I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation has generated nearly $5 million in legal expenses over the past three years, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the $27 million in payouts handled by the state Risk Management Division, the Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting.
A portion of that spending was for wrongful-death lawsuits filed by families of people killed in accidents with Rail Runner Express passenger trains, according to the paper. And that concerns one state lawmaker who is quoted by the New Mexican as saying he’s worried about liability associated with the train:
“The problem is that when they purchased the railroad tracks for that, they assumed all liability for it,” said state Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque. “Now that’s showing up as an expense.”
“Many of us brought it up at the time,” he said, “that it’s not just the initial expense of the train, it’s the liability.”
Other agencies that registered big-ticket legal expenses over the past three years include the state Department of Health, the University of New Mexico Hospitals and the state Children, Families and Youth Department, according to a chart assembled by reporter Kate Nash, who wrote the story based public records she requested.
