CRIME FILE — Police lights shown in West Valley City on Sept BY ALTON BARNHART SALT LAKE CITY — A Davis County man was arrested Friday night for alleged possession of two pounds of ketamine Officers with the Davis County said they were investigating a local distributor from March 25 to April 25 officers were able to obtain information on the suspect It said Apodaca was allegedly selling large quantities of controlled substances Officers said they were able to locate Apodaca traveling back from out of town and coordinate a traffic stop with local law enforcement the affidavit stated that a K9 unit was deployed Police said they found approximately two pounds of ketamine in the car during the search Apodaca was read his Miranda Rights before admitting that the substance in the car was Ketamine Officers said Apodaca also admitted to selling large amounts of cocaine Apodaca was arrested for intent to distribute controlled substances and was booked into the Davis County Jail Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Roger's journey began at Blackford High School in San Jose he developed a sense of determination that would guide him throughout his life At 14 he discovered his passion for cooking while working as a busboy Leading him to work in and own several restaurants Cross Lutheran Bible Camp he met his beloved wife Roger and Nicole were so excited and filled with love when their daughter was born a few years later while they were still living at Mt where Roger continued to thrive in the culinary arts along with his work at Sysco Foods and managing the bakery at Pete's County Market/Cub Foods Roger loved making delicious food for friends He spent much of his free time volunteering for various camps and churches to help prepare meals for large groups of people He was kind-hearted and gave generously of his time and talents Roger was happiest when he was working with others in the kitchen Roger cherished the moments spent with Ingrid creating delicious recipes and memories that will last a lifetime The joy of camping as a family and simply enjoying the outdoors were treasured experiences that brought them closer together He approached life with a sense of humor that could light up any room; his unique version of "Happy Birthday" is fondly remembered by those who were fortunate enough to receive it Roger had an uncanny ability to turn any gathering into a delightful event often brightened by his stories and laughter and friends who will honor his memory in their own cherished ways but the love they cultivated will continue to resonate within those who knew Roger marked by a masterful touch in the kitchen and the warmth of fellowship but his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved him.  11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home with a Memorial Service at 12:00 PM at the Funeral Home.   Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors The city’s primary website is slated for a comprehensive revamp from a California-based vendor, due in part to staff’s assessment that the work needed to properly improve the site exceeds their resources and abilities. An item on next week’s City Council agenda would allocate $5.5 million for a six-year contract with TW Lrw Holdings led by the Communications and Technology Management (CTM) and Communications and Public Information Office (CPIO) teams comes as part of the city’s response to the changing needs of users as well as years of criticism for the website’s performance and organization including a new “All Services Hub” and language translation software while reducing website content from 16,000 to less than 9,000 pages to streamline navigation Despite these efforts, the current infrastructure has been deemed insufficient for meeting Austin’s growing population’s needs, according to a recent memo to Council and Mayor Kirk Watson from Kerrica Laake director of Communications & Technology Management director of the Communications & Public Information Office The memo said Material Holdings will make improvements to enhance user experience Improvements specified in the memo include improved search and navigation integration with the city’s other digital systems and better accessibility for all users The request for proposal issued last year received 14 responses, with the city looking for “a modern (site) focused on a personalized customer experience which is both intuitive and efficient.” Prior attempts to improve the website have been marked by starts and stops, with past employees involved in the efforts saying the work wasn’t grounded in the concept of offering the best possible experience for residents and others visiting the site chair of the city’s Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission said he’s been pleased by recent work to make it easier for users to apply for a job or contact City Council members Apodaca said some of his priorities for the new site include ease of use for all digital literacy levels responsive design for easy use on all devices and high reliability and uptime to reduce backups in service offerings said the website’s upcoming revamp has come as a surprise Dasgupta said the city will need to provide its chosen vendor with a clear requirements document that will ensure consistency across all pages they visit “The front screen should be identical to everything else with pulldown menus for the different departments or hot buttons that take you to specific parts of the city departments like Austin Water and Austin Energy,” he said “One of the things that customers always came back with is don’t give us a feeling that we’re jumping from one front end to another but there should be some consistent set of rules and the terminology and semantics should be the same.” former chief innovation officer for the city said rather than a complete overhaul of the site the city should consider an approach that improves small pieces separately to ensure they work with each other and perform as needed for users “We had to adopt the practices of agile software development where you’re taking off these little bites and you’re checking it with designers and then you’re coding it and the designers are checking it with people,” she said “It’s the opposite of doing a five-year plan It’s more like establishing something to achieve and then checking with everybody on the back end And we’re honored you look to us for serious You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization Chad Swiatecki is a 