Latest Article|September 3, 2020|Free
::Making Grown Men Cry Since 1992
Josh Lee
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3 min read
According to the New Mexico Attorney General, the University of New Mexico has violated public records laws by withholding documents from investigators.The Associated Press reports that the AG’s Office sent a letter to the university last week, claiming that the school has repeatedly broken public records laws in the past and did so again earlier this year when it refused to release documents to the Albuquerque Journal. The records in question were self-assessment reports created by school officials during the accreditation process.A spokesperson for the university said the letter had been received and the records would be released.Last year the AG’s Office released a report that revealed numerous violations of state public records laws. Agents raided the University of New Mexico Foundation’s office at the time and seized documents and computer hard drives connected to another investigation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Division has instated a new Violent Crimes Task Force to deal with what they say is an increasing citywide crime problem.According to KRQE, Special Agent in Charge Jim Langenberg told reporters that Albuquerque’s crime problem has been showing an increasing trend. To combat the issue, Langenberg created the special unit to “focus on repeat violent offenders, both adult and juvenile, who are committing federal crimes.” The new task force has members from APD, State Police and the Sheriff’s Office as well as FBI agents. Police hope coordination between the different law enforcement agencies will help identify repeat offenders.A recent surge in crime prompted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to assign 50 New Mexico State Police to patrol the Albuquerque Metro area as part of the Metro Surge Operation. Half of those officers were told to return to their original posts after public concerns were raised about differences between city and state police use-of-force policies.
An annual report has ranked New Mexico the worst state to raise a child in for the third time.The 2019 Kids Count Data Book was released earlier this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The yearly report analyzes data from across the country to create profiles of state trends in child well-being. The study uses markers in economic well-being, education, health and family and community to rank the states. Indicators like the number of children in poverty, fourth-graders not proficient in reading and eighth-graders not proficient in math, low birth-weight babies, child and teen deaths and children in single-parent families to determine rankings in the four areas.According to the results, New Mexico was 49th in the nation for economic well-being, 50th for education, 48th in health and 50th in family and community. The state received an overall rating of 50th in the US for child well-being. According to a press release from New Mexico Voices for Children, the state was also ranked last in 2013 and again in 2018.