Today's News

SANTA FE – The tax plan signed by President Donald Trump in December is nothing more than a “scam” being perpetrated on the American people, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

That was the word she used in describing the plan Friday at a panel discussion held at the National Education Association office in Santa Fe with about 50 people in the audience.

Accompanying Pelosi on the panel were Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (D-Dist. 3), Charles Bowyer, executive director of the National Education Association New Mexico, and Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya.

Pelosi said the plan, approved “in the dark of night, at the speed of light,” will drain $1 trillion out of Medicaid and a half trillion dollars out of Medicare when instead those are the amounts Congress should be putting into those programs as well as making an investment in education.

“Nothing brings more money to the budget than investing in education,” she said.

Bowyer, who was a science teacher in Los Lunas before taking over as executive director of the NEA, brought up an example of that sentiment. He said a late provision to the bill would send public education dollars into private education venues.

Applause and a few cheers greeted the Los Alamos County Council at its regular meeting Tuesday night following the council’s vote to approve a 60-day moratorium on code enforcement within the county.

The vote was unanimous among the council, passing by a 6-0 margin. Councilor James Chrobocinski was absent.

Chrobocinski and Councilor Antonio Maggiore originally brought the resolution before the council. Following much civil discussion of the hot topic – by members of the audience and councilors alike – Maggiore read the resolution after the addition of some amendments by the councilors.

The moratorium does not hold for violations that have already been received by the code enforcement staff as well as violations immediately affecting health, safety and welfare.

The council did specify that appropriate action would be taken to address any situations involving a perceived or increased fire risk, which was a big issue with regard to fire danger.

Los Alamos Fire Department Chief Troy Hughes pointed out that his department’s main concern is protection against the threat of fire.

SANTA TERESA (AP) — Work will begin soon to replace existing vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern New Mexico with a new bollard wall.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that a groundbreaking near the Santa Teresa port of entry on Monday will mark the official start of construction along a 20-mile stretch of the border.

The $73 million contract for the work was awarded to a Montana company in February.

With a new wall, federal officials say agents working in southern New Mexico will be better equipped to stop drug trafficking and illegal crossings in the area.

Environmentalists have sued over the project, saying the federal government overstepped its authority in waiving laws as a way to speed construction. A federal judge recently sided with the government in a similar case in California.
 

Stephen Geisik, 27, of Hernandez, a former Los Alamos resident, was granted a postponement of an evidentiary hearing Thursday. The new hearing date is May 4.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer granted the move after Geisik’s attorney, Jennifer Burrill, asked for more time.

“He’s facing a probation violation, and there are some allegations that involve some other agencies that we’re trying to get paperwork from,” Burrill said.

Geisik was arrested Feb. 23 for violating the 20-year parole sentence he received April 6, 2015.  At that time he pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor second degree (child under 13) and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Geisik moved to Hernandez July 15, 2017, and registered as a sex offender with the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Department in Española. His two children were living with him at the time.

When Children Youth and Families officials made a second visit to his house Jan. 20, they removed his children and told him he had to get rid of his cats and buy mattresses for his kids. Geisik said he complied with their order. On Feb. 23 though, he was arrested.