By LEAH ROMERO Public school students in New Mexico experienced the highest increase in chronic absenteeism between 2019 and 2023 in the country, according to a recent Legislative Finance Committee report. State lawmakers were clued in on student attendance this week by LFC analysts and New Mexico Public Education Department representatives. The major takeaway: New Mexico […]
Westside Albuquerque
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Westside Albuquerque
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on rapid-fire rifle bump stocks, reopening political fight
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in a ruling that threw firearms back into the nation’s political spotlight. The high court’s conservative majority found that the Trump administration overstepped when it changed course from predecessors and banned bump […]
Posted inHousing & Homelessness, Pueblos, Uncategorized, Westside Albuquerque
Lawsuit: Estancia Officer With Troubling Record ‘Forced’ Man Through Barbed Wire Fence with Police Vehicle
A Torrance County man is suing the Town of Estancia and former Estancia Police Officer Milton Torrez, alleging he was severely injured by Torrez’s police vehicle when he was “forced” through a barbed wire fence and thrown 30 feet into the air. The lawsuit states that on March 23, 2022, Torrez was investigating a potential […]
Posted inHousing & Homelessness, Pueblos, Uncategorized, Westside Albuquerque
Lawsuit: Estancia Officer With Troubling Record ‘Forced’ Man Through Barbed Wire Fence with Police Vehicle
A Torrance County man is suing the Town of Estancia and former Estancia Police Officer Milton Torrez, alleging he was severely injured by Torrez’s police vehicle when he was “forced” through a barbed wire fence and thrown 30 feet into the air. The lawsuit states that on March 23, 2022, Torrez was investigating a potential […]
Posted inJobs, Workers & Economy, Westside Albuquerque
Sandoval County Sees Big Economic Growth
The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) released its quarterly report for the state’s 33 counties this week, highlighting significant growth in Sandoval County. The data for the report is based on matched taxable gross receipts (MTGR). The good news for Sandoval County? The county’s gross receipts tax increased by $42.2 million from the first […]
Posted inWestside Albuquerque
River Rescue Team Patrols Rio Grande
With the weather warming and heavy rains falling, the Rio Grande is a popular destination for swimmers, kayakers and boaters. The Rio Grande Basin Heavy Technical Rescue Team is conducting weekend patrols on the Rio Grande between Algodones, Bernalillo and down to Alameda Boulevard. The patrols allow for quick response for water rescues, especially after […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, Westside Albuquerque
Report says ‘poor maintenance’ led to deadly 2022 crash of firefighting helicopter in New Mexico
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN A loss of engine power due to poor maintenance caused a 2022 helicopter crash in New Mexico that claimed the lives of four Bernalillo County first responders as they were returning home from a firefighting mission, according to federal investigators. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board issued a final report Wednesday. They […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Westside Albuquerque
Unanimous Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication
By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, Westside Albuquerque
Arizona man sold firearms to undercover FBI agent for mass shooting, indictment says
PHOENIX (AP) — A firearms dealer in Arizona sold weapons to an undercover federal agent he believed would help him carry out his plan for a mass shooting targeting minorities, an attack that he hoped would “incite a race war,” according to a federal grand jury indictment. Mark Adams Prieto was indicted Tuesday by the grand […]
Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, Westside Albuquerque
Santa Ana Pueblo is on a preservation mission as it celebrates trust status for ancestral lands
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — When the sprawling Alamo Ranch first went up for sale nearly a decade ago, it was advertised as a working cattle ranch with incredible wildlife habitat and superb potential for development and recreation not far from New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area. For Santa Ana Pueblo, […]