Award winning author, C.B. McKenzie, is set to open the 3rd Annual Authors Festival at the Octavia Fellin Public Library at 6 pm April 7.

McKenzie is an international nomad who brings a unique voice to his characters and a diverse perspective to his audience. McKenzie’s Bad Country won the 2014 Hillerman Prize for best mystery novel set in the Southwest.

This crime novel interweaves the tension between tradition and modernity while exploring the “rez” culture of southern Arizona. Burn What Will Burn, McKenzie’s second novel released in the summer of 2016, brought the author equally high acclaim. Please join us for a spectacular evening of prose and mystery.

Due to illness...

WINDOW ROCK – The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held on April 5, that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) owes the Navajo Nation approximately $15.6 million plus interest in funding it withheld from the Nation’s Judicial Branch operations in 2014.

In doing so, the Court of Appeals reversed the District Court’s March 2016 decision denying the Nation’s motion for summary judgment under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C. §450 et seq.

The BIA awarded the Nation only $1.3 million in 2014, but the Nation argued that the denial of the majority of its funding request by the BIA was untimely. Under the ISDEAA, the...

The Gallup City Council unanimously passed a management agreement related to the veterans center along West Maloney Avenue.

The action took place at the March 28 regular city meeting and was not met with opposition by council members or members of the community. City Attorney George Kozeliski introduced the matter to council members.

“Everything is the same in this agreement as per a previous agreement,” Kozeliski told council members. “It is a management agreement that needs your approval.”

Kozeliski said the veterans center building, located at 204 W. Maloney Ave., used to be a fire station up until about three years ago.

“It was the old, closed north side fire...

Agreement OK’d with Youth Center

State Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, briefed the Gallup City Council March 28 on the happenings at the 2017 session of the New Mexico Legislature. Lundstrom’s remarks were for discussion purposes only and were not intended to be voted on.

Lundstrom told council members that the 2017 legislative session, which convened Jan. 17, saw 277 bills approved out of nearly 1,000 that were considered.

“This was an approval rate not seen since 2003,” Lundstrom said. “The governor has already acted on a number of bills and has until April 7 to act on the remaining bills or they will be automatically vetoed.”

Lundstrom, elected in 2001, said the...