After a spate of embarrassing arrests that have turned into public relations nightmares, Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz has ordered his officers to think twice before citing individuals with the broad and vague charge of “refusing to obey,” The Albuquerque Journal reports. The announcement comes after a Journal story showing that 70 percent of such charges are eventually dismissed.

Santa Fe’s worst-paid workers will get a raise Jan. 1 to $9.92 an hour, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports. It’s the first time the city has mandated higher pay under a new law that ties the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index. The 42-cent pay hike will put Santa Fe’s minimum wage at nearly $2.50 more than the state requires.

Good news for chile aficionados — the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University has created two new varieties that The Associated Press reports are muy sabroso. Researchers had found that the older varieties most popular with New Mexico farmers looked good and were insect resistant, but that they had lost much of their flavor and aroma. In taste tests, members of the New Mexico Chile Commission were thrilled with the new varieties, the AP noted. “People told us it was the best-tasting chile they’d ever had,” institute Director Paul Bosland said.

Federal land planners have finalized their proposal to establish a 6,100-mile network of pipeline and transmission line corridors throughout the West, and it shows some significant changes over earlier versions, The Gallup Independent reports. The footprint of the West-wide Energy Corridor has grown to 3.3 million acres, but the corridors cross just two national wildlife refuges instead of 12 proposed in 2007 and no wilderness areas at all — down from 27 in the original plan. The Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement now goes to the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and Interior for approval. No construction is planned; the plan simply shows where energy projects can cross the West on federal land and should simplify the approval process for project developers.