It's Wednesday, May 2, 2018 .
AG frustrated by UNM
New Mexico’s attorney general penned a recent letter to the University of New Mexico’s new president and board of regents, urging them to be more transparent. AG Hector Balderas’ office is investigating spending by the Athletic Department as well as civil rights issues and treatment of those who report sexual misconduct. Balderas said he’s been stonewalled by UNM staff on key issues. He and UNM President Garnett Stokes have a meeting set for Monday .
May Day
SFR was along for the walk as 150 people marched from Franklin Miles Park in Santa Fe to the San Isidro church in the Agua Fría community. They were celebrating International Workers Day, which grew out of the movement that brought us what is supposed to be an 8-hour work day. Santa Fe's rally focused on wage theft and immigration issues.
Attorney/Salesman
Damon Martinez, current star of The Apprentice redux campaign commercials in his race for the 1st Congressional District seat, appears to have been willing to play both prosecutor and salesman as his tenure as US Attorney wound down. Jeff Proctor reports for SFR and New Mexico in Depth that Martinez told the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he'd be willing to try to sell the ATF's "worst of the worst" traveling indictment show to a federal prosecutor in another town. It would have been quite the sales job, as Albuquerque's crime rates are still high, the arrests don't appear to have scooped up the worst criminals and instead seem to have been far more likely to scoop up black people than New Mexico's demographics suggest should have been.
Dope discretion
Santa Fe police are charging fewer people with possessing an ounce or less of marijuana. Under city ordinance, that's supposed to be their lowest priority and punishable with a fine instead of a criminal charge. But state law says differently and police are allowed to charge as they choose. SFR's review showed just five charges in the past four months. It also highlighted how the difference between a ticket and a criminal charge can ripple outward for years.
Ferguson follow
It wasn't a guilt-ridden Thomas Ferguson who killed himself as he prepared to face charges of torturing and killing his girlfriend's 13-year-old son. Jeremiah Valencia's accused killer maintained his innocence in a suicide note, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. Ferguson was set to be transferred to prison for violating probation on another violent charge when he killed himself over the weekend.
Sheriff takes immigration cases to feds
Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique Vigil says his office doesn't enforce immigration policies. But KTSM-TV down in El Paso decided to check the sheriff's claim. It discovered the sheriff worked closely with the feds during an immigration crackdown and that Vigil's office referred 518 cases to them over the course of a year. The sheriff had no comment.
They can do that?
Homeowners associations have a lot of surprising power in New Mexico. The state's laws provide guidelines for HOAs to organize, but are often silent when it comes to reining them in. KOB found a woman whose homeowners association took down her fence and trees, despite an email giving her permission to put up the fence and plant the greenery. The HOA claimed it was a fake.
A chance
It's cloudy today, which means we should probably talk about the weather. There's a chance, however slight, that we could see some rain across the western and northern parts of the state. Temperatures will stay moderate, bordering on pleasantly cool.
Thanks for reading! The Word wants it to pour just as much as you do—unless you're painting and/or stuccoing your home. Then we feel you.
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