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July 8 First News: US Sen. Martin Heinrich Wants Federal Gov't to Use Less Energy

New Mexico is embarking on the final phase of an effort to modernize the state's election management and voter registration system, but officials say some changes won't be fully implemented until after the 2016 general election. The secretary of state's office briefed lawmakers on its progress during a meeting this week in Albuquerque. The agency already has updated the candidate filing system and streamlined the reporting of election results, but work has yet to start on revamping voter registration. The agency's technology chief, Kari Fresquez, says one of the goals is to make it easier for voters to access and update their information online, look up election dates, find polling places and read sample ballots. The Legislature has approved $1.4 million for the agency to finish the project.

An Albuquerque man who pleaded guilty to providing state driver's licenses to immigrants who were in the country illegally has been sentenced to three years of probation. 34-year-old Eduardo Chavez pleaded guilty to forgery and possession of an altered, forged or fictitious license and was sentenced Tuesday. Court documents state that Chavez was indicted on six charges in January. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested him in November 2014 on suspicion of selling false residency documents to immigrants, which were then used to obtain licenses. Since 2003, New Mexico has allowed foreign nationals to get driver's licenses in the state, regardless of immigration status, upon passing driving tests and proving residency. Chavez said Tuesday that people coming here illegally are doing so because they have to.

"Better Call Saul" is coming back for a second season. New Mexico Film Office Director Nick Maniatis announced Tuesday that AMC has renewed the "Breaking Bad" spinoff starring Bob Odenkirk and it again will be filmed in Albuquerque. Officials say "Better Call Saul," produced by Sony Pictures Television, will employ at least 75 New Mexico crewmembers. "Better Call Saul" follows Jimmy McGill, played by Odenkirk, who later changes his name to Saul Goodman and becomes an attorney for drug lords in "Breaking Bad." Odenkirk played the lawyer of Bryan Cranston's character, methamphetamine lord Walter White, in "Breaking Bad." That AMC series was also filmed in Albuquerque.

US Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico wants federal data centers to become more energy-efficient. Heinrich teamed up with Jim Risch of Idaho, a Republican colleague from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in introducing a measure Tuesday that aims to save taxpayer dollars and shrink the federal government’s carbon footprint. The Energy Efficient Government Technology Act would require the federal government to come up with strategies to reduce energy consumption at data centers. According to a release from Heinrich’s office, these data centers consume more than six billion kilowatt-hours of energy every year. That’s about what it would take to power 530,000 households, and costs taxpayers over 600 million dollars annually.

Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales will host his first Twitter Town Hall tomorrow, July 8th, between 2:30 and 3:30 PM. Use the hashtag #TwitterTownHall to tweet your questions, and he’ll reply to as many as time allows using the same hashtag. Mayor Gonzales looks forward to questions about his goals for Santa Fe, and how things work at City Hall, as well as suggestions for how he and his staff can better serve Santa Feans.

Community groups will hold a Town Hall meeting in Albuquerque to organize opposition to Governor Susana Martinez’s plan to reduce food assistance to certain demographics. The meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday July 8th, from 6-8 PM at the South Broadway Cultural Center. On May 29th, the Governor’s office released a proposed regulation to require work activities as a condition for parents, teenagers, and adults over 50 to receive SNAP benefits. These changes would create the most austere regulations allowed by law. The “Fight the Hunger, Not the Hungry” Town Hall Meeting is planned as an opportunity for those who cannot attend a Human Services Department hearing on July 17th to share their concerns. Comments will be collected at the town hall and then submitted to the Human Services Department.

In National News…

A Navajo Nation utility has been fined $25,000 for discharging more pollutants into a waterway than its permit allowed. The fine was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its counterpart on the Navajo Nation. Under settlements with the agencies, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority must bring its Window Rock treatment plant into full compliance by the end of the year. The utility also agreed to build new infrastructure for the treatment plant. The EPA says an inspection revealed that the tribal utility had been sending too many pollutants into the Black Creek, a tributary of the Puerco River, since at least 2011. The tribe's Water Quality program brought an enforcement action. The treatment plant serves more than 13,000 people in Apache County on the reservation.

House Republicans are proposing that some wildfires be treated like federal disasters, an attempt to win broader support for legislation that targets overgrown national forest lands. The bill set to be considered by the House on Thursday would speed up timbering projects to improve the health of forests. The disaster language would allow federal agencies to tap into a disaster fund if they run out of money allocated for fighting fires. The Obama administration has also proposed tapping disaster money for certain wildfires. Currently, agencies have to divert funds from other programs if the firefighting money is exhausted. But that practice delays the very efforts designed to prevent fires, such as thinning dead trees. The administration calls the House bill a step forward, but says it doesn't go far enough.

And the weather in Santa Fe: Today, Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Tonight and tomorrow, the chance of thunderstorms at 50%, with an overnight low of 55.

Taking a look at the rest of the week: the chance of thunderstorms remains high through Friday evening, dropping to 30% on Saturday and tapering over the weekend. Expect daytime highs in the high 70s to low 80s.