Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The Rotary Clun of Silver City is seeking scholarship applications from high school seniors in Grant County. Rotary College Scholarship awards are based primarily on academic and scholarly achievements, and are not awarded solely on the basis of financial need. To apply for a Rotary college scholarship, visit the Rotary Club website and click on the link for the scholarship application. The deadline for all scholarship applications and supporting documents is March 20th.
A 32 year old Deming man was arrested Friday morning after ramming his vehicle into a patrol unit while trying to escape from authorities. A Deming Police officer attempted to pull him over for an expired license plate, and the man led the officer in a pursuit, struck a parked car, collided head on with the police unit, and then, while attempting to flee a second time, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a residence. The man is now charged with aggravated battery on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing from a peace officer, unlawful use of a license, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property over $1,000.
In legislative action:
The House passed legislation that will toughen penalties for possessing child pornography by a unanimous 64-0 vote. The legislation would make it clear that every image in possession is an additional count of child pornography, meaning an offender will be charged with one count for every image. By clarifying the law, there will be greater accountability and justice to the offenders.
The House also passed legislation banning late-term abortion after five months. A separate bill that will require minors to notify a parent or guardian 48 before getting an abortion also passed. Both pieces of legislation included exceptions in cases of rape, incest, sexual abuse, and when the woman’s life is in danger. In either case, if a physician performs an abortion that is not an exception, the doctor faces a civil penalty of at least $5,000 and could lose their license for at least a year.
A bill that would keep New Mexico on Mountain Daylight Saving time year round, or essentially, put the state in the Central Time Zone, has passed the Senate Public Affairs Committee and will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary committee. The lawmaker behind the bill stated that changing our physical and biological clocks twice a year no longer makes sense. The federal government allows states to exempt themselves from changing their clocks. The only two states currently that do not change during Daylight Savings are Arizona and Hawaii.
