Lane Begaye
Aug. 28, 5:32 am
Aggravated DWI (Third)
A gray Honda positioned for a turn at the intersection of Ford Avenue and Highway 66 did not respond to a solid green light or a left arrow. Gallup Police Officer Dominic Molina pulled up to the car and looked inside. He saw the driver slouched over asleep at the wheel with the vehicle in drive. The driver’s foot was on the brake pedal. The doors were locked. Molina saw a half-empty bottle of Kinky liquor in the center console.

A driver behind the Honda had been flashing its lights and honking its horn.

Officer Jarad Albert arrived with stop sticks. As Molina went to get a kit to unlock the car, the Honda started moving...

ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions has placed the Healthy Workplaces Act and reemployment services in a position of priority as it constructs its Fiscal Year 2023 budget request to the Legislative Finance Committee.

Acting Cabinet Secretary Ricky Serna’s Nov. 18 request, totaling a little over $122, 000,000, focuses on collaborations between state agencies on increasing the participation of the labor force, including youth and veterans, and economic reopening.

NMDWS, Labor Relations Division has been authorized to coordinate implementation and enforcement of House Bill 20, the Healthy Workplaces Act. The department is requesting $900K in legislative...

Job picture improves in many sectors

New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in October, down from 6.9 percent in September and down from 8.5 percent in the previous year. The national unemployment rate in October was 4.6 percent, down from 4.8 percent in September and down from 6.9 percent in Oct. 2020.

Total nonagricultural payroll employment grew by 31,200 jobs, or 3.9 percent, between Oct. 2020 and Oct. 2021. All gains came from the private sector, which was up 36,100 jobs, or 5.9 percent. The public sector was down 4,900 jobs, or 2.7 percent. Most private sector gains were in the private service-providing industries, which were up 29,100 jobs, or 5.6...

Francisco: Lack of support by government OFFICIALS,  fractured criminal investigations create problems for OFFICERS, dangers to the public

Navajo Nation Police Chief Phillip Francisco is leaving the position he’s held for five and half years. He’ll instead become chief of police for Bloomfield, N.M., and will begin his new job Jan. 4.

Before Francisco was named Navajo Nation police chief, it had been well over a decade since someone was in that role. Instead, the department had a revolving door of acting chiefs. Francisco came on board after working at the Farmington and Aztec Police Departments and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department. He is also an Army veteran and was a...