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Headlines: Private Attorney To Prosecute APD Officers, Review Of Navajo Mine...

Screenshot from video provided by APD through an IPRA request

Private Attorney To Prosecute NM Officers In Fatal Shooting - The Associated Press

The prosecutor removed by a New Mexico judge from the case of two Albuquerque police officers charged in the shooting death of a homeless man last year has tapped a private attorney to handle the case.

Randi McGinn has agreed to prosecute officers Dominque Perez and Keith Sandy, who were charged earlier this year with murder in the March 2014 death of James Boyd during an hourslong standoff.

Authorities have said the homeless man was camping illegally and threatened officers with two knives.

State District Judge Alisa Hadfield last week disqualified District Attorney Kari Brandenburg or anyone in her office from prosecuting the case and ordered her to appoint a special prosecutor.

Brandenburg announced during a news conference Thursday that McGinn has agreed to prosecute the case.

Facing Budget Problems, CNMC Will Increase Tuition - The Associated Press

Central New Mexico Community College will increase tuition and implement other cost-saving measures to counteract a budget shortfall of $3 million.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the college announced this week that it will increase tuition for in-district residents from $18 to $25.50 per credit hour for many of its classes. Tuition for academic transfer courses will also increase by $1 per credit hour.

The college will not give raises to faculty or staff and will postpone eight capital projects.

CNM President Kathie Winograd said in a letter that lower state revenue, declining enrollment and a lack of property tax increases are to blame for the school's budget problems.

She said the capital projects will remain in limbo unless voters approve additional funding at local bond election next year.

Heinrich Reimburses Feds For Travel ExpensesThe Associated Press

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich has repaid the federal government for reimbursements he received over a two-year period for personal taxi and ride-booking costs.

Spending reports filed by the New Mexico Democrat included a series of small-dollar transactions for travel reimbursement. That prompted USA Today to inquire whether he was being repaid for personal commuting costs.

Senate rules prohibit lawmakers from being reimbursed for their own commute from home to work, or for other personal trips.

After a review of records that date from January 2013 to the end of March, Heinrich spokeswoman Whitney Potter says it became clear that proper protocols weren't in place.

As a result, the senator wrote a check for $1,909.69 in travel expenses that were deemed to be personal.

Heinrich has apologized for the mistake.

New Mexico Auditor Fuels Debate Over $4.5B In Unspent MoneyThe Associated Press

As New Mexico lawmakers feud over a stalled public works package and wrestle with ways to stimulate a lagging economy, an ominous number looms over the conversation.

The state auditor says $4.5 billion in unspent money is sitting around in the accounts of various agencies, with varying degrees of restrictions on how it can be used and when it should be pushed out to spur economic development.

Some lawmakers and Gov. Susana Martinez disagree with the auditor's assessment.

Others say it highlights the need to better sort out New Mexico's complicated balance sheet.

Lawmakers are open to examining the figures and want changes such as ensuring the money goes to projects that are ready to move forward, rather than having hundreds of millions of dollars getting bottled up in bureaucracy.

Appeals Court Denies Bid To Halt Ruling On Navajo MineThe Associated Press

A federal appeals court has denied a request to keep a review on the effects of burning coal from a Navajo Nation mine from moving forward.

The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. LLC sought an emergency stay on a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Kane while it appealed the decision. The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied the request Thursday.

Kane had blocked efforts to expand operations within the Navajo Mine in northwestern New Mexico. He says the federal Office of Surface Mining violated federal law in not considering the impacts of coal combustion and sent the tribe's permit revision application back to the agency.

The Navajo company had argued the ruling could jeopardize the long-term sustainability of the mine and associated power plant.

Environmentalists said those claims were exaggerated.

New Manager Appointed To Lead Troubled Nuke Waste Dump - The Associated Press

A nuclear expert from Idaho has been named the new president and project manager of the company that oversees the federal government's troubled nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico.

Nuclear Waste Partnership announced the change Thursday, saying Philip Breidenbach will replace Bob McQuinn next week.

McQuinn came on board in 2014 shortly after a radiation release forced the indefinite closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and stalled the cleanup of Cold War-era waste at facilities around the country.

McQuinn was among those who developed a recovery plan for WIPP and implemented corrective actions over the past year.

Breidenbach comes from the Idaho National Laboratory where he served as head of nuclear operations at the Materials and Fuels Complex. He also worked at Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

Los Alamos Radiation Release Could Have Been Prevented - The Associated Press

Investigators say officials could have prevented the poor management and lapses in safety that led to radiation contamination inside the federal government's only underground nuclear waste repository.

