health and Human Services Committee are expressing concerns about proposed new regulations that would require New Mexicans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to work.

Steve Ramirez has details.  Those work requirements also have former Public Education Secretary Veronica Garcia upset, because she claims it will take food away from kids.

Garcia says she hopes lots of people turn up at a public hearing on the matter at the Harold Runnels Auditorium in Santa Fe today at 1:30 pm. Read Garcia's commentary at NMPolitics.net.  Meanwhile, business reporter Dan Mayfield says New Mexico Workforce Solutions is getting $12 million from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Read it at ABQ Business First.  Glassdoor Economic Research, an online website providing information to job seekers and businesses, says Santa Fe ranked 320th on a list of 327 metropolitan areas for its slow economic recovery following the recession. Mayor Javier Gonzales tells reporter TS Last he’s not discouraged by the report.

Read it at the Journal North.  We’re not exactly shocked, but a new report from the Wall Street Journal ’s Dan Frosch, an SFR alumni reporter, and his writing partner Zusha Elinson, shows the City of Albuquerque has paid out more in lawsuits per police officer than any other area of the country, with officials bracing for even more settlements.

Read more here.  A four-year legal battle is over for a former internal affairs investigator who sued Doña Ana County for retaliation. On Thursday, a jury awarded Kim Stewart $1 million.

Carlos Andres López reports.  Months after

on a national push to reform federal prison sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenders, President Barack Obama traveled to Oklahoma to talk about making the criminal justice system fairer. At the El Reno Federal Correction Institution, Obama said there must be a distinction between young people “doing stupid things” and violent criminals.

The Associated Press has the story.  The momentum has been building for months, now it looks like business travelers around the country are using ridesharing service more than taxis, with Uber accounting for 55 percent of ground transportation receipts compared with taxis at 43 percent. In fact, on Wednesday night, we saw an entire row of parking reserved for Uber cars at the Steely Dan concert at the Isleta Pavilion. Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican.  Steve Terrell, who covers tribal casinos for the Santa Fe New Mexican, reports the Santa Clara Pueblo wants the Interior Department’s secretary of Indian Affairs to shut down Pojoaque Pueblo’s Buffalo Thunder and Cities of Gold casinos north of Santa Fe since they are operating without a current gaming compact. Read more here.  Fans of television shows Better Call Saul , Manhattan and Game of Thrones are keeping their fingers crossed the shows pick up some well-deserved Emmys after earning a combined 34 nominations. Read more at Adrian Gomez' blog ReelNM.  The New Mexico Film Office says those Emmy nominations are a sign that the state’s film and television industry is thriving.

Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican.  That's it for the week.  If you're looking for some entertainment value tonight, try the Santa Fe Opera; they were offering selected seats for $20 for this evening's performance of The Daughter of the Regiment . And if you're not into the opera, be sure to check the

for other cool things to do. We hope you have fun and look forward to seeing you back here on Monday. Ciao.

Santa Fe Reporter