News

All Damian Garcia wants to do is wear his black robe when he and his fellow high school classmates graduate next week.

Officials at St. Pius X Catholic School in Albuquerque say no. Because Garcia was born as a girl, the school insists he must wear a white robe along with the other girls.

Television station KRQE reports that Garcia was born Brandi Garcia, but he identifies as a male and even had a legal name-change last year. Fellow students, teachers and faculty call him Damian and so does his family.

Conductor Marianna Gabbi and pianist William Leland met in 1975, when Gabbi first came to Las Cruces. Their friendship and musical kinship has not wavered, and this weekend, they perform Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto together, with Leland as soloist and Gabbi leading the New Horizons Symphony Orchestra. Gabbi reflects on music by Beethoven and Dvorak, as well as her long friendship with Leland, in this interview with Intermezzo host Leora Zeitlin.

Albuquerque police say a mother who saw her 5-year-old being abducted chased the suspect down and crashed into his car, triggering a manhunt.

Police say the incident unfolded Wednesday evening when the woman saw her child being forced into a car in Albuquerque's North Valley. She jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out of the car shortly after grabbing her.

 It's strike two for a Mexican gray wolf that was released into the wild just weeks ago.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the male wolf — dubbed M1133 — was captured Saturday just east of New Mexico's San Mateo Mountains. The animal left his pregnant mate and roamed outside the wolf recovery area that spans parts of New Mexico and Arizona.

Two weeks before, the wolf and his mate were packed into the Gila Wilderness on the back of a mule so they could be released.

New Mexico's top water manager plans to order irrigators, municipalities and industry in a portion of the state to install meters on their underground wells to measure water use.

State Engineer Scott Verhines said he will issue the order for the Fort Sumner Underground Water Basin this month and it will require meters to be installed by January.

No metering will be required for household wells or small wells used to supply water for livestock.

  Las Cruces Fire Department assisted the New Mexico Game and Fish Department with the rescue of a Great Horn Owl fledgling.  Officers from the New Mexico Game and Fish Department contacted The Las Cruces Fire Department Tuesday to ask for assistance with the rescue of a Great Horn Owl that was stuck on top of a local business sign.

Silver City, NM-  The Gila National Forest will be implementing Stage 1 Fire Restrictions beginning on May 21, 2013.  “Forest visitors have been diligent in putting out their campfires and taking care not to spark a human-caused fire,” states Kelly Russell, Forest Supervisor, “but we feel it’s critical to reduce the potential for any additional fire starts during this period of drought and high fire danger.”

Silver City, NM – The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents, at its annual spring meeting voted unanimously to pass domestic partnership benefits for university employees.

The vote of approval was the culmination of efforts by both faculty and staff senates that had within their own bodies passed votes in favor for the benefits. With the board’s approval, domestic partners are now eligible for insurance benefits. The couples must meet the legally required standards as set forth by the university’s insurance carrier.

Alamogordo officials have decided not to prohibit drivers from texting or using cell phones while behind the wheel.

According to the Alamogordo Daily News, several commissioners said during Tuesday's meeting that the proposed bans were unenforceable.

Other commissioners have objected to language that exempted law enforcement and criticized wording that said when a person is presumed to have broken the law.

The commission struggled with the proposed ban for months as it added and deleted various provisions.

Legislator auditors are recommending that New Mexico strengthen its regulatory oversight of gambling at horse racing tracks and casinos operated by Indian tribes.

A Legislative Finance Committee report released Wednesday said the New Mexico Racing Commission and the state Gaming Control Board are understaffed and hampered by limited regulatory powers.

Dry conditions are prompting federal officials to impose more fire restrictions in New Mexico.

The Bureau of Land Management will be implementing restrictions across 2.5 million acres in central New Mexico starting May 20. The area includes Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, McKinley, Sandoval, Socorro and Valencia counties.

Campfires as well as charcoal, coal and wood stoves will be prohibited under the BLM restrictions. Smoking will also be limited to vehicles, buildings and developed recreation sites.

Federal prosecutors say the last of nine defendants charged in connection with a drug trafficking case in southern New Mexico has been sentenced.

Sandra Portillo on Wednesday was ordered to serve 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. She and her husband were accused of using Pettit Farms and Nursery in Anthony, N.M., as a place to store and sell drugs.

Prosecutors say the Portillos and their sons sold drugs to an undercover agent on five separate occasions.

Gov. Susana Martinez says New Mexico National Guard senior officers can serve as commanders of active duty military forces assigned to help with wildfires and other emergencies in the state.

The governor said Wednesday the agreement with the Defense Department should help streamline emergency response efforts. Her announcement came as New Mexico braces for a potentially difficult wildfire season because of prolonged drought conditions.

Congress has approved an additional $19 million for nuclear waste cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The New Mexico congressional delegation on Wednesday announced the approval of a "reprogramming" request by the Department of Energy to transfer money from other programs to ensure the lab can meet its promise to remove thousands of barrels of radioactive waste by 2014.

The potential dangers of the waste, which is stored above ground, made national headlines in 2011 when the Las Conchas fire raged near the lab.

A new audit has found that more than 50 inmates were mistakenly released early from New Mexico prisons largely due to miscalculations.

The New Mexico Corrections Department released Wednesday a review of 6,900 inmate files and identified 51 offenders who were incorrectly released early between September 2010 and September 2012.

Names of those released early were not named since authorities were seeking to bring them back into custody.

Officials say the audit was "phase 1" of three massive reviews of inmate files.