- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has begun monitoring sewage from prisons and youth rehabilitation facilities to more efficiently detect COVID-19 outbreaks in the southwest of the state. The state Environment Department announced the initiative Wednesday. The goal is to sample human feces in group-living situations to quickly identify coronavirus outbreaks. The results may be used to more effectively deploy individual testing to pinpoint infections and halt the spread. Initial sampling will take place at federal, state and local jails, along with facilities overseen by the state Children, Youth and Families Department. New Mexico has reported nearly 113,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
- MEDICAL MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An advisory board is recommending that New Mexico clear the way for licensed medical marijuana producers to grow more plants. The board during a meeting Wednesday voted in favor of a petition that sought to significantly increase the current plant count limit. The medical marijuana industry has pushed for eliminating the limit amid patient complaints about high costs and a lack of variety. Officials with New Mexico's medical cannabis program noted that previous increases in the plant count failed to bring down prices and that another increase already is in the works for next year. The state health secretary will have the final say on the recommendation.
- EDUCATION SPENDING-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Public Education Department is proposing a new formula for funding schools with high numbers of low-income students. Education Secretary Ryan Stewart told a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday that a more detailed analysis of student household incomes could help the state meet a court-ordered mandate to provide adequate education for low-income students. The proposed index would aggregate family income data at the school level. Stewart also put forward a plan to fund councilors, tutors and other services to help students who are falling behind due to remote learning.
- HIGHER EDUCATION ENROLLMENT
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Higher education leaders and lawmakers have debated the future of New Mexico college enrollment in a legislative hearing. While New Mexico's higher education secretary believes it will rise like it did after the 2008 recession, some lawmakers think it will continue declining. Officials said Tuesday that preliminary data suggests freshman enrollment is up this fall at state-funded universities. But some current students are failing to complete credits because of financial and childcare disruptions. Some lawmakers are concerned that high school students won't graduate and as a result won't have college as an option.
- FILM SUBSIDIES-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The budget and accountability office of New Mexico's Legislature is cautioning that the cost of film tax credit payments to producers such as Netflix could grow quickly and unpredictably in coming years. A Legislative Finance Committee report on Tuesday said preliminary estimates indicate that new production commitments by Netflix, announced in November, could increase annual tax credit payouts by $25 million beginning next fiscal year. The state expects to pay out nearly $100 million in film production tax credits in the coming fiscal year, starting in July 2021, and $147 million the following year. Budget analysts say costs to taxpayers could quickly grow further through partnerships with the film industry.
- FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY STRUGGLES
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — A natural gas pipeline that would have connected an oil field in New Mexico and Texas to markets in the Gulf Coast has been halted as the fossil fuel industry struggles during the coronavirus pandemic. The Carlsbad Current-Argus reported that officials with Permian Global Access Pipeline, a subsidiary of Houston-based natural gas producer Tellurian, withdrew its application to build the 625-mile pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission first approved the request to begin the application process in September 2019. Permian Global Access Pipeline LLC President Joey Mahmoud said that current market conditions meant the project was not financially viable and that the company could resume if the market recovers.
- HOSPITAL TURNED HOMELESS SHELTER
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — City officials say they plan to buy a former Albuquerque hospital and turn it into a homeless shelter and services hub. Mayor Tim Keller said Tuesday that the city is working to purchase the former Lovelace hospital although the price wasn't immediately disclosed. Keller told the Albuquerque Journal that the property would provide emergency shelter beds, an around-the-clock dropoff site for first responders and a home for on-site medical and behavioral health services. New Mexico currently is leasing 360,000 square feet of the facility as a COVID-19 emergency hospital and Keller says the city's purchase would not disrupt that.
ARIZONA NUCLEAR PLANT-OWNERSHIP
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona public utility is increasing its ownership share in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station located west of Phoenix. The Salt River Project announced that its board has approved the purchase of part of Public Service Co. of New Mexico's ownership along with some transmission assets for about $70 million plus the cost of the plant's associated nuclear fuel inventory. When the deal is completed, SRP says its ownership share will be about 20% of the plant's total capacity. SRP says its purchase of 114 megawatts of Palo Verde's output from PNM will provide additional energy needed to serve increasing customer demand.