ALBUQUERQUE – Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced the creation of the Fraud Recovery Strike Force – a unit in his office charged with aggressively investigating and pursuing litigation to protect New Mexico consumers, New Mexico taxpayers and to recover public funds.

“The Fraud Recovery Strike Force will investigate and litigate in the public interest, support legislation and aggressively pursue damages, and recover public funds,” Balderas said. “The unit’s priorities are to recover funds for the state’s treasury from people and companies who cheat the public, and to protect New Mexico’s economy and vulnerable consumer populations from abusive business...

The New Mexico Department of Health announced July 15 that more than 900 opioid overdose reversals were reported in 2014 due to the use of the drug naloxone. That’s almost a 29 percent increase in reversals from 2013. The Department of Health has been working with various partners and agencies to increase access and availability of naloxone in New Mexico as part of a multi-pronged approach to reduce overdose deaths in New Mexico.

“Overdose deaths impact just about every family in New Mexico in one way or another. Addiction is a complex public health issue that requires the collaborative efforts of many agencies, stakeholders, and individuals,” Department of Health Cabinet...

New restaurants, businesses to emerge

The northern corner of Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 491 have been bustling with activity. Four new businesses are under construction now and others are in the planning stages. Economic development has hit a new high in Gallup.

Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce Director David Hinkle says new business is essential to the creation of jobs. It also benefits the city’s bottom line by significantly increasing the tax base, which brings needed revenue into city coffers.

Nationally, Hinkle explained, an entrepreneurial climate is the number one necessity for economic development. The next most important is retention and expansion of local...

SANTA FE – State Auditor Tim Keller publicly released the report of a special examination of financial issues in the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office July 7.

The report is the result of an investigation that the Office of the State Auditor announced earlier this year. The examination focused on the potential misuse of DWI prevention program funds by the MCSO from 2010 to 2014 under former Sheriff Felix Begaye.

“New Mexicans deserve to have their public safety funds accounted for and spent on the important programs for which they were designated, such as DWI prevention,” Keller said. “The auditor’s office has made recommendations to the Sheriff’s office to strengthen its...