Small New Mexico school districts with large Native American populations have some of the lowest percentages of students testing proficient or better on new standardized tests. A review of state data by The Associated Press found that Dulce Independent Schools, which serves students from the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, had no students score proficient of better in fourth-grade reading or in fourth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade math. Meanwhile, Jemez Valley Public Schools had no fifth-graders test proficient or better in reading or math. Around a quarter of New Mexico students in grades three-to-eight met proficiency or better benchmarks for reading and writing on standardized tests given last year to measure rigorous Common Core standards. Less than 10- percent of the state's 8th graders met expectations or better in math.
In Washington, New Mexico’s two U-S Senators are among several of their colleagues from western states introducing a proposal to reform the nation’s hard-rock mining laws. Democrats Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich say the time for such reform is now. Senator Heinrich: *****110515-Heinrich-1 :33***** Heinrich says the mining law dates back to 1872 and allows companies to take mined minerals from public land without paying any royalties. The proposal would impose a common-sense royalty — similar to that paid by oil and gas and coal companies for decades — to help pay for abandoned mine cleanup and prevent future disasters.
Meanwhile, the investigation into last summer’s toxic spill from the Gold King Mine is expanding. The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general will now probe questions about whether the agency was following its own rules when it triggered the blowout. The inspector general's office says that it will add more than a dozen lines of inquiry, some requested by Congress and others raised by a review of the spill by the Interior Department. An EPA-led contractor inadvertently released three-million gallons of wastewater tainted with heavy metals from the mine near Silverton on August fifth during cleanup operations. Rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah were contaminated. The inspector general will also look into what kind of legal protection EPA gave the contractor and whether that affected the way the work was done.
A federal audit questions how the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council spent part of a nearly six-million dollar federal grant for the construction of a drug and alcohol treatment center in Taos. The New Mexican reports that an audit made public Wednesday identifies more than 626-thousand dollars’ in matching funds as a questionable expense. Most of that is attributed to a half-million dollar parcel of land, but auditors question whether the parcel was accurately valued and if it's a proper use of matching funds. In an October letter to the government, council Executive Director Gil Vigil said there was no guidance on how to assess land value and that native culture doesn't place monetary value on land. Auditors say more than 20-grand was also used to buy items after the grant end date.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry says he'll push for measures in the next legislative session that would reform the state's bail bond system, create a new "three strikes" law for violent repeat offenders, and add attacks against police to the state's hate crimes law. Mayor Richard Berry held a news conference Thursday to outline his proposals for the next legislative session in January. Berry has repeatedly criticized the state's justice system, suggesting a law that bars judges from denying bail to high-risk defendants and lax sentencing laws have allowed violent repeat offenders to remain on the streets. His comments follow the shooting deaths of a four-year-old girl who was killed during a road-rage dispute, and an officer fatally wounded during a traffic stop. In both cases, the suspects have lengthy prior criminal records.
The first skull ever to be discovered of a baby plant-eating dinosaur that lived some 70 million years ago is being unveiled by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The rare Pentaceratops fossil was airlifted out of a remote desert wilderness in northern New Mexico last week by National Guard Blackhawk helicopters and then trucked to the museum along with the skull of an adult Pentaceratops. The discovery was made in 2011 in the Bisti Wilderness by museum staff. A few years of planning, permitting and excavation followed. A crew of staff and volunteers had to pack in tons of tools and materials since the find was made within a federally protected wilderness area.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny after patchy morning fog, today’s high, 46. Tonight: Mostly clear with the overnight low dipping to 28. Tomorrow: Sunny skies with the high, 46.