Regional

By KRWG News

Texas – A report says a campaign donor who has given $80,000 to Gov. Rick Perry since 2000 circumvented the usual vetting process but still received a $4.5 million award from a Texas technology fund.

Convergen Lifesciences Inc., founded by Perry contributor David G. Nance, won the award in August despite not receiving the endorsement of a regional screening board that filters out applicants. Nance's company appealed directly to a state board made up of Perry appointees.

The Dallas Morning News first reported the story Wednesday.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division has awarded contracts to two companies to safeguard nearly three dozen abandoned mine openings in Sierra and Socorro counties.

Pioneer Industries Inc. of Albuquerque was awarded nearly $390,000 for the work in Sierra County. The final phase at Lake Valley includes the construction of structures to allow bats to continue to use underground mine workings.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The New Mexico Attorney General's Office has dismissed allegations that some of the state regulators considering whether to adopt new rules to curb greenhouse gas emissions have a conflict of interest.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Vigil says he talked with members of the state Environmental Improvement Board. He concluded that none of them have financial interests that would warrant their disqualification under the Governmental Conduct Act from hearing the two emissions proposals pending before the board.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Republican Dianna Duran has raised nearly six times more money than Democratic incumbent Mary Herrera in the secretary of state's race during the past month.

Duran reported Tuesday that she had collected about $54,100 in contributions, with $25,000 of that from the state Republican Party and $4,900 from other GOP groups.

Herrera raised about $9,400, including $2,000 from labor unions.

Duran had cash-on-hand of nearly $85,000 as of Oct. 4 and Herrera had $51,400.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The Republican Governors' Association has dumped another half million dollars into GOP nominee Susana Martinez's campaign for governor.

Martinez reported Tuesday in a campaign finance report that the GOP organization was her top donor. The group has previously given $750,000.

By KRWG News

Austin – A Texas sheriff says the dismembered head of a Mexican police commander investigating the reported shooting of an American on a border lake was found in a suitcase outside a Mexican Army base.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez told The Associated Press that "reliable sources within the law enforcement community of Mexico" told him that Rolando Flores' head was discovered Tuesday morning.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – In this year's midterm election only the House of Representative seats are up for grabs and Incumbent Joni Gutierrez who is a landscape architect is facing off against Republican Virginia Robertson a local small business owner.

If re-elected Gutierrez says she would like to focus on education and job creation in the state.

By Vanessa Dabovich

Las Cruces, NM – Democrat incumbent Joni Gutierrez has held the position since 2005 and is up against Republican Virginia Robertson.

Gutierrez says her top priorities for the district and state are education and jobs.

By KRWG News

Texas – The governing body for Texas public high school sports is considering new rules for evaluating concussions that would not let athletes return to competition the same day they were injured.

The changes proposed by a medical panel for the University Interscholastic League would end current rules that allow athletes to return if they have been symptom-free for 15 minutes.

Any return to play would have to be approved by a license health care professional.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexico regulators are hearing more testimony Tuesday on whether the state should designate streams, lakes and wetlands in wilderness areas as "outstanding national resource waters."

The hearing before the Water Quality Control Commission in Santa Fe is a continuation of a proceeding that started last month. It could be December before the commission makes a final decision.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Republican Matthew Rush has spent more than twice as much money as Democrat Ray Powell in the race for land commissioner during the past month.

Rush reported Tuesday spending of $153,500. Powell spent $56,900 since early September. Advertising accounted for 90 percent of each candidate's expenditures.

Rush collected $93,700 in contributions and Powell raised about $33,400.

By KRWG News

Silver City – USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner will be in Bayard, NM Wednesday to take part in a groundbreaking for the expansion of Bayard's public library.

USDA provided a $370,000 loan/grant package to pay for the expansion of the library. The funding is part of a million dollar expansion to the library which includes funds from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the State of New Mexico.

By KRWG News

El Paso – An 18-year veteran of the El Paso police department faces an aggravated robbery charge after allegedly attempting to steal a gift box from a wedding reception.

El Paso police said Monday that Alberto Madrid remains jailed on a charge of aggravated robbery. Bond was set at $5,000. He also faces an internal investigation that could result in his firing if the charge is substantiated.

By KRWG News

Canutillo, TX – A Texas school teacher faces a charge of injury to a child after a student's mother says the man knocked her daughter to the ground and pulled her back up by her hair.

The El Paso County sheriff's office announced the arrest of 49-year-old Jose Gregory Juarez on Monday. Juarez was arrested Friday and booked into the El Paso County jail on a charge of injury to a child. His bond was set at $45,000, and he was released Saturday.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Taxes and spending during Gov. Bill Richardson's administration have become political grenades in New Mexico's governor race.

But criticisms leveled by the Republican gubernatorial nominee Susana Martinez are based on a selective use of data about the budget and New Mexico's tax burden.

Throughout the campaign, Martinez has blasted Gov. Bill Richardson and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Diane Denish for double-digit spending increases in the state budget since 2003, when the governor took office.