Rex Barron

The UNM Hospital’s new policy puts a leash on prescription drug pushers

It's a common tactic: drug advertisements plastered on every pen, notepad, clipboard, tissue box and stapler in doctors' offices.

Courtesy of Sheffield Partners

Builder appeals to the City Council for a large condo project in the university area

Neighbors say it would be too tall, too big and too dense. The developer says density promotes environmental conservation.

Religious discrimination or zoning conflict?

By the time a decision is made, the Church of Scientology will have been trying to occupy the Gizmo building in the heart of Downtown for about a year. "We were told we would be in the building, that it wouldn't be a problem," says lawyer David Campbell, who represents the church. Though the group has purchased the building, it's had a series of zoning hurdles to jump before it can move in.

What's giving people salmonella? Northern New Mexico gets a summer surprise. A local sports hero in a tight spot. And where is New Mexico State University's president headed?

Primary yields political extremes

This wasn't the kind of primary season where you could tell in advance who was going to come out lead pony. The voters spoke. Here's what they had to say about the races we covered in our primary election issue:

Several groups of citizens packed the June 2 City Council meeting. First up to bat were firefighters, who asked the Council to approve a collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the administration. The Council approved, although several councilors said they should have been consulted on any contract running three years.

Last week’s Democratic primary election results in the Bernalillo County state legislative races contained several shockers for ol’-style New Mexico political observers. Several very experienced and savvy pundits misfired badly on races in which senior, tenured lawmakers were knocked off by challengers.

Eric J. Garcia

Dateline: Japan—Customs officials at the Narita International Airport are looking for five ounces of marijuana that got snuck into a random passenger’s suitcase. BBC News reports a customs official hid a package of the banned substance in order to test airport security. Sniffer dogs failed to detect the cannabis and the officer could not remember which bag he had put it in. “The case was extremely regrettable. I would like to deeply apologize,” said the airport’s customs head, Manpei Tanaka. The test was conducted against regulations. Normally, a training suitcase is used. “I knew that using passengers’ bags is prohibited,” said the unnamed officer who planted the pot. “But I did it because I wanted to improve the sniffer dog’s ability.” Anyone finding the free package of dope has been asked to contact customs officials.

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