Regional

Uranium Resources, Inc. has announced that it will be closing its offices in Albuquerque, Crownpoint and Grants.

The move announced Friday is aimed at reducing corporate overhead, but URI President and CEO Christopher Jones says the company is still committed to the projects is has pending in New Mexico.

The Lewisville, Texas-based company says the changes will likely be complete by the end of June. The company expects to save about $1.5 million annual with the consolidation.

Gila National Forest officials say another portion of the popular Catwalk National Recreation Trail is expected to open soon.

Forest employees are replacing an additional quarter mile of the trail and hope to have the work done by Memorial Day.

Glenwood District Ranger Pat Morrison says the U.S. Forest Service recognizes the importance of the trail to local residents and tourists.

As the Legislature barrels toward its Memorial Day finish, Gov. Rick Perry is getting more powerful by the hour.

That power is tied to Perry's veto pen and his demonstrated willingness to wield it like a sledge hammer over his 12 years as governor. He has vetoed more than 260 bills and used his line-item veto power over the state budget to slash billions in spending.

The University of New Mexico says it has reached an agreement in principal with former men's basketball coach Steve Alford over his buyout.

Alford said in April he was willing to pay a $200,000 buyout for leaving the Albuquerque school to take a job at UCLA, but he wouldn't pay the $1 million payment that New Mexico wanted.

The dispute stemmed from the timing of his announcement and a term sheet he had signed just weeks before agreeing to a new 10-year contract with New Mexico that included a $1 million buyout.

The city of Santa Fe has launched a $1 million project aimed at improving the city's broadband infrastructure and boosting the availability of high-speed Internet connections.

City officials announced Friday that they have issued a request for firms to compete for the opportunity to design, build, own and operate a fiber-optic link from downtown Santa Fe to the St. Michael's corridor.

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units.

The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, at a meeting in Texas, would retain a ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions.