Morning Word: Decline In Gas Prices Will Hit State Budget

Brandenburg refutes police allegations

E ducation and economic development programs will be budget priorities in New Mexico as new state revenue projections plummet. The top law enforcement officer in the Bernalillo County, District Attorney Kari Brandenburg steadfastly denied allegations she broke any laws assisting her drug-addicted son after a series of burglaries. And welcome home Rob...we barely missed ya. Here's the latest for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014

Dropping gas prices have been a boon to household budgets. It has Christmas retailers predicting a big holiday season, but the steep decline at the pump is about to hit home. New revenue forecasts are expected to reduce the state’s next fiscal budget. That's bad news for state workers. Department of Finance Secretary Tom Clifford said lower revenue means there won't be enough money for employee pay raises.

Child protective service workers and New Mexico State Police officers could still get hikes since those lower paying jobs are difficult to fill. Nearly $1.7 billion of the state $6.7 billion general comes from oil revenues. Read more at the Albuquerque Journal  Merit Pay

Some teachers could also get bigger paychecks.  The New Mexico Public Education Department plans to announce a $7.2 million merit pay pilot test program at selected public schools and another dozen charter schools. Santa Fe Public Schools will get $3.8 million from the program, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican . Read more at the Santa Fe New Mexican
Forget about it

On Monday, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari Brandenburg refuted allegations that she bribed and intimidated witnesses in a series of burglaries allegedly committed by her drug-addicted son. APD has turned over its yearlong investigation to the New Mexico Attorney General Office. Investigators told the Albuquerque Journal their probe was fair and thorough, but Brandenburg said she was never even interviewed by detectives. KRQE has team coverage here .

Who knew?

New Mexico's risk for political corruption is still high. The Washington Post posted the results of an Illinois State University professor's survey of state political reporters. Both illegal corruption and legal corruption was perceived to be common in all three branches of government here.

We couldn't find the list of New Mexico reporters whom were polled. Hat tip to

at the Taos News for sharing the story via Twitter's hash tag #NMPOL.

Read more at WaPo.

A good example

Speaking of corruption, another former Santa Fe County employee has pleaded guilty to taking a bribe. Ex Road Supervisor James Martinez and former Public Works Director James Lujan admit they took a trip to Sin City paid for by Advantage Asphalt and Seal Coating Owner Joe Anthony Montoya. Montoya is on trial for fraud in Santa Fe. Phaedra Haywood has the story in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Recount

The State Canvassing Board could meet at early as today to issue an order in the Public Lands Commissioner vote recount. A state Supreme Court hearing was delayed on Monday after weekend settlement talks successfully flushed out details on how the process will work. The recount could begin as early as Thursday. The Journal's Deborah Baker has the story .

Oops.

Three candidates in the Four Corners missed campaign finance report filing deadlines.

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'Can we talk?'

The US Department of Energy wants to discuss the $54 million civil fine imposed by the New Mexico Environment Department on Saturday. The DOE is reviewing the department’s orders, but said it is committed to complying with its responsibilities at both facilities.

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Radioactive secret

University of New Mexico Professor David Correia has a disturbing story about how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed Sandia National Labs to bury up to 1.5 million cubic feet of radioactive and toxic material in unlined trenches in a mixed-use landfill near the Pueblo of Isleta.

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Also, watch

Correspondent Floyd's Vasquez' interview on the potential threat the radioactive waste poses to Albuquerque's water supply.

Popped

NASA has ended their 27-year high-altitude balloon reach contract with New Mexico State University. Orbital Science Corporation is expected to take over NMSU’s largest source of research funding. Read more at the Las Cruces Sun News Use of force

Correia has also posted a story about the Navajo Nations Human Rights Commission investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department's pattern of violence against Native Americans. Read more at la Jicarita Charter challenges

Wally Gordon series on the plight of education in New Mexico continues. In Part Two: Classroom Wars, Gordon looks at how charter schools struggle with funding structures.

Lets do this

A new study shows the Navajo Nation should take over authority of 31 Bureau of Indian Education schools and developed a plan to phase in 35 tribally controlled grant schools. The study also focused on examining options the tribe could use in addressing school governance, finance, human resources, policy and regulatory issues and curriculum models.

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No competition Albuquerque Business First has a new assistant editor. Mike English moves over from Local IQ . He'll be in charge of the business journal's daily newsroom operations. Check out their big dataset with $151 million sole-source, or no-bid, state contracts since June, 2013.

Read more online.

What ya waiting for...Christmas?

You might be a millionaire and not even know it yet. State Lottery officials say someone who purchased a ticket at a Circle K store at Alameda and Ellison in Albuquerque in September hasn't claimed their giant prize. Better check your tickets now. You only have until Dec. 27 to claim the cash. Read more at the Albuquerque Journal .

Welcome home

It's true. Once you get journalism into your system it's hard to let it go. Now, we've learned that former Capitol Report and New New Mexico Watchdog's Rob Nikolewski announced on his

yesterday that he’s resigned his new job as public information officer at the New Mexico Environment Department -- just a few days after starting. Nikolewski intends to focus on energy market reporting and indicated he'll stay in New Mexico.

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