- SUSPENDED PROFESSOR-NEW MEXICO
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico State University professor has been traveling to advocate for audits of the 2020 presidential election amid a paid suspension for rejecting coronavirus health mandates from the school. The Las Cruces Sun News reports that the public university on Aug. 27 extended its emergency suspension of professor David Clements. Several complaints were received from students after Clements rejected campus mask and vaccination mandates. The university requires students and staff to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or provide test results for the virus on a weekly basis. Its indoor mask mandate mirrors the New Mexico public health orders. Clements could not be reached Sunday.
- MARIJUANA LICENSE-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico health officials in late June briefly opened a window to submit applications for lucrative licenses for pot production and then approved the only application received. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Health Department issued the license June 28 to Albuquerque-based GH LLC after minimal public notice. The episode is prompting allegations of favoritism and calls for an investigation. The state had not allowed pot producers to apply for licenses in the previous six years, as the new Cannabis Control Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department prepared to assume oversight of cannabis licensing.
- VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's pandemic death roll rose by 20 on Friday, the largest reported single-day increase in months. The state on Friday also reported 885 additional confirmed cases, the largest one-day increase in a week and substantially higher than the recent daily average. The state's pandemic totals increased to nearly 240,000 cases and just over 4,600 deaths. The last time the state's daily report on additional deaths was larger was in May when the total jumped by 114 after an audit. Before that, the state hadn't reported a daily increase of 20 or more since February.
- BURGLARY-DWELLING OR NOT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico appellate court has ruled that just because a house under construction isn't finished and lacks key features doesn't mean it's not a dwelling under the state's residential burglary law. The Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld Albert Dell Shelby's conviction for residential burglary of a home that had a complete exterior but an incomplete interior. Shelby argued that the property didn't provide actual living quarters for its owner who often worked out of state. But the appeals court ruled that the home's unfinished state didn't determine its status and that there was sufficient evidence that it provided its owner with habitation "in a regular, yet intermittent, way."
- VIRUS OUTBREAK SCHOOL CLOSURES
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico school districts have more control this semester over if and when in-person education has to stop because of a virus outbreak. Schools no longer have to close down because of a threshold of positive cases set by state officials. Instead, they are on their own this month and working to release plans by next month documenting what they will do if there is a major outbreak. Instead of counting raw case numbers, schools are moving to keep track of the percentage of a school that is infected with the virus. The plans will include scenarios for schools that hit 5% infection rates.
- HOPI PRIMARY ELECTION
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The race for Hopi chairman will be a rematch of the 2017 general election. Tribal council member David Norton Talayumptewa was the top vote-getter in Thursday's primary with 298 votes, followed by current Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma with 291 votes. The two will face off in the Nov. 11 general election. Nuvangyaoma beat Talayumptewa in the chairman's race in 2017. Unofficial results from Thursday's primary show turnout was low with 945 votes cast. The ballot didn't feature the candidates for vice chairman because only two are running, meaning they automatically moved on to the general election.
- REDISTRICTING-NATIVE AMERICANS
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Native American communities across New Mexico are putting the finishing touches on proposed redistricting maps aimed at greater self-determination in future public elections. Participants in a redistricting commission for New Mexico's Indigenous pueblo communities said Friday that map proposals may be finalized as soon as next week. The maps will be submitted to a seven-member Citizen Redistricting Commission that is reviewing and vetting redistricting maps for the Legislature, which can adopt recommendations or start from scratch. The state is home to 23 federally recognized tribes with growing political clout on the state and national level.
- TEEN ARRESTED-SHOOTING
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in Las Cruces last weekend. Las Cruces police said Friday the boy was arrested based on a tip investigators received when they released surveillance camera photos of a car. Authorities believe the boy is responsible for the Sunday morning shooting of Matthew Portillo. Police did not release the teen's name because he is a juvenile. He faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence.