Regional

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – The City of Las Cruces needs your input about how to spend the housing and community development funds it will receive during the next five years (2011-2015) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Activities must generally benefit low and moderate income persons. The City is starting a process called the consolidated plan, which will help determine how these federal funds will be spent. We ask you to participate in one of the following meetings:

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – A gas line break has forced the closure of the intersection of Triviz Drive and Spruce Avenue to vehicular traffic.

North bound Triviz traffic is being detoured on to McClane Road, to Wingate Road back to Spruce.

South bound Triviz traffic is being detoured at Poplar Avenue, to Evelyn Street back to Spruce.

No Telshor Boulevard traffic is being allowed to turn onto Spruce.

Repair crews are on the scene.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – State Transportation Secretary Designate Alvin C. Dominguez announced Monday, January 31, 2011 that highway crews were being mobilized in anticipation of the first severe winter storm of 2011. The storm has impacted a large portion of the entire state with most regions under winter storm warnings or winter weather.

By KRWG News

Truth or Consequences – The New Mexico Department of Transportation is working with law enforcement with the closure for I-25 between T or C and Socorro, NM that will affect north and southbound motorists. US-70 is closed from Alamogordo to Las Cruces.

The winter storm has brought heavy snow and icy roadway conditions, which has caused multiple vehicle accidents.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – With the potential for wet or icy roads within the next couple of days, it is important that motorists be prepared for hazardous or unsafe driving conditions.

The Las Cruces Police Department is offering tips that could help improve safety during wet weather conditions. The police department recommends following these and other safety tips:

By KRWG News

New Mexico – U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman has an important meeting with President Barack Obama this week.

The New Mexico Democrat and head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to meet with the president Wednesday to talk about the country's energy policy and how to strengthen it.

Bingaman will also be leading two committee hearings in Washington, D.C., this week to examine the energy and oil market outlook and the medical isotopes production act.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – A state agency administrator says New Mexico governmental retirees can expect about 8 percent increases in their medical insurance premiums for the next several years.

Retiree Health Care Authority Executive Director Wayne Propst told a legislative committee on Monday that higher premiums will be necessary in the future to cover expected growth in medical costs and insurance claims.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is directing state police to ask about the immigration status of people arrested for crimes.

Martinez issued an executive order on Monday that rescinds a policy implemented in 2005 by then Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat.

Richardson's executive order prohibited state law enforcement from asking about a person's immigration status solely for the purpose of determining whether the individual was in violation of federal immigration laws.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrests of the suspects who may be responsible for as many as six armed robberies that have been committed in the past couple of weeks.

The armed robberies were Thursday, Jan. 20, at the Eagle Quick Mart at 4790 Stern Drive; Friday, Jan. 28, at the Eros bookstore at 2200 W. Amador Ave.; Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Lotaburger at 1300 S. Valley Dr.; and Sunday morning, Jan. 30, at Domino's Pizza at 2645 Missouri Ave

By KRWG News

Albuquerque – The debate over whether New Mexico environmental regulations have stifled the oil and natural gas industry reached a boiling point Monday when Republican lawmakers walked out of a legislative meeting.

Rep. Don Bratton of Hobbs says he began to raise questions about the qualifications of a witness during the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting and was silenced by Democratic chairman Rep. Brian Egolf of Santa Fe for being out of order.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – At a regular meeting Monday, Jan. 31, in Santa Fe, New Mexico State University's Board of Regents heard reports on the legislative session and the university's enrollment.

Ricardo Rel, NMSU's assistant vice president for government relations, updated the Regents on bills that have been introduced during the legislative session to-date that are of interest to the university.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – A New Mexico lawmaker is ready to have a tough conversation with older drivers.

Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, has sponsored a measure under which older drivers would face more monitoring of their driving skills and more frequent license-renewal deadlines.

Currently, everyone older than 75 must renew once a year and pass an annual eye exam.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Congressman Ben Ray Lujan is urging the Legislature to support the development of a clean energy industry in New Mexico.

Lujan spoke Monday to a joint session of the Legislature. He said education, energy and technology investments can help spur economic growth in New Mexico, and those investments should continue despite budget problems confronting the state.

By Claudette Ortiz

Las Cruces – The impact of war lasts for generations. Las Cruces Sun News columnist Claudette Ortiz illustrates that point in this month's edition of The Age Spot.

By KRWG News

El Paso – Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the University of Texas at El Paso highlighting the Department's unprecedented efforts over the past two years to secure the Southwest border by deploying historic levels of manpower, resources and technology and increasing collaboration with federal, state, local and tribal, and Mexican partners while facilitating legal trade and travel.