- NEW MEXICO FAMILY KILLED
New Mexico man who killed family to be sentenced
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man who shot and killed his parents and three young siblings when he was a teenager is scheduled to be sentenced.
Nehemiah Griego will appear Tuesday in state district court in Albuquerque. Now 22, Griego faces up to 120 years in prison or as little as probation and treatment.
Griego pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the January 2013 shootings of his family. Prosecutors say he had methodically plotted the killings when he was 15.
A judge decided in August that Griego would be sentenced as an adult after finding he wasn't amenable for treatment as a juvenile.
Griego's lawyers say he had an abusive home life. They also have said he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- ELECTION 2020-LEGISLATURE-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico legislative caucuses stockpile money for 2020
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Money is being stockpiled by leading state legislators under specialized political committees that can collect five-times as much cash per donor as standard campaigns and committees.
Six-month campaign finance disclosure reports are due by Tuesday evening as Democrats defend their majority in the state House and Senate.
Newly designated legislative caucus committees can collect five times as much cash per donor as other campaigns and committees, under reforms enacted this year by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Democratic-led Legislature.
The House Republican caucus committee received $120,100 in contributions over the past six months. Donors included prominent oil-sector leaders and companies.
Candidates for the Legislature or statewide offices such as governor can collect up to $5,000 per donor toward the 2020 primary election and again for the general election.
- ELECTION 2020-CONGRESS-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico candidates for Congress highlight cashflow
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico candidates in open races for the U.S. House and Senate are collecting campaign cash at a rapid pace even as many Democratic contenders forgo contributions from corporate political committees.
Former CIA operative Valerie Plame said Monday in a statement that her campaign raised about $447,000 in contributions from July through September as she runs for a northern New Mexico congressional seat. Rival primary election candidate Teresa Leger Fernandez says her campaign raised $205,000.
They are among candidates forgoing corporate PAC money in quests to replace U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he campaigns for Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring
Luján says he raised more than $1 million since July. In May, he swore off corporate PAC money.
Full financial disclosures are due Tuesday at the Federal Election Commission.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY
Some US states marking their first Indigenous Peoples' Day
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A handful of states are celebrating their first Indigenous Peoples' Day as part of a trend to move away from a day honoring Christopher Columbus .
New Mexico is scheduled Monday to mark its statewide Indigenous Peoples' Day with an invocation by several tribal leaders in unison in their Native languages. There also will be a parade and traditional dances at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
State offices in Maine also are scheduled to close in honor of the holiday. Maine, home to four federally recognized tribes, ditched Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous People's Day with an April bill signing by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
Several states —from Minnesota to Vermont — have done away with Columbus Day celebrations in deference to Native Americans, though the federal Columbus holiday remains in place.
- UNM-FACULTY UNION
University of New Mexico faculty to vote on unionizing
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Professors at the University of New Mexico are scheduled to vote this week on whether to unionize.
Two days of voting are slated to begin Wednesday around two separate possible bargaining units.
Faculty in these two groups will vote in one of two secret ballot elections. The two elections are separate and independent, but they are being carried out at the same time.
For each of the two elections, at least 40 percent of the eligible voters in that proposed bargaining unit must vote for it, or the effort to form a union fails.
The move comes after a faculty union petition was filed in February.
Faculty members have complained that University of New Mexico professors are among the lowest paid in the country.
- NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL
Navajo voters elect new delegate to tribal council
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation Council has a new delegate.
Carl Roessel Slater won a special election for a seat representing five Navajo communities in the Arizona portion of the reservation. He took office Thursday.
Slater had served as a spokesman for the tribe's legislative branch before stepping down to run for the council seat. He beat out four others to replace longtime lawmaker Nelson BeGaye, who retired for health reasons.
Slater is the grandson of the late Ruth and Robert Roessel of Round Rock, Arizona, who helped found the nation's first tribal college on the Navajo Nation.
The 24-member Tribal Council meets next week in the tribal capital of Window Rock for the start of its weeklong fall session.
- ALLSUP'S SALE
CEO: Allsup's to retain presence despite planned merger
(Information from: Carlsbad Current-Argus, http://www.currentargus.com/)
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — Allsup's and its legendary burritos and chimichangas aren't going anywhere despite the recent sale of the convenience store chain to Iowa-based Yesway.
Officials with Yesway say Allsup's will retain its presence in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Yesway doesn't plan to close any of the 304 stores across the three states.
While no layoffs are expected, Yesway CEO Thomas Trkla tells the Carlsbad Current-Argus that some of Allsup's roughly 5,000 employees might be relocated to new stores the company plans to purchase in the future.
Yesway expects the integration of Allsup's into the Yesway fold to take up to 18 months.
Trkla also is hopeful about growing the customer base in parts of New Mexico and West Texas, pointing to the oil boom happening across the Permian Basin.
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- POLICE-INVOLVED FATAL SHOOTING
Albuquerque police fatally shoot suspect in domestic dispute
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a SWAT team shot and killed an armed suspect in a domestic dispute who was holed up in his apartment.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that authorities confirmed the shooting at the scene Monday morning.
Police spokesman John Ross says officers received reports of a dispute around 2 a.m.
They found an armed man and called for a SWAT team.
Ross says investigators later served a search warrant and an arrest warrant on the apartment. He says the other person involved in the dispute was inside.
SWAT officers ended up firing on the suspect, who was pronounced dead.
His identity was not released.
The incident marks the third officer-involved shooting with Albuquerque police in two months.
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