Wednesday’s Top Stories
- The Danger Zone: Albuquerque penalized $500,000 for ‘willful’ safety violations
- Neighbors voice concerns over Los Lunas project
- APD chief talks DWI officers convicted by feds, explains impact on internal investigation
- New Mexico Veterans Memorial closes due to invasive bird species issue
- NM lawmakers reflect on first half of legislative session and outline what’s next
- New bill would allow independent voters to vote in primaries
- Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
Wednesday’s Five Facts
[1] 3 teens charged with bringing guns to school in Albuquerque – Multiple Albuquerque teens are facing charges, accused of bringing guns to school. Investigators say last Thursday, a 15-year-old was arrested at Valley High School after a loaded handgun was found in their backpack. On Friday, a 16-year-old was arrested at West Mesa High after police say a gun was found inside their vehicle. On Monday, Del Norte High School received a report about a student carrying a gun on campus, APS says the 17-year-old ran when officers tried to search him, but was arrested in a nearby business parking lot.
[2] Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputy pleads guilty in DWI Unit scandal – Jeff Hammerel admitted to working with then defense attorney Thomas Clear III, taking bribes to get DWI cases dropped. He’s been with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office since February 2010, serving in the DWI unit from 2013 until November last year. He officially resigned yesterday. Hammerel pleaded guilty to five felony counts, including extortion and bribery. As a result, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office dismissed 13 of his pending DWI cases.
[3] Sporadic rain & snow, cooler & windier weather – Patchy dust in the lowlands with the elevated to critical fire threat will be accompanied with the cooldown with sporadic rain and wet snow activity mostly in the higher terrain later today, but near-record warmth to record high temperatures will once again occur this afternoon, but only for southwestern areas. Chilly weather tomorrow will be accompanied by drier conditions with calmer winds, but then temperatures will quickly warm up again again late this week.
[4] Report: Balloon Fiesta generated more than $215M for Albuquerque – Officials with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are sharing the economic impact from the 53rd Fiesta. According to a third-party study last year, the fiesta generated more than $215 million. The nine-day event attracted more than 838,337 guests, including 712,500 tourists.
[5] New Mexico Governor announces partnership with Borderplex Digital Assets – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham says Borderplex Digital Assets is looking to build its $5 billion facility in Santa Teresa. According to a news release, the investment will spur economic development in southern New Mexico and grow vital infrastructure systems to support global trade along the international border. The company hopes to break ground later this year.