The shortcomings were outlined in a final report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Energy's Accident Investigation Board.

Investigators spent more than a year looking into the cause of the radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Like a separate team of experts, they also found that the release was caused by a chemical reaction inside a drum of waste that had been packaged at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The release contaminated workers and forced the indefinite closure of WIPP.

Federal officials say it could take years and cost more than a half-billion dollars to reopen the repository.

Gains Cited From Albuquerque Public Schools Truancy Program - The Associated Press and KOB TV

An Albuquerque Public Schools official says a pilot program aimed at reducing truancy is having success.

The program involves having truancy advisers and social workers contact truant students and their families to work on an intervention plan.

According to Kris Meurer, executive Director of the Student, Family and Community Supports Division, truancy rates dropped by 13 percent for the 23 participating schools.

KOB-TV reports that Meurer made a presentation to the school board Wednesday.

Jail Transport Officer In Albuquerque Accused Of Sex Assault - The Associated Press

Authorities say a jail transport officer is accused of sexually assaulting a female inmate in Albuquerque.

Metropolitan Detention Center officials say Enock Arviso resigned his position Thursday.

They say he's currently in custody and is being housed separately from the general jail population.

Authorities say Arviso had been with the department since October 2005.

The alleged incident occurred April 13 while Arviso and the inmate were in a courtroom elevator and she was handcuffed and shackled.

MDC officials say Arviso originally told Bernalillo County Sheriff's detectives that he didn't sexually assault the inmate but allegedly changed his story later.

Authorities say Enock is being held on a $25,000 cash/surety bond on suspicion of criminal sexual penetration.

It's unclear if he has a lawyer yet.

Navajo Voters Head To Polls In Belated Presidential Election - The Associated Press

Voters on the country's largest American Indian reservation are choosing a new president Tuesday.

The election comes after months of court battles that started with a question over fluency in the Navajo language.

One candidate was disqualified, resulting in a race between former tribal President Joe Shirley Jr. and onetime lawmaker Russell Begaye.

Shirley has positioned himself as an experienced leader, while Begaye is counting on his short time in politics to give him the edge.

Whoever is elected will confront huge challenges that the tribe has faced for decades, including rampant unemployment, and a lack of running water and electricity.

Some 120,000 Navajos are registered to vote in the special election.

Ben Shelly will continue serving as Navajo Nation president until a new leader is sworn in next month.

New Mexico College Recognized As Historic District - The Associated Press

The Santa Fe campus of St. John's College has been designated as historic.

The New Mexico Historic Preservation Division says the recognition stems from the college's Southwestern architecture and its curriculum.

Another factor is the modernist landscaping that ties the school to its setting in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The New Mexico campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The much older sister campus in Annapolis, Maryland, is part of a national historic landmark.

State Historic Preservation Officer Jeff Pappas says this is the first time an entire college campus in New Mexico has been listed as a historic district. It encompasses 60 acres, 26 buildings and grassy knoll.

The state nomination of the campus has been forwarded to the National Register of Historic Places.

Life In Prison Sentence Sought For New Mexico Murder Suspect - The Associated Press

Prosecutors say they're seeking a life prison sentence without parole for a Texas man accused of killing his Dallas-area girlfriend last year in southeastern New Mexico.

A jury trial for 33-year-old Robert Glenn Earley is scheduled to begin April 28 in Carlsbad.

Earley, of Euless, faces felony charges of murder, tampering with evidence and kidnapping in the death of 30-year-old Emily Rebecca Lambert.

She was killed while in New Mexico to visit Earley, an oil field worker. Her body was found behind a ranch building near Loving on March 4, 2014.

Lambert was a teacher in Garland, Texas and the mother of two young daughters.

She reportedly had been dating Earley for only a few months when she was killed.

New Mexico has prohibited capital punishment since 2007.

Border Patrol: 7 In Custody After Chase In Deming Area - The Associated Press

The Border Patrol says seven people were taken into custody in southern New Mexico following a chase of a pickup seen stopping along Interstate 10 in Deming to pick up people who emerged from the desert.

The Border Patrol said agents saw the vehicle make several U-turns on I-10 before and after it picked up the people on Monday.

The agents followed the vehicle when it got off I-10 in Deming and alerted other law enforcement agencies when the vehicle accelerated when the agents tried to pull it over.

The truck was disabled when a tire struck a curb.

The Border Patrol said the driver and six passengers who said they had illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border were taken into custody.