- New Mexico announces arrival of coronavirus test kits
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health says it has capacity to test for COVID-19 with tests kits provided the federal government. The agency announced Tuesday that kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are allowing the Department of Health to test several hundred patients without having to send samples out of state for analysis. Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel says testing kits will be provided at no cost to New Mexico residents. Screening is being considered for people with signs of the illness who test negative for more common respiratory illnesses and have traveled to a countries including China, South Korea, Italy and Iran.
- New Mexico governor avoids endorsements in 2020 primary
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham doesn't plan on endorsing any of her party's candidates for the presidential nomination if she can avoid it. Lujan Grisham spokesman Nora Sackett said Tuesday that no endorsements are being made in the presidential race or the Democratic primary for an open congressional seat in northern New Mexico. The governor could be called on as an automatic super delegate at the Democratic national convention to vote as she pleases if no presidential candidate wins a majority of pledged delegates. Previously, members of Congress and other party leaders voted as super delegates in the initial convention balloting.
- Ay no! Accent mark in official Santa Fe seal in wrong spot
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An accent mark of the official seal of the capital city of the nation's most Hispanic state is in the wrong spot. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the misplaced accent mark at the top of the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico's website was recently spotting by a reporter who uses an accent in his name. On the website, the seal uses the official's name of the city: La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís, or Santa Fe for short. But the seal on the city's website puts the accent mark over the first "s" in Asís instead of over the "i."
- New Mexico prosecutor resigns after DUI, firearms arrest
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — A southeastern New Mexico prosecutor has resigned following his arrest for aggravated drunken driving and negligent use of a firearm. The Hobbs News-Sun reports Fifth Judicial District Attorney's office prosecutor Jonathan Michael Thomas stepped down Saturday after getting arrested in Chaves County on Friday. According to a criminal complaint, a sheriff's deputy said Thomas was found in a car with a strong odor of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. The deputy says Thomas refused to perform field sobriety tests and informed the deputy he had a firearm at his waist. District Attorney Dianna Luce says the criminal case has been sent to the Ninth Judicial District Attorney's office for prosecution. It was not known if Thomas had an attorney.
- New Mexico governor signs solar energy, grid update bills
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is reinstating a tax credit for households and businesses that adopt solar energy systems and taking new steps to modernize the electric grid and export renewable energy. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed a bills that revive a tax credit of up to $6,000 for the installation of solar panels or thermal solar equipment that heats water. The state will forgo up to $8 million in taxes a year to offset the solar investments. She also endorsed a bipartisan grid modernization bill that opens the door for new infrastructure investments by utilities and a grant program for non-utility projects that improve grid resiliency and efficiency.
- US senators: Budget proposal stifles contamination cleanup
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic senators are concerned the Trump administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Energy Department calls for less to clean up nuclear research and bomb-making sites and significantly more to fund modernization of the nation's nuclear arsenal. The proposal includes nearly $27 billion, most of which would go toward nuclear security work that includes restarting production of the plutonium cores that are used as triggers inside nuclear weapons. The plutonium work would be split between sites in New Mexico and South Carolina. Less than one-quarter of the funding would be used for environmental projects in New Mexico, Washington state and elsewhere.
- Las Cruces OKs plan to expand public murals, sculptures
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — As New Mexico's capital city works to remove public murals, the state's largest southern city is pushing for more public art. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports Las Cruces lawmakers Monday approved a master plan for public art throughout the city. The Las Cruces Public Art plan will guide how the city commissions artists to create public murals and sculptures. It also establishes how the city will maintain its public art and how it will sustain funding sources for public art projects. Officials say the master plan promotes the creation of artistic landmarks to define the city's neighborhoods.
- Santa Fe still tourist destination amid coronavirus concerns
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Tourism officials in New Mexico say Santa Fe has remained a tourist destination despite fears over the new virus outbreak. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that officials from Tourism Santa Fe have acknowledged that the local tourism industry still could be affected by respiratory illness caused by the virus as its spreads in the United States. New Mexico has no confirmed cases. New Mexico Tourism Department spokesman Cody Johnson says it's hard to say what effect the disease will have, if any, on domestic travel. But he says the state is monitoring developments.