State energy officials say the solar industry's workforce is growing in New Mexico. The state Energy Conservation and Management Division teamed up with the nonprofit Solar Foundation to develop the solar jobs census for 2015. They found just shy of 300-jobs were added to the solar workforce last year. As of November, about two-thousand workers were employed by the industry and solar companies said they expected to hire another 234 workers this year. State Energy Secretary Dave Martin says job growth in the solar workforce is a signal that the state is diversifying its economy and its energy supply.
New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission has denied a motion that would prevent the state’s largest utility from making its customers cover the costs of a nuclear power unit it recently purchased. The New Mexican reports that the PRC’s hearing officer ruled against the motion Tuesday. Renewable energy nonprofit New Energy Economy had accused the Public Service Company of New Mexico of trying to "sneak in" the purchase without PRC approval. PNM bought 64 megawatts of nuclear power from a unit at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona. PNM sought approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but didn't ask for state PRC approval. Bernalillo County joined New Energy Economy in opposing the purchase. Their motion was filed as part of a case in which PNM is seeking a nearly 16-percent rate hike.
New Mexico corrections officers and their union leaders are concerned that a slate of legislative proposals for tougher criminal sentencing could aggravate safety problems at understaffed state prisons. Connie Derr speaks for a public employees' union overseeing about nine-thousand state corrections workers. She said Wednesday that more funding will be needed to recruit and pay for corrections officers if the Legislature approves tougher sentencing provisions backed by Republican Governor Susana Martinez. Corrections officers say they are working dangerously long hours to make up for vacant positions. The House of Representatives has approved increased spending of nearly six-million dollars on salaries for prison guards and supervisors next year at the New Mexico Corrections Department. Supporters of tougher sentencing provisions say that funding will address growth in the prison population.
A Republican lawmaker has asked the House to suspend action on a proposed constitutional amendment he’d introduced to allow judges to deny bail to defendants deemed a flight-risk and danger to the public. Representative David Adkins' proposal had been scheduled for a state House floor vote Wednesday. It countered a version first put forward by Senator Peter Wirth, a Santa Fe Democrat, which has garnered some bipartisan support and endorsements from criminal defense and district attorneys associations, and judges. Wirth proposes allowing judges to deny bail to certain defendants and grant pretrial release to those who aren't considered a danger but remain in jail because they can't afford bail. Adkins said addressing pretrial release for poor, nonviolent offenders could wait. Bail bondsmen backed his proposal, indicating Wirth's bill would undermine their business, and pose unforeseen financial and public safety costs.
The head of the New Mexico Environment Department is blasting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying federal officials are downplaying the long-term effects of the Gold King Mine spill. Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn on Wednesday told members of a state legislative committee that the agency plans to monitor water quality for one year to ensure it's safe for recreational use. Flynn said the agency instead needs to treat the incident as a human health issue. New Mexico announced last month it intends to sue the EPA, the state of Colorado and the owners of two Colorado mines over the August spill. The EPA claims a contractor accidentally unleashed more than three million gallons of contaminated water during a cleanup project. The EPA did not immediately respond to Flynn's criticisms.
A Republican lawmaker has asked the House to suspend action on a proposed constitutional amendment he drafted to allow judges to deny bail to defendants deemed a flight-risk and danger to the public. Representative David Adkins' proposal had been scheduled for a state House floor vote Wednesday. It countered a version first put forward by Senator Peter Wirth, a Santa Fe Democrat, that has garnered some bipartisan support and endorsements from criminal defense and district attorneys associations, and judges. Wirth proposes allowing judges to deny bail to certain defendants and grant pretrial release to those who aren't considered a danger but remain in jail because they can't afford bail. Adkins said addressing pretrial release for poor, nonviolent offenders could wait. Bail bondsmen backed his proposal, indicating Wirth's bill would undermine their business, and pose unforeseen financial and public safety costs.
New Mexico broadcasters and law enforcement agents are meeting to make sure Amber Alerts go out on time. Officials issued an Amber Alert Tuesday after police say an Albuquerque man took his 2-year-old daughter from her mother at gunpoint and fled to Colorado. Police located the man and his daughter that morning. KOAT-TV reports that people's phones clanged with an Amber Alert on Tuesday morning, but the state group in charge of the alerts says the system didn't work correctly as the system did not broadcast the message on TV or Radio. Typically state police call broadcasters who then relay the alert, but on Tuesday an email from police went unread for hours. New Mexico Broadcasters Association, state police, and Department of Homeland Security will meet Friday to assess the miscommunication.
Santa Fe Weather: Sunny, with a high near 59. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Friday: Sunny and slightly warmer, with the high near 61.