Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
New Mexico State University’s Career Services invites potential employers to attend its 11th annual Career Connections Fair on Feb. 2-3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the third floor ballrooms of the Corbett Center Student Union. The event is open to any employers interested in connecting with the NMSU community and able to offer job opportunities such as internships, co-ops and professional employment. Employers can register to attend the fair at http://careerservices.nmsu.edu/ by clicking the Employer tab under the AggieCareer Manager button.
Last Friday, Governor Susana Martinez recognized the 2015 New Mexico True Heroes, four New Mexicans who through compassion, dedication, and kindness have gone above and beyond in making their communities a better place. The heroes include Julie Benner, the wife of Rio Rancho Police Officer Gregg “Nigel” Benner. Since her husband’s death, Julia has dedicated herself to keeping violent criminals off the street and behind bars where they belong. Stephen Carter of Ruidoso was recognized for providing environmentally focused service opportunities and carreer training to at-risk and underserved youth in Lincoln County. Jenna Allen of Grants donating a kidney to save the life of a four-year-old girl she had never met, and works to provide families in her community with much-needed clothing and baby supplies; and Rio Rancho Police Officer Christ Beck brought the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program to his community, and has taught more than 450 students. Beck also leads the Students Achieving for Excellence, SAFE, before and after school program with more than 500 students.
In the wake of the guilty plea of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran to embezzling campaign contributions and intensive media coverage of discrepancies in legislators’ and lobbyists’ campaign finance reports, Common Cause New Mexico is calling upon the legislature to fix the campaign reporting system and create an independent ethics commission to prevent further scandals.
Just days after another mass shooting, the controversial topic of gun laws is back at the forefront of conversation. According to the ATF’s National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and 2013 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, New Mexico is one of the most heavily-armed states in the country.
The New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) and New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) have launched new online portals that will act as “one-stop shops” to help people find and navigate the behavioral health-related and veterans services available to them.
