- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A plunge in world oil prices is threatening to reverse state budget surpluses that have allowed New Mexico to make major new investments. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed hundreds of local roadway projects in response to uncertainty over oil markets and the new coronavirus. The market upheaval Monday could affect the plans to shore up government salaries, public school education, health care and business incentives. The state government relies on the oil sector for more than a third of its annual general fund income. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has until Wednesday to decide on an 8% annual spending increase proposed by lawmakers.
- PEDESTRIAN THROUGH WINDSHIELD
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police say a pedestrian was killed and a driver critically injured when a vehicle struck the pedestrian who then crashed through the windshield, striking the driver. Police say the incident occurred Monday night when the pedestrian was standing in the far-left eastbound traffic lane of Interstate 40. Identities weren't released and police said investigators weren't immediately able to determine why the pedestrian was standing on the highway. The freeway was partially closed for several hours after the incident.
- CHILD CANCER LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The University of New Mexico Board of Regents has agreed to pay $38 million to settle part of a lawsuit alleging some pediatric cancer patients with leukemia received substandard care at the university's hospital. The Albuquerque Journal reported that the settlement would bring a partial end to a lawsuit on behalf of 250 children. The lawsuit cited practices from 1977 to 1997 where young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were given diluted, outdated drug treatments. The settlement offer was filed in court last week and is awaiting a judge's approval. The judge is expected to decide how the money would be administered.
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO-DISTRICT ATTORNEY
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — A district attorney in northern New Mexico has announced he won't seek re-election. The Las Vegas Optic reports Fourth Judicial District Attorney Richard Flores said last week he decided it was time to move on after four terms. The Democrat has been the top prosecutor in San Miguel, Mora and Guadalupe counties for the last 16 years. According to Flores, his office has prosecuted more than 4,000 DWI cases and around 92 homicide cases. Current Deputy District Attorney Tom Clayton and public defender and attorney Brett Phelps say they plan to run for the post Flores will vacate at the end of this term.
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO-SUPER PAC
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new Super PAC with ties to a oil trucking company owner who lives in the northern part of New Mexico has been formed to likely target candidates in a district in the southwestern part of the state. Federal election records show that Butch Mathews, owner of the Farmington, New Mexico-based M & R Trucking company, recently filed documents for a super PAC called Citizens for a United New Mexico.Records on the U.S. Federal Election Commission's website list Mathews as treasurer of the Super PAC, which has a mailing address in Carlsbad, 460 miles (740.30 kilometers) away from Farmington. It's unclear which candidates the Super PAC will target.
- UNIVERSITY TUITION HIKE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The University of New Mexico will be raising students' tuition next fall. KOB-TV in Albuquerque reports the UNM Board of Regents unanimously approved the spike in a budget meeting Monday. Tuition will go up by 2.6%, according to a university official. Students from in the state will pay $200 more per semester. Out-of-state students will have to fork over an additional $600 per semester. Officials say the increase is not related to a 4% raise for some employees or a 6% drop in enrollment. Last month, the university announced students from households making $50,000 or less could be eligible for free tuition their freshman year.
- UNM-POLICE CHIEF
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — University of New Mexico Police Chief Kevin McCabe has announced plans to retire. McCabe said last week he will step down from his role as police chief of the state's largest university at the end of June. He has been with the university's police department since 2010 and served as chief since 2014. McCabe, who holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, came to the University of New Mexico after retiring from the Albuquerque Police Department where he served for 24 years. During his tenure, the university's police department replaced aging apparatus and upgraded radios and dispatch equipment. Officials say a national search for the next chief will begin immediately.
- ROUTE 66-DEATHS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nearly one in five fatal pedestrian crashes in New Mexico's largest city last year occurred in a dimly lighted and highly congested section of historic Route 66. An analysis by the Albuquerque Journal found a part of Albuquerque plagued by poverty had eight pedestrian deaths in 2019. That's more than any other location out of the 42 fatal pedestrian crashes last year. The dangerous section of Route 66 is in a part of the city known for high crime rates and outdated infrastructure. A citywide initiative aimed at reducing pedestrian deaths doesn't include this section of Route 66.