State

Panel Adds Time Frame To Aid-In-Dying Bill

January 29, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

By ANDREW OXFORD

aoxford@sfnewmexican.com

A legislative committee decided Monday that medical professionals would have to determine a patient has no more than six months to live before prescribing drugs that would help the patient end his or her own life.

By tweaking the bill to give it a time frame, lawmakers who support the measure hope to add New Mexico to a short list of states that permit medical assistance in dying.

Critics had raised concerns about exactly which patients would qualify under House Bill 90. It was originally written to allow medical aid in dying for patients

NWS: Today’s High Near 36, Tonight’s Low Around 17

January 29, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

The National Weather Service forecasts today’s high near 36 with partly sunny skies and tonight’s low around 17. Courtesy/NWS Read More

Carlsbad Credit Union Hit By Robber Wearing Mask With Elderly Man’s Face And Bushy Mustache

January 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

FBI News:

An armed man wearing a mask with an elderly man’s face and a bushy white mustache robbed a Carlsbad credit union on Friday night, January 11, 2019.

The suspect, described as approximately 5’11” to 6’0 tall, also wore a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark gloves and baggy khaki pants that were tucked into the tops of brown boots.

At approximately 5 p.m., the suspect entered U-1st Community Federal Credit Union, 601 North Canal Street and displayed a handgun. He demanded money from a teller, who handed over an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect was last seen in a blue Chevrolet Read More

Sen. Mimi Stewart Appointed To National Conference Of State Legislatures National Education Committee

January 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Majority Whip Mimi Stewart

STATE News:

Sen. Mimi Stewart has been appointed to serve as a national vice-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Education Committee.

The Committee is one of 10 national committees that deal with both state and state-federal issues. The jurisdictions of the standing committees are similar to those of committees in state legislatures.

“NCSL has benefitted from Sen. Stewart’s expertise over her more than 20 years as a legislator,” NCSL’s executive director Bill Pound said. “Sen. Stewart’s participation will continue Read More

Scenes From Regional Coalition Retreat Saturday

January 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) held a retreat Saturday at the Espanola City Hall. More than 20 members of its regional communities and elected officials gathered together to review the organization’s mission and plan for next steps. Santa Fe County Manager Katherine Miller presents proposed language changes to the Joint Powers Agreement that governs the RCLC. Courtesy photo

Scene from the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) retreat Saturday at the Espanola City Hall. Courtesy photo

Scene from the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities

Rep. Lente’s Bill To Improve Native American Student Success Passes House For Third Consecutive Year

January 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

NMDP News:

SANTA FE ― Rep. Derrick Lente’s (D-Sandia Pueblo) bill that would improve Native American student success passed the House Wednesday with unanimous support.

HB 250 requires a needs assessment to determine the services public school districts must provide Native American students to close the opportunity gap and improve graduation rates and college preparedness.

“With the recent decision on the Yazzie/Martinez cases, New Mexico is in dire need for bold, smart investments in our public schools and most vulnerable students. This bill will prioritize

‘Tesla Bill’ Offers NM Motorists New Choice

January 27, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino

By Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino

Sponsor of Senate Bill 243

The sale and service of vehicles is not a very exciting topic but it is an important one.

Many motorists have bought a car from a dealership. There are more than 110 new-car dealerships in New Mexico that employ some 7,000 people. Some dealerships have occupied the corners of your towns for decades, and while there has been a consolidation in car dealerships resulting in out-of-state ownerships, many will continue to thrive for decades to come.

I have introduced Senate Bill 243, Motor Vehicle

New Mexico Leads World In Space Tourism

January 27, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Spaceport America is an FAA-licensed spaceport on 18,000 acres of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin in southern New Mexico directly west and adjacent to White Sands Missile Range. Courtesy photo

NMT News:

SANTA FE ― The future is now. For nearly a decade New Mexico has partnered with Virgin Galactic to take tourism out of this world to new heights.

During a recent interview on “CBS This Morning,” Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group said 2019 is the golden year.

“I will hope to go up in the middle of this year myself,” Branson said.

Launch Pad Lecture: ‘Big Bang And Its Afterglow’

January 27, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

NMSM News:

ALAMOGORDO, ― Imagine running a movie backwards and watching an explosion reassemble itself into one tiny package. That’s just the starting point for figuring out what happened in the first years — and trillionths of a second — of the universe.

Join Museum Education Director Dave Dooling for the monthly free Launch Pad Lecture, Friday, Feb. 1 on the first floor of the museum. He will give you a peek at the Big Bang, its tell-tale afterglow, the unusual physics that went on, and why we had to clean up after the pigeons to be sure of it all.

The Launch

Air Force Selects Prime Contractor For NTS-3

January 27, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

KAFB News:

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASEM ― The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Space and Missile Systems Center has selected Harris Corporation as the prime contractor to build Navigation Technology Satellite-3, the next-generation experimental Position, Navigation and Timing spacecraft.

The satellite, called NTS-3, is expected to launch in 2022.

As a unique testbed in geosynchronous orbit, NTS-3 will integrate several advanced technologies to demonstrate resiliency and new concepts of operation to include experimental antennas, flexible and secure signals,