Regional

The search committee for Doña Ana Community College’s next president will conduct listening sessions across Doña Ana County to seek input on the search for the next DACC president from supporters.
 

  Las Cruces firefighters extinguished a multi-vehicle fire Monday.  Firefighters were dispatched to the 100 block of Buckhorn Avenue shortly after noon for a residential structure fire.  The first arriving fire crew witnessed heavy black smoke billowing from a fire that fully engulfed an RV.  The fire spread to two nearby pick up trucks due to wind.  The quick response of the initial fire crew allowed the fire to be contained within minutes of arrival and kept the fire from spreading to nearby mobile homes. 

The U.S. Marshals Service in Albuquerque has auctioned seized vehicles and raised more than $200,000.

The agency said the auction over the weekend netted $212,175 for law enforcement and victims of crime groups. Among the items auctioned were a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette that sold for $3,800 and a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette that sold for $20,500.

Officials say the items auctioned once belonged to individuals and companies involved in criminal activity.

  More than a dozen fire crews from Mesilla to Sunland Park and across the state line in El Paso County are working to control a series of massive brush fires that, according to emergency personnel, have already consumed an unknown number of structures near Santa Teresa and Sunland Park.

New Mexico State University is seeking to help ranchers with wildlife management and brush control amid a dangerous fire season.

The school is hosting a wildlife management round-table discussion Tuesday at the Southwest Center for Rangeland Sustainability for area ranchers.

Shad Cox, ranch manager of the Corona Range and Livestock Research Center, says reduced income for ranchers due to drought conditions has made managing wildlife for income diversification a very important component to land management.

AUSTIN, May 20- Today, the Legislature passed SB 124, which increase penalties for reporting false school data.

The Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) is used by TEA to collect student and teacher data from school districts and open-enrollment charters. Collecting accurate and complete data through PEIMS is vital to ensure accountability in the Texas school system.

Superintendent Steve Riley announced today that the Gila Cliff Dwellings will be closed from June 3 through 7, 2013 for hazard rock removal from the cliff face directly above the dwellings.  Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument will offer twice-daily, ranger-guided tours of the TJ Site while the cliff dwellings are closed.

New Mexico is switching gears on its plan for a health insurance exchange and initially will partner with the federal government for computer services needed for an online marketplace for uninsured individuals.

Exchange board chairman J.R Damron said Monday that New Mexico will focus on having a state-run insurance exchange ready for small businesses this fall and will use a federally operated exchange to offer insurance coverage to individuals for the next year.