- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is activating the state health department's operations center in a move that officials say will help prepare for any emergency activities related to the coronavirus outbreak. The Department of Health said Friday in a statement that the department's Bureau of Health and Emergency Management will activate the center on Monday. The state's coronavirus website said results of all 48 tests conducted by the state health laboratory through Friday were negative. The department said activation will help top state officials make informed decisions on the virus-related operations while ensuring that department personnel have what the agency called "the highest level of situational awareness and communication within the department."
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO
POJOAQUE, N.M. (AP) — Candidates for Congress and an open Senate seat are undergoing the first test of their political might as the Democratic and Republican parties of New Mexico hold statewide conventions. Public attention was focused on first-time bids for public office by Democratic former CIA operative Valerie Plame in a crowded 3rd Congressional District race and conservative former oil lobbyist Claire Chase in a duel for the GOP nomination to take on a Democratic incumbent congresswoman in southern New Mexico. Congressman Ben Ray Luján hopes to parlay his experience as the No. 4-ranked Democrat in Congress into a Senate victory in an increasingly blue state.
- LEGISLATION-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A long list of bills aimed at shoring up workplace protections for pregnant women, allowing greater state investments in local companies, providing bonuses to local police officers and more has been signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The first-term governor has until March 11 to decide the fate of scores of bills approved by the Democrat-led Legislature. She and her staff are still poring over a $7.6 billion general fund budget that could increase spending by nearly 8% for the fiscal year starting July 1. Bills signed on Friday address issues of public safety, workplace discrimination, child welfare and economic development incentives.
- WIND FARM-SHIPMENTS
HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — The components needed for a massive wind farm under development in eastern New Mexico have started to arrive. Xcel Energy says the turbine parts for the Sagamore Wind Project are rolling into a railhead north of Hobbs and will be transported to the construction site in Roosevelt County starting in April. The 522-megawatt wind farm will provide electricity to Xcel's New Mexico and Texas customers when complete later this year. The utility estimates it will take 1,920 shipments to deliver all of the components over a six-month period. The parts include lower sections, blades and generators.
- IDENTITY THEFT-IMMIGRANTS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. prosecutors say a man from Guatemala has been sentenced to more than 4 1/2 years in prison for an identity theft scheme that compromised the identities of dozens of Americans. Federal authorities say 34-year-old Manuel Solis-Zetino was convicted of conspiracy, unlawful transfer of identification documents and aggravated identity theft. Court documents say Solis-Zetino and other defendants produced fraudulent documents that were used to obtain driver's licenses for people in the country illegally. Officials say Solis-Zetino transported many of them from Kansas to New Mexico, where he instructed them how to use the fake documents to obtain genuine licenses and other forms of identification.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-OBSERVATORY
MAGDALENA, N.M. (AP) — The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is cancelling group tours of its Very Large Array in New Mexico to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The observatory said Friday that the visitor center and gift shop will remain open and self-guided walking tours will continue. But a semi-annual open house, guided tours and special tours for school groups will be put on hold between March 15 and May 31. Observatory Director Tony Beasley says the move is meant to protect visitors and the workers who keep the facility running. Astronomers use the Very Large Array to observe natural radiowaves from distant stars and planets.
- OIL AND GAS-REVENUE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oil and natural gas royalty payments for development on state trust lands netted nearly $109 million for New Mexico in one month. Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced the record revenues Friday, saying the State Land Office is on track to raise another $1 billion this year for public schools, hospitals and other beneficiaries. The State Land Office's Royalty Management Division reports royalty revenue three months after production, so the revenue reported for the month of February actually reflects production from November. Much of the drilling activity is happening in the Permian Basin, which straddles the New Mexico-Texas state line.
- DEPUTY SHOOTING-SETTLEMENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A $4 million settlement has been reached in the case of a mentally ill woman shot and killed by New Mexico deputies. The Albuquerque Journal reports the agreement was signed Wednesday, less than two months after the woman's family sued the Bernalillo County Commission and Sheriff Manuel Gonzales. Authorities responded to the family's home last summer after a relative called 911 saying 28-year-old Elisha Lucero had hit her uncle. The relative told authorities Lucero was mentally ill, needed help and was a threat to herself and others. Lucero was shot numerous times after she ran from the home screaming and armed with a knife.