Positive Progress Made On Pino Fire
SFNF News:
The Pino Fire, which began as a lightning strike on the Jemez Ranger District is now at 83 acres.
Firing operations were conducted on the southeast and east flanks of the fire Thursday. The consumption of fuels was thorough and favorable. Some smoke lingered over the area due to diminished winds.
The fire is being managed for resource benefit. The fire is allowed to burn naturally and selectively with site specific hand ignitions to manage the rate and direction of fire spread. Managed fires are only allowed within certain specific parameters and conditions allowing Read More
Several Festivals Labor Day Weekend in Taos
TAOS News:
Recognized as the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day weekend is being celebrated in Taos and Taos Ski Valley with several festivals Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, including The High Mountain Hideout, Labor Day Arts and Crafts Festival and TAO Studio Tour.
More than 30 regional and local acts will bring a variety of music to Taos Ski Valley Friday, Aug. 29 through Sunday, Aug. 31 with The High Mountain Hideout, presented by Glad Castle. The festival features three full days of music, food, local art, camping along the high alpine setting of the Kachina Basin, art installations, yoga, mountain biking, Read More
Former Los Alamos National Laboratory Worker Sentenced for Violating Atomic Energy Act Violations
Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni and Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni. Courtesy photo
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE—The Justice Department today announced that a former contract employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was sentenced this morning for conspiring to violate the Atomic Energy Act by communicating classified nuclear weapons data to a person believed to be a Venezuelan government official, and making false statements to the FBI.
Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, 71, of Los Alamos was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson to a year and a day in federal prison followed by three
Governor Directs NMDOT To Initiate Suicide Prevention Measures At Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos. Courtesy/wikipedia.com
STATE News:
Santa Fe – Gov. Susana Martinez has directed the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to initiate suicide prevention measures at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge 10 miles northwest of Taos.
The NMDOT is designing a plan to install 10 telephones at or on the bridge to be answered by the New Mexico Crisis Access Hotline. The design should be done by the end of August and will then be submitted out to bid for approximately 30 days, with construction to begin as soon as possible.
“Installing crisis prevention phones Read More
Energy Department Invests $67 Million to Advance Nuclear Technology
DOE News:
WASHINGTON – Building on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and the Administration’s efforts to expand clean energy innovation, the Energy Department announced today nearly $67 million in nuclear energy research and infrastructure enhancement awards.
Eighty-three projects were selected from across the country based on their potential to create scientific breakthroughs that both help strengthen the nation’s energy security and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Department’s support for cutting-edge nuclear science and engineering across our universities, Read More
WIPP Modifies Underground Entry Requirements
WIPP News:
Entries into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground facility are becoming more frequent, a sign that recovery efforts are progressing.
Recently, radiological control personnel began conducting the surveys and sampling necessary to reclassify areas in the underground facility from areas of potential airborne contamination to radiological buffer areas. A buffer area is an uncontaminated area immediately adjacent to the contaminated area and is usually located at the exit or entrance point of the contamination zone.
The initial areas being surveyed, sampled Read More
Taos Pueblo Vies for Votes as USA Today’s ‘Best Native American Experience’ in U.S.
Taos Pueblo. Courtesy/nps.org
TAOS—Taos Pueblo is one of 20 nominees vying for votes in USA Today’s 10 Best Reader’s Choice awards for the “Best Native American Experience” in the United States.
Votes will be accepted online at 10best.com/awards/travel/best-native-american-experience through at 11:59 a.m. EDT, Sept. 15.
Taos Pueblo is one of only five New Mexico destinations that made the list. Others include Acoma Pueblo; Gathering of Nations PowWow in Albuquerque; Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque; and Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe.
In April 2014, Taos Pueblo was named Read More
Senate Majority Whip Requests Audit Results On PED Scoring
Tim Keller
ALBUQUERQUE – Senate Majority Whip Tim Keller, D-Bernalillo, sent a letter last week to Public Education Department (PED) Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera requesting audit results that pertain to the A-F school scoring and teacher evaluation scoring.
Keller’s request comes as the new school year begins for most New Mexican children and following significant public debate surrounding the models for scoring.
“The scores we use to gauge the effectiveness of our teachers and our schools have significant impact over the distribution of education funding and therefore quality Read More
Public’s Help Sought After Human Remains Identified on Navajo Indian Reservation
Jesse Jacob Estrada, Jr.
FBI News:
Skeletal remains found on the Navajo Indian Reservation more than two years ago have been identified as those of a Farmington man, and authorities are asking for the public’s help to determine how he died.
DNA analysis performed by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., determined the remains were those of Jesse Jacob Estrada, Jr., who was 25 when he was last seen by a family member in Farmington in April 2012.
Jesse Jacob Estrada, Jr.
A human skull and other bone fragments were found near the Nenahnezad Chapter House in Nenahnezad, N.M., May 26, 2012.
The FBI and Navajo Read More
Pino Fire Grows To 30 Acres – Being Managed For Resource Benefit
SFNF News:
SANTA FE – The lightning caused Pino Fire on the Santa Fe National Forest’s Jemez Ranger District south of Forest Road 270BC and six miles east of Jemez Springs, continues to be managed for resource benefit.
Firefighting personnel yesterday reported very little precipitation, which resulted in more fire activity increasing the size to 30 acres. Personnel continued scouting the area and collecting fuels moisture data samples to help in planning.
Weather patterns for the next few days may include more precipitation over the fire area as partly cloudy skies with scattered showers Read More
