Regional

By KRWG News

Albuquerque – Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stopped in Albuquerque to throw her support behind New Mexico Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez.

Some 1,200 people turned out to see Palin and Martinez at a Sunday morning rally.

Martinez, a district attorney from southern New Mexico, is in a five-way race heading into the June 1 primary. She's one of two Republican women vying for the post.

By KRWG News

El Paso – A 43-year-old U.S. Customs and Border Protection technician says she's guilty of conspiring to smuggle marijuana and illegal immigrants into the country.

Martha Alicia Garnica pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to charges of conspiracy to import more than 100 kilos of marijuana into the United States, conspiracy to smuggle undocumented immigrants, three counts of bribery of a public official and one count of importation of a controlled substance.

By KRWG News

El Paso – An unarmed, unmanned surveillance drone may be flying over the border in West Texas and New Mexico as soon as June.

The Federal Aviation Administration has given permission for the drone to patrol the border, beaming real-time surveillance video of the border to operators and federal authorities, starting June 1.

Vincent Perez, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, said the El Paso Democrat was told of the decision Friday.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – Gov. Bill Richardson has eliminated about 1,000 vacant government jobs.

Richardson announced Friday that by permanently removing the positions from the state budget, they cannot be filled in the future unless the Legislature approves.

Among the 1,071 eliminated positions are 73 appointive jobs. That includes 14 positions in the governor's office, including a senior energy and environment policy adviser and an executive assistant to the governor.

By KRWG News

Silver City – The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on the Mogollon mining district in southwestern New Mexico.

The mining district consists of 16 individual mine sites in the Mogollon Mountains of the Gila National Forest about 63 miles northwest of Silver City.

An engineering evaluation proposes leaving the sites in their current state, with no removal or containment at any of them.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – The New Mexico Environment Department will receive $400,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess and clean up potentially contaminated locations known as brownfields.

Those are properties where redevelopment or reuse could be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances.

The EPA grant provides $200,000 for petroleum sites and $200,000 for other hazardous waste sites.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Wendy K. Wilkins, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Texas, has accepted an appointment as provost and executive vice president at New Mexico State University.

NMSU President Barbara Couture noted Wilkins' extensive experience as an acclaimed scholar and her strong track record of working with faculty.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – Las Cruces Police have charged four teenagers for their involvement in at least three residential burglaries that were reported over the past few weeks.

Michael Nava, 17, Raul Serna, 15, and 16-year-olds Marcus Bustamante and Victor Orquiz, were each charged with burglary of a dwelling, attempted burglary and conspiracy.

By KRWG News

Truth or Consequences – Authorities say they have apprehended a jail inmate who had escaped from the Sierra County Detention Facility in Truth or Consequences.

Authorities say 22-year-old Michael Todd escaped Tuesday afternoon and his orange jumpsuit was found a short time later lying on the ground behind a clothing store.

Todd was captured late Thursday afternoon at a store in Dona Ana County. He had been in the detention facility since last June on charges of car theft and driving under the influence.

By KRWG News

Mexico City – Authorities say the wife of Mexico's most-wanted drug lord was questioned and released after she was found in raids on seven houses linked to the fugitive trafficker.

Prosecutors say Griselda Lopez Perez was in one of the houses raided Wednesday and was taken to the offices of investigative police, where she made a statement and was let go early Thursday.

Mexico's Attorney General's office didn't reveal the contents of her statement, but said it had no outstanding warrants or criminal cases open against Lopez Perez.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – New Mexicans can begin casting primary election ballots Saturday at polling places across New Mexico.

Early voting will continue through May 29, and it's become a significant part of the turnout in recent state elections.

In the 2006 primary, about 16 percent of Democrats and Republicans took advantage of early voting and 8 percent cast absentee ballots. The remainder voted on Election Day. Like this year, 2006 was a gubernatorial election.

By KRWG News

New Mexico – State officials say the New Mexico Appliance Rebate Program still has funds available for consumers who purchase ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washers, refrigerators or gas furnaces.

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Secretary Jon Goldstein says there's still time for New Mexicans to purchase appliances that will save them money over the long-term.

He says almost 4,000 appliance rebate applications have been approved and checks are on their way.

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – A team of electrical and computer engineering students from NMSU won first place at the First Annual Mercury Remote Robot Challenge, held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Not only did they design and build their robot, they also maneuvered it remotely through an obstacle course that was in another building.

By Melissa Aguilera

Las Cruces, NM – A wilderness bill is getting a positive review from a former deputy secretary for the Interior under President George W. Bush. KRWG's Melissa Aguilera reports.

By KRWG News

Deming – Trial has been set for July 27 in Deming for a former Luna County commissioner charged with felonies stemming from her tenure on the southern New Mexico commission.

Becky Allen Gilmore, who resigned as a commissioner last July, has pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful interest in a public contract and embezzlement.

The indictment against Gilmore stems from her receiving a $4,027 fee as a buyer's agent in the county's purchase of land to expand a health clinic in 2008.