Spending Cuts and Tax Hikes in Santa Fe
Facing a whopping $15 million budget deficit, the Santa Fe City Council and Mayor Javier Gonzales have
from the city-owned water utility.
Driver's License Plunge
Uriel Garcia reports, “The number of state driver's
has plunged to its lowest level since New Mexico began granting driving privileges to those living in the country illegally.”
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were
last night. Ohio Gov. John Kasich emerged from obscurity but finished a distant second in the Granite State’s Republican primary. Hillary Clinton heads to South Carolina, focused on improving her standing among young people and leading in the polls.
An independent hearing officer at the Public Regulation Commission has denied a joint motion from New Energy Economy and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to block the Public Service Company of New Mexico from
- NM House lawmakers approved a resolution to form an independent ethics commission. It still has to get through the Senate, which has killed similar measures in the past.
- Alex Goldsmith reports that a bill that would strip convicted rapists of parental rights is advancing through the Legislature.
- Joey Peters reports that the Senate Public Affairs Committee voted 5-4 to kill bills by Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, that would have banned surgical abortion procedures on viable fetuses at 20 weeks of gestation or more.
- The House has passed a bill that would allow insurance companies to reject worker compensation claims by employees who test positive for using medical marijuana.
- New Mexico continues to lead the nation in opiate-related drug overdose deaths. The House Health Committee “unanimously supported a bill Tuesday that would make it easier for community health workers, family members, first responders and social services agencies to administer an antidote for opioid overdoses.”
- On a party line vote, the Senate Public Affairs Committee killed so-called right-to-work legislation that had the backing of business groups and was opposed by organized labor.
- We missed this last week, but Rep. Bill McCamley’s bill to increase the state’s Working Families Tax Credit from 10 percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent was defeated.
Diana Alba Soular reports, “Doña Ana County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to call for
to resign in the wake of a recent lawsuit that was settled against him for sexual harassment.”
Yesterday we told you that almost 55,000 New Mexicans used the state health insurance exchange to sign up for medical coverage in 2016. Now, folks are saying that
to get uninsured rural residents signed up during the next open enrollment period.
You may have been following the story of the Marietta, Ga., police officer who
so they could retire together. In Santa Fe, photojournalist Mark Woodward has
and today's SFR has an interesting cover story about the camaraderie between law enforcement officers and their own K-9 partners. Check out Woodward’s piece and photos this morning in the Santa Fe Reporter.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball
. Last night, they lost to Utah State, 80-72. The Lobos return to WisePies Arena on Saturday and are scheduled to play San Jose State, who they beat 83-64 last month.
Santa Fe Reporter