- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health says people who got a COVID-19 vaccine shot between Aug. 2-31 must sign up by 5 p.m. Friday if they want to claim the $100 incentive being offered to entice people to get inoculated. New Mexico residents who got one of the two-shots of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible. To claim the money you must register at vaccineNM.org. About 54% of residents ages 12 and older who are eligible have been vaccinated. The state has seen more than 239,000 COVID-19 cases and 4,585 deaths.
- EARLY CHILDHOOD PAY
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State officials responsible for early childhood education in New Mexico say that prekindergarten teachers deserve the same salaries as teachers of older students, and they're willing to pay for it. The Early Childhood Education and Care Department says it will pay the difference between prekindergarten teacher salaries and those educators who teach older students. The pay scales are based on education level, geography and experience. Officials estimate around 200 educators could qualify for the opportunity to increase their pay. The pay bump is based on pay scales in public schools. It follows massive spending by the department, which has expanded eligibility for childcare subsidies.
- EDUCATION TEACHING INCENTIVES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico education officials are offering school districts $37 million to pay for the salaries and career advancement of their entry-level staff. The education department hopes teaching assistants can get pay increases and take classes toward an associated degree. Teaching assistants earn around $25,000 per year, but they could increase their income with degrees relevant to schools like education, nursing and social work. The New Mexico Teacher Fellows program announced this week offers $4,000 toward college tuition for education-related study for two years. There are around 600 unfilled teaching positions in the state, and long-term substitute teachers are also in short supply.
- CHILD ABUSE SENTENCE
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces woman has been sentenced to a nine-year prison term after pleading guilty to what prosecutors described as a vicious, hourslong beating of a toddler. Desirae Vargas pleaded guilty to a felony child abuse charge on Thursday and was immediately sentenced to prison. She will get credit for the two years she has already spent behind bars. Prosecutors said the now-32-year-old Vargas beat her then-boyfriend's 2-year-old daughter for hours on the night of March 23, 2019. The little girl is now living with relatives.
- SLAIN SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona judge ruled Thursday that expert testimony on cellphone data will be allowed in the case of a U.S. Air Force airman who is accused of killing a Mennonite woman. Authorities used the data and other records to link Mark Gooch to the shooting death of Sasha Krause last year. Krause's body was found outside Flagstaff, more than a month after she disappeared from her church community in northwestern New Mexico. The judge in Coconino County took up several motions during a hearing Thursday but didn't immediately rule on all of them. The hearing will continue Friday afternoon.
- COYOTE KILLING CONTESTS-RENO
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Reno City Council is the latest to join the push to outlaw wildlife killing contests in Nevada. The council approved a resolution on a 6-1 vote urging an end to the practice. Mayor Hillary Schieve called killing contests "heinous" and often targeting coyotes. The Clark County Commission in Las Vegas urged an immediate ban earlier this year. The state wildlife commission is scheduled to consider the matter at its Sept. 24 meeting. Councilwoman Bonnie Weber was the dissenter on the resolution on Wednesday, saying that it should not be the Reno's place to take a stance on the issue.
- ELECTION 2021-SANTA FE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Santa Fe ethics board has dismissed efforts by Mayor Alan Webber to impose financial disclosure requirements on fraternal organizations that have criticized his handling of clashes over historical monuments and tributes. Board members voted 4-0 to dismissed the complaint on several grounds. Board member Paul Biderman said city campaign disclosure requirements don't apply to groups that aren't primarily political organizations and that allegations of collusion with a rival candidate were misdirected. Webber is seeking a second term in the November election. The leader of an advocacy group for Spanish colonial heritage and pride celebrated the board's decision.
- AP-US-AQUIFER-DEPLETION-DUST-BOWL-ABRIDGED
MULESHOE, Texas (AP) — To avoid Dust Bowl conditions, more farmers are restoring native grasslands in areas where the nation's largest aquifer is drying up and rainfall is often scarce. Groundwater from the Ogallala aquifer has sustained farming for generations in the Plains states, even through droughts. But it's becoming increasingly difficult to grow crops that require irrigation. A recent study projects that more than half of currently irrigated land in portions of Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma could be lost by the end of the century. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified a Dust Bowl zone where grasslands conservation is a priority.