A Public Service of Santa Fe Community College
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jan. 12 First News: Some Tribes At Loggerheads With State Over Gambling Compacts (Listen)

Tribes in New Mexico say revenue from their casinos has been crucial in developing scholarship programs and boosting graduation rates. The New Mexican reports that several Indian pueblos in the state are funneling more gambling funds each year into college scholarships. Leaders of the Pojoaque Pueblo, which operates two casinos, say their scholarship program is why the tribe's graduation rate is currently 85 percent, compared to 50 percent a decade ago. They say the one-and-a-half million dollars it sets aside for college scholarships each year all comes from gaming. However, gambling enterprises have been a source of contention between Pojoaque and some other tribes and the state. The Pojoaque Pueblo and Governor Susana Martinez's administration have failed to agree on a new gambling compact to replace one set to expire this year. Pojoaque Governor George Rivera contends New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has not negotiated in good faith, and the Pueblo has appealed directly to the federal government. Governor Rivera: *****011215-Rivera-1 :28***** Rivera says that the Gaming monies from the Pueblo funds a wide range of community needs that Rivera says aren’t currently served by the state, including schools and law enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Energy is contesting more than 54 million dollars in fines, the largest penalty levied by New Mexico for numerous violations that resulted in the indefinite closure of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository. The Energy Department and the contractors paid to operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and Los Alamos National Laboratory said Friday that they want a hearing on the matter. Energy officials are also asking for the penalties to be reduced or forgiven. The New Mexico Environment Department says discussions of a settlement are ongoing. The state alleges more than 30 violations occurred at both facilities. On February fifth, a truck hauling salt at WIPP caught fire. Nine days later, a canister of waste from Los Alamos leaked, forcing the facility's indefinite closure.

A former Santa Fe hospital executive accused of embezzling three-million dollars has avoided jail time. The New Mexican reports that 60-year-old Richard Crabtree was ordered Friday to pay 250-thousand dollars’ restitution and serve five years' probation under a plea agreement. The former chief operating officer at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and his then-girlfriend, Loretta Mares, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud over 20-thousand dollars, and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Prosecutors say the pair defrauded the hospital in 2007 and 2008 through payments to companies owned by Mares' brothers. They say the funds went to the couple's bank accounts and paid for credit card bills, country club memberships and other expenses. Crabtree's attorney, B.J. Crow, says his client feels the deal is fair.

A northern New Mexico ranch where novelist D.H. Lawrence once sought spiritual renewal is working to reshape itself. The Albuquerque Journal reports that Taos groups like the D.H. Lawrence Ranch Alliance, Friends of D.H. Lawrence and elements within University of New Mexico are helping to raise funds for the ranch. The ranch was closed to visitors from 2008 until 2014 but reopened last summer. The property has languished due to a lack of funds for upkeep, an unreliable water supply and its isolated location. According to preservation advocates, Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, made summer visits in 1924 and 1925. Even after Lawrence's 1930 death, the ranch still hosted many famous visitors like author Willa Cather and artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Frieda Lawrence, who died in 1956, left the property to UNM.

New Mexico has some of the cheapest gasoline in the country. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg says the lowest price in the nation is in Albuquerque at $1.76 a gallon. The highest-priced gas in the Lower 48 states was found in San Francisco, at $2.66 a gallon

Santa Fe Weather: Cloudy today through tomorrow with scattered snow showers. Forecasters say there’s a 50-percent chance for precipitation today and tonight… it’ll rise to 70-percent tomorrow. High temperatures today and tomorrow will be in the upper 30s, tonight’s low will dip down to 27.