Former Obama Adminstration darling Bill Richardson
- The Santa Fe Reporter
- with a big scoop on the federal investigation into Gov. Bill Richardson
- . ---
- As recently as June 2012, the DOJ was investigating the role Hilary Tompkins, Richardson’s former general counsel, played in creating an October 2007 settlement agreement between the former Democratic governor and a state employee, according to documents obtained by SFR through a public-records request to Gov. Susana Martinez’ office.
- A lawyer for Richardson says the investigation is over and no charges were filed. But, SFR writes, this makes it more difficult to figure out the details of the settlement.
- The
- battle over the mental health audit continues
- , as State Auditor Hector Balderas still wants to see it, but the governor's office isn't passing it along despite a subpoena. And the strange bedfellow of the governor? The office of Attorney General Gary King.
- A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office said they are working on getting the audit sealed through a court order before turning it over to the State Auditor because they are conducting an investigation.
- The audit allegedly found overpayment with over a dozen mental health providers which resulted in a suspension of funding for those providers.
- And another case of potential lost federal funds. This time, about $8 million
- federal Housing and Urban Development money for low-income housing
- .
- “HUD has enjoyed a very good working and professional relationship with DFA/LGD staff and management during the past 15 years,” Frank Padilla, HUD’s state Community Planning and Development director, wrote to DFA on July 8. “Only recently with the change in management has HUD encountered issues with non-compliance with inquiries and requests made by the department.”
- Gov. Susana Martinez
- will attend a meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Aspen, CO
- .
- Longtime legislator Lucky Varela
- wants an across-the-board one percent salary increase for state workers
- . However, the governor's office does not.
- However, a spokesman for the governor says across-the-board pay increases are highly unlikely, although the administration is looking at possible “targeted raises” for those working in the public safety area.
- A District Court Judge
- ruled against the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division
- , saying more public comment is needed in the Mount Taylor uranium mine permit process.
- Economic conditions
- are improving in Albuquerque
- according to a panel of business people.
- The Daily Drought and Fire Digest:
- Taos County
- voted to amend an ordinance related to water
- .
- The changes adopted this week will give the committee additional resources, such as administrative support, and the creation a library of past water transfers, hydrological data and geologic studies.
The committee’s scope was also expanded to include advising the planning department on water-related issues. - The Brigadier General in charge of Cannon Air Force Base
- will be headed to Florida
- .
- The federal climate plan
- won't affect the Four Corners Power Plant
- , Capitol Report New Mexico reports.
- Media News:
- Albuquerque Business First
- talks about the Raton Range's struggle
- and how it is typical of rural newspapers.
- M.E. Sprengelmeyer, the publisher of the Guadalupe County Communicator in Santa Rosa, told Albuquerque Business First Monday that if the paper doesn’t resume publication soon, it could lose its right to publish lucrative legal ads in the county.
“If they lose that, that’s the point of no return,” Sprengelmeyer said. - An Albuquerque Police Department officer
- was fired for their ties to a blog
- that is critical of police leadership and the mayor,
- Eye on Albuquerque
- .
- D'Amato says Roberto severed all ties with the blog two years ago and told APD who the people behind the site were. He says she never wrote anything disparaging for the blog. Even so, D'Amato says Roberto's work computer was taken to see if she was working on "Eye On Albuquerque" on the clock and she was fired for "being untruthful" and violating APD's social media policy.
- Thom Cole continues to look at
- the issue of combating influence on judges through campaign contributions
- .
- Los Alamos National Labs
- showed an underground vault that used to be a closely guarded secret
- .
- Los Alamos National Laboratory says the top-secret facility known as the “tunnel vault” has been declassified and is being shown on lab tours for the news media and for families of laboratory workers. The tours are part of the lab’s celebration of its 70th anniversary.
The facility, which served as the nation’s original post-World War II nuclear stockpile storage area, was built in 1948 and 1949 in a remote canyon at the weapons laboratory’s Technical Area 41. With a security perimeter that includes a hardened guard tower — complete with gun ports and bulletproof glass — it includes a series of gates and doors that lead to a 230-foot-long concrete tunnel into the canyon wall. - The state Democratic Party
- wants voters to vote against ending reducing a higher education tax in Rio Rancho
- .
- The city of Farmington
- is looking at road improvements
- in the downtown area.
- Santa Fe financial officials
- don't like that Moody's is considering downgrading the city's bond rating
- and are asking the bond rating company to reconsider.
- A former public notary
- plead guilty to drivers license fraud
- .
- The gold bar
- won't be part of the state auction of seized items
- .
- Curanderos
- practiced their craft at UNM on Tuesday
- .
- These types of treatments are harder to find these days. In the U.S., the work of curanderos is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
The ritualistic healers, who use herbs, prayers and chants to heal and cleanse, came to UNM to share their work. - Thanks to new equipment,
- the whole enchilada will return to Las Cruces
- .
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- has spent over $1 billion on lobbying since 1998
- .
