Morning Word: Spaceport Director Resigns

Spaceport Director Announces Resignation

her job as head of Spaceport America in southern New Mexico to pursue other opportunities.

New Planets Discovered

While Virgin Galactic works on getting space tourists off the ground, NASA confirmed yesterday that its

. “This gives us hope that somewhere out there, around a star much like ours, we can eventually discover another Earth," says Ellen Stofan, chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Santa Fe Schools Installing Solar Panels

With an eye on reducing its electric, natural gas and water use, Santa Fe Public Schools are going green as 11 schools are

. The district hopes the move will eventually reduce utility bills and free up more money for the classroom.

Treatment Options Explored in Santa Fe

SFR’s Steven Hsieh reports that mobile crisis response teams are looking at new ways to

.

Albuquerque School Board Member Accused of Fraud

Albuquerque School Board member

after allegedly altering a receipt in order to collect reimbursement for cleaning she said was done at her charter school, but actually was done at her home. Maestas has claimed she spent the money to pay a vendor for cleaning carpets at a charter school she founded, but a report released by State Auditor Tim Keller says that claim is fraudulent.

Adolescents Smoking and Drinking Less

Teens are smoking and drinking less in New Mexico, according to a health department report. In fact, the rate for

. Teen smoking is down from 25.7 percent in 2005 to 11.4 percent in 2015.

Uranium Mine Cleanup Settlement Reached

The federal government has

to continue to clean up 16 abandoned uranium around the Navajo Nation at the same time it evaluates another 30 sites.

Fracking May Increase Asthma Attacks

If you suffer from asthma you are 1.5 to 4 times

, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine earlier this week.

Trump Officially Nominated

New Mexico’s delegation to the Republican National Convention

, who officially won the party’s presidential nomination Tuesday in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Sandra Fish, over at New Mexico In Depth, reports that

.

Super Bowl of Politics Lures Johnson

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson says the general election debates this fall are like “the Super Bowl of politics” and he needs to be included in the national broadcasts in order to have a chance to win. Ryan Lizza has an interesting profile on the former governor of New Mexico in this week’s issue of the The New Yorker.

APD Delays Release of Shooting Videos

Shannon Kennedy, a civil rights attorney who has represented families of people killed by Albuquerque Police officers, claims the department’s practice of delaying the release of body camera videos after officer involved shootings is

against the department.

Santa Fe Reporter