Courts

Access To Utility Accounts And Los Alamos Now App To Be Temporarily Unavailable Monday Sept. 9

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COUNTY News:

A software upgrade on Monday, Sept. 9, will impact public-facing operations of the Los Alamos County Customer Care Center (CCC), the customer service arm of the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), and online access to the Utilities Self Service Portal on the DPU website.

While CCC representatives will be available to customers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. as usual, they will not be able to make changes to, or enter payment transactions to, utility accounts. Additionally, the Los Alamos Now app is also expected to be down. DPU staff does not expect there to be any impact to the Automated Metering Read More

New Mexico Environment Department Signs Consent Order With DOE For LANL Legacy Waste Clean-Up

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From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration and the U.S. Department of Energy have executed a Settlement Agreement to clean-up legacy radioactive wastes at Los Alamos National Laboratory, marking a historic moment in the fight to hold the federal government accountable for the toxic waste it left behind in the wake of nuclear weapons testing in New Mexico.

The Settlement Agreement, executed on Aug. 30, and associated Compliance Order on Consent supersedes the contested 2016 agreement that failed to deliver meaningful clean-up of legacy radioactive Read More

Senatorial Candidate Nella Domenici Wants End To Consent Decree ‘Stifling Albuquerque Police Department’

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Nella Domenici

From the Nella Domenici for Senate Campaign:

ALBUQUERQUE — Senatorial candidate Nella Domenici has asked the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, to quickly review the consent decree that has governed the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) for 10 years and cost taxpayers more than $40 million.

Domenici said she sees no “legitimate reason for the Decree to remain in effect” and wants Garland to immediately ask the court to terminate the Consent Decree.

“The bitter irony is that the Consent Decree is siphoning off and diverting valuable resources away from Read More

New Mexico State Bar Foundation Immediate Past-President Hon. Carl J. Butkus Elected To National Conference Of Bar Foundations’ Board Of Directors

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Hon. Carl J. Butkus

New Mexico State Bar Foundation News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico State Bar Foundation’s Immediate Past-President, Hon. Carl J. Butkus, was elected to the National Conference of Bar Foundations’ Board of Directors. Hon. Butkus’ position was announced during the National Conference of Bar Foundations’ Annual Meeting July 25-27 in Chicago, Ill.

The National Conference of Bar Foundations (NCBF) advances the work of all types of bar foundations by promoting the integral role of bar foundations in promoting law-related philanthropy to the organized bar, the larger legal Read More

Judge’s Final Order Protects San Agustin Plains Aquifer

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Scene following the April 5, 2024 decision in the standing-room-only courtroom in the Reserve courthouse where  nearly 100 community members heard arguments of several attorneys awaiting a ruling on Augustin Plains Ranch LLC’s request to pump 54,000 acre feet per year of groundwater from the San Agustin Plains, a closed groundwater basin (basin has no outlet ) and the basin is not recharged by perennial streams. Courtesy/NMELC

View of the San Agustin Plains. Courtesy/NMELC

New Mexico Environmental Law Center News: 

  • Order confirms another water win for New Mexico

RESERVE —On Friday, Aug. Read More

New Mexico State Police Investigate Homicide In Chimayo

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NMSP News:

CHIMAYO — New Mexico State Police (NMSP) Investigations Bureau were called to investigate a homicide that occurred at a residence in Chimayo.

The investigation began Aug. 26, 2024, when NMSP officers were called to a house on Private Drive 1405A, in Chimayo for reports of a domestic violence incident where a female was heard screaming for help inside a residence.

When dispatch received the domestic violence call, a second call came in about a structure fire coming from that residence. Firefighters arrived on scene to put out the fire.

Investigators learned Leonel Andrade Garcia, Read More

NM Supreme Court Issues Ruling On Newspaper’s Lawsuit And Legal Doctrine Creating Defense Against Civil Liability

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New Mexico Supreme Court News:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Supreme Court today restored a newspaper’s legal claims against New Mexico’s largest electric utility for suing to stop the news organization from publishing documents released by a regulatory agency.

In a unanimous opinion, the Court ruled that a district court wrongly dismissed counterclaims brought by The Santa Fe New Mexican against the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) for what the newspaper contended was a groundless legal effort infringing on freedom of the press. The newspaper sought damages, attorney fees and expenses. Read More

DPS And NM State Police Provide Update To Mescalero Apache Leadership On Officer Involved Shooting Case 

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NMSP News: 

OTERO COUNTY – The New Mexico State Police (NMSP) Investigations Bureau has completed and submitted a case file to the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Alamogordo concerning the officer-involved shooting by an Otero County Sheriff’s Officer on June 25, 2024 (link). The case has been assigned to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for further review.

In line with ongoing efforts to keep the community informed, New Mexico Department of Public Safety Secretary Jason R. Bowie, along with NMSP command staff and a representative from the Governor’s office, Read More

Judge Orders City Of Las Cruces To Release Unlawfully Withheld Documents, Awards $94,945 In Fees And Penalties

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NMFOG News:

LAS CRUCES — Complying with a ruling from Third Judicial District Court Judge James T. Martin, the City of Las Cruces has released unlawfully withheld public records and provided a written description of other withheld records and passages redacted.

The case was brought by Attorney Peter Goodman on behalf of Michael L. Hays when the City of Las Cruces failed to comply with a request from Hays to inspect records under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).

The lawsuit claimed the City unlawfully withheld records and redacted portions of records without proper explanation, Read More

New Mexico State Bar Foundation To Hold Free Divorce Options Workshop Sept. 4 Via Zoom

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New Mexico State Bar Foundation News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico State Bar Foundation will be holding a free Divorce Options Workshop,  6-8 p.m., Sept. 4 via Zoom. 

The workshop, aiming to assist those in need of legal services pertaining to divorce matters, will consist of a group presentation by a volunteer divorce attorney as well as lessons in different ways to get divorced, the steps of a divorce case and common family law terms and the necessary documents to file divorce and where to obtain them.

Attendees may call 505.797.6022 and leave their name, phone number and email address to register Read More