20-year journalist who relocated to Austin from his home state of Michigan in 2008 He most enjoys covering the intersection of arts Austin American-Statesman and many other regional and national outlets Communications and Public Information: This city department provides information to the media engages with stakeholders in the community and promotes city projects and initiatives Communications and Technology Management Department The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one See which district you live in The Austin Monitor is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization We are fully-local and cover the important issues and key decisions at the intersection between the local government and the community Whether that opposition succeeds remains an open question. But it is notable that those entities taking action are organized, influential and sophisticated in their efforts. They are using their platforms and resources in an attempt to counter the highly controversial measures promoted by a four-member council majority, and the people involved are as determined as they are passionate. The four elected officials in question— Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns and council members Tony Strickland and Casey McKeon — should take heed. The changes to city policy and operations that they have pursued, which are deeply unpopular with a large segment of voters, might not stand in the long run. They have been aided in these efforts by the hard-charging city attorney, Michael Gates, while they’ve been opposed by council members Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Rhonda Bolton. The battles over these issues have kept the city in the spotlight, and not in a good way. While many other communities in Orange County and across the country have taken similarly extreme steps, Huntington Beach has gained a nationwide reputation for its full-scale embrace of far-right extremism and intolerance — a reputation that many residents want no part of. In particular, the council’s attack on the city’s public library system is generating a strong groundswell of community activism. The City Council is in the process of forming a parent/guardian review board of up to 21 appointed members that will screen children’s books for sexual content and references, superseding the decisions made by library staff regarding which books to include and where they should be shelved. The council is also soliciting proposals to turn public library operations over to a private company. That idea came to them from former Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey, who now works for Library Systems & Services, a private operator of public libraries which would presumably be the front-runner to win a contract. Opinion For many, allergy symptoms are starting earlier in the year and lasting past spring. Is a warming planet to blame? None of this makes sense to Dina Chavez, a board member and past president of the nonprofit Friends of the Library, which has 1,200 dues-paying volunteer members who run used-book sales, a gift shop, programs and fundraisers. The library would undoubtedly lose the $250,000 the organization raises each year if the privatization plan is implemented. Trusted and experienced librarians would also be lost, Chavez expects, because they would likely be forced to reapply for positions at lower salaries and benefits. Reduced levels of service would result. “We’re trying to stop this because there’s actually nothing wrong with our library,” she said. “There’s no reason to do this. It baffles me that they’re even considering such a thing.” So in an effort to raise awareness, the Friends of the Library has been distributing thousands of signs emblazoned with “Support Our Library” and “I (heart symbol) HBPL” messaging. They’ve been on display all over the city — on lawns and in marches down Main Street — showing just how committed many residents are to preserving the current library system. That sentiment is deep and broad, as demonstrated by a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Orange County Employees Assn., a public sector union with about 12,000 active members, including five management-level HBPL employees. The survey found that 67% of the city residents queried said they opposed library privatization when they were initially asked. After arguments for and against privatization were presented, the share of respondents in opposition rose to 74%. “We didn’t bake the cake to get a result that was engineered,” said Tim Steed, OCEA’s assistant general manager. “ It’s clear that the electorate opposes this decision.” And those marches down Main Street toward the pier — those are organized by Protect Huntington Beach, a group started in early 2023 when a few citizens became alarmed by the City Council’s culture war agenda. It was later registered as a political action committee, and its aim is to educate the public and campaign against what its members see as dangerous changes to city governance. Lately it is focusing its efforts on a petition to repeal the book review committee and on stopping the privatization of the public library. The marches draw anywhere from 100 to 400 participants every Friday evening. Other methods the group employs include sit-ins, rallies and signature-gathering. “The level of support we’re getting from volunteers has been overwhelming,” said Protect Huntington Beach’s co-chair Cathey Ryder, a retired high school activities director and one of the co-founders of the organization. If Huntington Beach City Council members are paying attention — as they should — they’ll realize that this kind of grassroots community activism has been proven throughout history to be highly effective. The growing movement to stop the council’s wrongheaded policies should not be underestimated. Patrice Apodaca is a former Los Angeles Times staff writer and is coauthor of “A Boy Named Courage: A Surgeon’s Memoir of Apartheid.” She lives in Newport Beach. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Osteen Publishing Company: You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails For information about our privacy practices We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More vice chairman of the City of Austin’s Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission now is the time to get ahead of the emerging technology of artificial intelligence “Right now we’re sort of at an inflection point when it comes to AI businesses and vendors are starting to use this,” Apodaca said The local tech consultant is one of many members of a newly formed task force assigned by City Council to provide feedback on its uses and where to draw the line Little is known about where that information goes and what’s done with it.  