Shoppers throughout New Mexico can save this weekend on back-to-school purchases as the state conducts its annual tax holiday. The tax-free weekend, which is now in its 11th year, will start on Friday at midnight and end on midnight Sunday. The holiday offers consumers a break from gross-receipts tax on school-related items. In Santa Fe County, shoppers will save about eight-dollars of every 100-dollars spent on qualifying items, which include clothing, shoes, computers and classroom supplies. According to state estimates, the tax holiday saved New Mexicans nearly three-and-a-half million last fiscal year..
A defense witness in a case against two New Mexico officers charged with murder in the death of a homeless man testified Thursday that police used the right tactics and followed standard training during the standoff. Policing expert Ronald McCarthy based his testimony in part on his viewing of video taken by a nearby resident who saw the March 2014 encounter with James Boyd in the Albuquerque foothills. Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy face second-degree murder and other counts. A judge previously dismissed involuntary manslaughter counts. Defense attorneys say they acted in self-defense when Boyd threatened officers with knives. Special prosecutors rested their case Wednesday at the hearing to decide if the defendants will stand trial.
The Navajo Nation's longest-serving judge has been designated to oversee the tribe's Judicial Branch. A Navajo Nation Council committee named Allen Sloan as acting chief justice this week using broad authority under the tribal code. The code doesn't address a vacancy in the chief justice's position. The Law and Order Committee says the designation will ensure justice is administered on the Navajo Nation.Herb Yazzie retired earlier this year and tapped Eleanor Shirley as the acting chief justice. Lawmakers say the law didn't allow for that. Sloan has been a Navajo Nation district judge for 26 years, most recently in the Tuba City district. He previously was in private practice.
New Mexico Highland University has been partnering with Santa Fe Community College for nearly 20-years now, and the relationship between the two schools is getting stronger. ThomasiniaOrtiz-Gallegos is the director of Highlands’ Santa Fe Center.
***** Audio Report*****
Registration at Highlands’ Santa Fe center continues through the end of this month
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with the high, 84 and a 20-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low 62, and continued threat of showers and thunderstorms. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with the high 80 and a 30-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms.