Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The Deming Police Department recently received a rare re-accreditation for New Mexico municipal law enforcement agencies. The department was assessed on a minimum of 218 standards and over 800 requirements that had to be met. A few corrections were made by the New Mexico League of Municipalities. The accreditation will reflect on the department’s insurance coverage by lowering the liability insurance for the department.
The New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity is used to having its proceeds filmed by Community Access Television of Silver City. However, at the meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, in addition to the behind the scenes filming, a fellow from the Discovery Channel was also videoing the meeting. After the session, he said they were also interviewing people on all sides of the issue.
During a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing, U. S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) addressed the long-term drought challenges New Mexico faces, and called for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of water management across the state. He suggested that locally driven and science-based solutions are key to tackling the impacts of drought and ensuring our communities have access to clean water. The committee considered legislation Senator Heinrich is cosponsoring, the New Mexico Drought Preparedness Act of 2015, which was introduced by U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.).
Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall hosted U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairwoman Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Acting Director of the Office of Technology Transitions Jetta Wong at Sandia National Lab for a roundtable discussion about improving technology transfer and creating jobs. Sandia and Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) officials joined several local businesses that were created based on technology developed at the labs to discuss ways to expand tech transfer and build New Mexico’s economy. Udall is leading the push to expand DOE’s capacity for tech transfer and plans to reintroduce legislation this fall that will incorporate suggestions made by the participants in the roundtable.
Today, Governor Susana Martinez will announce plans to bring highspeed Internet access to every school in New Mexico. Currently, more than 30 percent of New Mexico’s schools do not have access to high-speed Internet.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez says any GOP-sponsored bill aimed at repealing New Mexico’s immigrant driver’s license law won’t make it to the Senate floor next session. Again. One of state’s most powerful Democratic legislators told The Associated Press on Tuesday that even if it did, there wouldn’t be enough votes to pass the proposal supported by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
