Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE — New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009, and it is not coming back this year. A legislative committee on Saturday quashed a bill that would have reinstated capital punishment for the murders of children, police officers and correctional officers. The 3-2 party-line vote was no surprise, but it brought out some of the most visceral testimony yet of this year's 30-day legislative session. The recently discovered death of 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia of Santa Fe County and stories of his tortured life l...
The state House of Representatives voted Friday night to raise the hourly minimum wage to $9.25 from $7.50 in 2018. The 37-30 vote, just days after the state Senate overwhelmingly passed a slightly smaller increase to $9, signals that a raise in the statewide minimum wage is increasingly likely as the legislative session enters its final weeks. The issue has been a priority for Democrats, who promised a raise during last year's election, but it also has won some support from Republicans. The House vote on HB 442 was not...
sANTA FE — Legislators' last attempt to balance this year's budget relied heavily on across-the-board cuts to state programs, but some critics of the new effort say lawmakers are placing the burden of a projected $69 million deficit on local institutions ranging from school districts to fire departments. Discussions on a package of solvency measures continued Friday with the House of Representatives meeting for less than an hour before recessing until Saturday morning to vote...
New Mexico legislators start their 60-day session Tuesday with plenty of unfinished business, including closing a projected budget deficit of about $67 million. But any hope that the passing of a rancorous election year and the ongoing budget crisis would inspire bipartisan compromise already seems to have evaporated. Instead, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and top lawmakers have staked out positions that almost guarantee a clash over taxes and spending. In addition, more budget cuts are likely, no matter the outcome....
Tom McGuiness did not expect he’d be looking for work at age 60. But when he was laid off in July from the factory in Santa Fe where he had worked for more than 17 years, McGuiness was thrust back into the job market in New Mexico, where the unemployment rate ranks as the nation’s second highest. McGuiness had been laid off before. This time feels different, though. Despite having years of experience in chemical compounding, getting a job interview has been a challenge. McGuiness doesn’t have the college degrees many emplo...
SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration is planning to eliminate many of the human resources departments at agencies across New Mexico’s government, shifting responsibility for personnel matters to a single state office. It would be the single biggest shakeup of state bureaucracy since the beginning of a budget crisis last year that has led to cutbacks and drained some $700 million in cash reserves. A spokesman for the State Personnel Office said the move towards a “consolidated HR system” is still in the planning...
