The case of a statue of the Ten Commandments in Bloomfield came to an end Monday, as the U.S. Supreme Court denied statue supporters’ an appeal to the high court.

The city of Bloomfield was ordered by a federal district court to remove the monument in 2014, citing the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling two years later, leaving the city’s final option to push for a U.S. Supreme Court hearing.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico announced Monday that the attempted appeal was...

Wednesday, a U.S. district court judge in California slapped down the U.S. Department of the Interior’s attempts to roll back its own rule aimed at cutting the waste of natural gas, or methane, from wells and pipelines on federal and tribal lands.

The Bureau of Land Management’s waste prevention rule limits routine flaring of natural gas from oil wells, calls for industry to modernize leak-detection technology and fix leaks that are found and prohibits venting natural gas directly into the atmosphere, except under certain circumstances.

Flaring and venting are in some cases unavoidable, such as when new wells are being drilled or for safety purposes, and have been regulated since...

Funds earmarked for ‘Home Visiting Program’

SANTA FE – Gov. Susana Martinez announced Sept. 28 that New Mexico will receive $3.5 million dollars from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

The funding from this grant will allow the state to continue to provide voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to women during pregnancy, and to parents with young children up to kindergarten entry.

“Providing this valuable information to parents with young children can help them to improve their quality of life,” Martinez said. “By offering this service to our most at-risk population, we are...

A judge declined Martinez’s effort to keep the bills from becoming law while they appealed a previous decision against Martinez.

And shortly thereafter Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced she chaptered those ten bills into law (all ten are listed below).

“As ordered by the Court, my office has swiftly chaptered all ten of the bills that the Court determined were improperly vetoed during the 2017 legislative session,” Toulouse Oliver said in a statement.

The bills include the legalization of industrial hemp for research purposes at New Mexico State University as well as allowing a computer science class to count toward math requirements for high school...