Morning Word: Local Job Recovery Worst in Nation

Rock Bottom

New Mexico has lost the highest percentage of jobs in the country since 2007. A new eight-year study from the Pew Charitable Trusts puts our state at rock bottom,

Feeling Confident 

Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who faces 64 felony charges, says she's confident she can still

ahead of next year's presidential election, but the folks over at Common Cause New Mexico don't think voters have the same level of confidence with the embattled Republican at the helm. Justin Horwath reports that Duran said her ethics staff has been “carefully reviewing, working with my legal counsel, to determine what and when and how those should be handled.” Fractured Online SFR has published its first E-book. If you missed Elizabeth Miller's cover story about the impact of oil and gas fracking on Northern New Mexico communities, now you can get a longer, more in-depth version of the piece

Murder Suspect Freed  New court rules that require prosecutors in the 2nd Judicial District to follow strict time deadlines has resulted in a murder suspect being

. While the victim's family is frustrated with the process, the attorneys in the case say they plan to refile charges within 10 days once they have all the scientific evidence they need to move forward.

Turned Over  The Santa Fe Police Department insists it

when it turned over an immigrant to ICE officials to be deported. Uriel Garcia reports that’s because Jorge Serrano-Nevarez, who had been deported earlier this year after serving time for felony property crime convictions in Santa Fe, was the subject of a criminal warrant issued by federal authorities, a department spokeswoman said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued the warrant after the detective informed the agency that Serrano-Nevarez had re-entered the country.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and 27 other attorneys general are initiating a multistate investigation into Volkswagen after the German carmaker

on their diesel vehicles to produce favorable test results.

Papal Visit   Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales, who was in Washington earlier this week to see Pope Francis speak, has

on his own life. He's also writes that Santa Fe is listening to the pope's message to address climate change and working to reduce homelessness. In fact, a lot of New Mexicans are feeling elated about the

the Pope has been delivering this week.

The Associated Press reports that US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, wants the Army National Guard to conduct an audit of bonuses for men and women who recently re-enlisted. Heinrich asked for the review after a New Mexico man

from 2009.

Bob Stover, who served the public for more than three decades as a police chief, Bernalillo County sheriff and Albuquerque's chief administrative officer, has

. With Stover's legacy, people will remember this trailblazer for years to come.

. Hopefully, that means we'll get a lot of snow.

Santa Fe Reporter