Morning Word: Wildfire 100 Percent Contained

Fire Contained

Officials with the US Forest Service say

. The blaze burned about 7.6 acres.

Contract Scams

Also, officials are cautioning residents returning to damaged property near the Dog Head Fire to be aware of potential contractor scams. The Regulation and Licensing Department urges people to

in New Mexico.

Gila River Diversion Plan Scaled Back  

New Mexico In Depth’s Laura Paskus reports, “The state agency in charge of building a diversion on the Gila River has

for capturing the river’s water.”

The agency’s decision might mean good news for project critics who feared its environmental consequences and high cost. But many questions remain around how much money the state has to build the project, the location and scale of the diversion, and who would buy the water once it’s built.

Meanwhile, experts up in Farmington plan to talk about

after the toxic Gold King Mine spill.

Supreme Court Decisions Expected Monday

It promises to be a big day at the US Supreme Court, as

on abortion access and public corruption.

The court's decision on whether a Republican-backed 2013 Texas law placed an undue burden on women exercising their constitutional right to abortion is one of three remaining cases for the court to decide on Monday, the last day of its term. The other major one involves whether the justices will overturn the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell.

And Andrew Oxford reports that other recent Supreme Court decisions could

from New Mexico. 

Strict New DWI Laws Roll Out This Week

Strict new DWI laws go into effect on July 1. They provide

as well as for drivers charged with vehicular homicide after a DWI crash. 


Sanders Supporters Still Vocal
Steve Terrell reports that Bernie Sander supporters aren’t quite ready to give up on the Vermont senator’s campaign, and they made their voices heard at the state Democratic Party convention over the weekend.

Medicaid Cutback Could Be Illegal
The Albuquerque Journal reports that University of New Mexico CEO Steve McKernan thinks the “state’s plan to save up to $33.5 million by cutting Medicaid payments to New Mexico doctors, hospitals and dentists would violate federal law and regulations if it results in the denial of services to low-income patients.”

NMSU Employee Benefits on the Cutting Block
Meanwhile, New Mexico State University regents are scheduled to meet today to discuss cutting employee benefits, and Heath Haussamen says the group's meeting won’t be webcast, as they have in the past.
The looming employee benefit cuts are part of the university’s efforts to eliminate $10.7 million from its annual budget. That’s necessary because the state decreased funding for the university earlier this year and enrollment has fallen. The Regents rejected a proposed tuition increase to help cover the shortfall in April.
Santa Feans Remember Orlando Victims During Pride Festival
Santa Fe residents participating in the city’s gay pride festivities over the weekend took time out to remember the 49 people killed in Orlando.
Each June, pride events commemorate six days of violent demonstrations that began at a gay bar in New York City on June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of the morning, intent on enforcing anti-sodomy laws. The riots that ensued marked a turning point in the gay rights movement.

On Friday, President Barack Obama proclaimed the Stonewall Inn a national monument, an action applauded in New Mexico by U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and Sen. Martin Heinrich, both Democrats. The designation was the first of its kind in the gay rights movement.

But city and state officials, as well as advocates for the LGBT community, said the Orlando shooting was a reminder — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s milestone ruling on same-sex marriage — that the fight for equality is far from over. 
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