Item 24 was spearheaded by City Council member Vanessa Fuentes who says it’s important for tech hubs like Austin to join the likes of New York Seattle and San Jose with guidelines and policies for how AI can and should be used by city municipalities we want to have guardrails in place,” Fuentes said “We want to ensure our residents understand their rights and that they understand their civil liberties as well University of Texas at Austin journalism professor Sharon Strover was already working on a focus group looking at the use of AI as it relates to cameras and drones when the city called While the educator was happy to share her data “At minimum it’s important for city governments to know who’s doing what,” Strover said “And for city government to be acquainted with privacy concerns residents and citizens might air.” A system of checks and balances to better prepare for the opportunities and unintended consequences of a machine-learning universe “I think there’s an opportunity for the city commission and for UT and even Fortune 500 companies to really educate people,” Apodaca said This park is a hub for our families and youth in my district and many other folks in Las Cruces and neighboring communities.This 25-acre urban hub for outdoor recreation and family gatherings serves a melting pot of park users and diverse interests you will see a variety of folks sharing this space such as children playing  soccer and volleyball to include families hosting birthday parties and barbecues and lowrider clubs showing off their beautiful rides named after former Las Cruces Mayor Mike Apodaca is also adorned by the unmistakable statue "Dineh," a tribute to our region's Native American history That is why it is so important that we continue to focus our city's reinvestment efforts on our urban parks that help improve our quality of life the City of Las Cruces was one of only a handful of cities to be awarded a nearly $1 million grant from the Land & Water Conservation Fund a federal program that uses offshore oil and gas royalties — at no cost to taxpayers — to help fund critical investments to help families and kids get outside in cities across the country This program is part of the tangible benefits that local communities receive from the federal government and is a wise investment to improve the quality of life of  our residents across the state of New Mexico The nearly $1 million grant will provide the city with resources to build a new multi-use trail new exercise equipment and bathrooms and an upgraded playground. The city swimming pool at the park will finally be demolished During a time of partisan gridlock in Congress I am pleased to see that there is bipartisan support for providing full funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund at its original authorized amount of $900 million.  I am hopeful that we can count on additional investments from this important fund and continue to ask these elected officials to reach across the aisle to ensure this program is fully funded this year bringing potential new investments to our parks all around the city The Land and Water Conservation Fund is one of our nation’s most successful conservation programs including providing funding to protect some of New Mexico’s most beautiful outdoor spaces LWCF has helped provide access to public lands for hunting which won permanent authorization by Congress just last year is used to pay for federal land acquisition preserving public lands for recreational use and numerous grants to states and counties for local outdoor projects.  To learn more about the Land and Water Conservation fund and how it benefits New Mexicans every day, visit http://savelwcfnewmexico.com/ Kasandra Gandara is the mayor pro tem of Las Cruces and represents District 1 LAS CRUCES - Apodaca Park will receive a $750,000 grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund via the National Park Service which the city of Las Cruces had sought since 2018 Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall along with U.S The Las Cruces City Council approved the grant request in the summer of 2018 to help fund a $1.5 million renovation of the city park Plans included the construction of a multi-use trail The swimming pool and adjacent shower facility in the park The remaining funds are to be derived from park impact fees assessed on new housing development in the city This sculpture is a familiar feature of Apodaca Park in Las Cruces The park renovations were part of a neighborhood development project councilors approved in 2018 called the Apodaca Blueprint Udall's father, former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, helped create the Land and Water Conservation Fundin 1964 during the administration of President Lyndon B "I am proud that we have significantly increased our investments in LWCF in recent years," Udall said in a statement "and I’m going to continue fighting to ensure LWCF is permanently funded so that communities across the country can always protect their neighborhood parks and wild places for their children.” Stay current on all our local reporting. Subscribe to the Las Cruces Sun-News today and numerous grants to states and counties for local outdoor projects The fund's revenue comes mostly from offshore oil and gas leases While the fund is authorized to collect $900 million annually Congress does not typically appropriate the full amount for the fund $495 million was appropriated for the LWCF an increase of nearly nine percent over last year participated in a group hike on the Achenbach Canyon trail in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks national monument on Sunday Conservationists and lawmakers have called for mandatory full funding for the LWCF touting its benefits for conservation and local economic development "We are now fighting to permanently fund this incredibly effective conservation program to ensure that the outdoor spaces rooted in our communities are accessible for all families to enjoy,” Heinrich said in a statement The announcement came days after Torres Small joined local officials and conservationists for a group hike in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks national monument to raise awareness of the LWCF The LWCF funding was welcomed by city councilor Gabriel Vasquez playgrounds and safe places for youth and their families to play outdoors is a fundamental building block of a healthy community." This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page George Apodaca this summer opened BLANC Cowork + Studio in Fort Worth the latest addition to the city’s cowork scene “The creative community is growing in Fort Worth and it’s exciting to be a part of it.” The space is at 2212 W off of Interstate 30 and Forest Park Boulevard near downtown The 7,000-square-foot space is in a converted industrial warehouse and is designed to support photography Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Apodaca celebrated the studio’s grand opening with the Chamber and I knew I wanted to be part of them.”   $11.7 Million in Competitive Grants to Benefit Underserved Communities Download the NPS app to navigate the parks on the go Print The precise moment of birth for public libraries in the U.S Considerable credit is often given to Benjamin Franklin Books were relatively scarce in Colonial America so Franklin and other well-heeled contemporaries pooled their resources and founded a membership-funded library he donated a collection of books to a Massachusetts town leading to what some believe was the nation’s first public library Others give that designation to the first totally tax-supported library whereas the Darby Free Library in Pennsylvania However we choose to mark the foundational moment for public libraries it’s clear that from the earliest days in our nation’s history great value was placed on making a wide variety of books available to all comers even as public libraries have evolved and solidified their place as exemplars of our democratic ideals and robust centerpieces of civic life but first let’s examine a little more historical context men from elite families often saw it as their mission to bring education to the masses through the library movement while wealthy women typically served as volunteers particularly after the 1876 founding of the American Library Assn. the first and largest professional library organization in the world educational and professional standards for library workers were developed and systems were designed to improve operations Libraries started appearing in smaller towns rural destinations and harder-to-access areas They transformed into indispensable community hubs much of this expansion was made possible by one man the philanthropic model was increasingly replaced by a public funding model passionate librarians to fan out across the country improving access to books through the establishment of central libraries and small branches in previously underserved neighborhoods There were some darker aspects of this growth By the 1950s, however, the ALA had taken a strong anti-censorship stand, and for the most part modern public libraries have striven to make their collections as broad and diverse as possible. In communities across the country, these institutions — funded primarily by the people, for the people — stand as stewards of free thought and expression. That’s a question I would like to put to four members of the Huntington Beach City Council, who appear intent on returning to a time when censorship and avoidance of diverse viewpoints often went unchecked. These council members, who constitute a majority on the seven-member council, have led an effort that would result in bans or restrictions on certain books they deem objectionable, undoubtedly those with LGBTQ+ or racial themes. They plan to establish a committee of political appointees that would have the final say on which titles are included in the city’s public library collection, overriding decisions made by trained librarians and the desires of many city residents. That’s bad enough, but there’s more. Now these council members say they are considering handing over operational control of the public library system to a private, for-profit company. Apparently some months ago Huntington Beach was approached by its former mayor, Mike Posey, who now works for Library Systems & Services, which bills itself as the nation’s only company focused on operating public libraries. Library Systems has worked aggressively to win contracts to run public libraries across country, including in a few Southern California cities, in part by promising operational efficiencies. But controversy has followed it in some communities, where critics complain that the company’s first loyalty is to its investors, and contend that it cuts costs by decimating staff and baring library shelves. Notably, Fullerton decided to pass on a suggestion to turn library operations over to the company. Huntington Beach’s current mayor, Gracey Van Der Mark, who has spearheaded the effort to establish the library review committee, said the city should consider a proposal from Library Systems because of potential cost savings. But many city residents see this as yet another attempt by Van Der Mark and other council members to wrest control over the public library and its staff because of their personal objections to some types of books. Outsourcing government operations to the private sector can be appropriate in certain circumstances. But in the case of the Huntington Beach public library, alarmed residents can only shake their heads in dismay at yet another attempt to fix something that isn’t broken — a well-run, beloved institution that brings value to the community it serves. It’s long past time for the Huntington Beach City Council to listen to the fervent pleas of their constituents, put their backward-looking agenda and extreme ideologies aside, and end the assault on the public library. History will be watching. Included in this onslaught of extreme and potentially harmful acts are the following: There’s more, but just for now I’d like to focus in on the apparent belief, stridently upheld by four of the seven sitting City Council members, that librarians simply cannot be trusted. Librarians. Those benign book nerds. The dedicated professionals who love written words so much that they devote their lives to ensuring that everyone can partake in the pleasure and fulfillment they bring. Apparently they’ve all been part of some woke plot to corrupt our youth and spread — I don’t know what exactly. Ideas? Diverse perspectives? Literacy? The city officials leading the charge decided to form a citizen-review panel, consisting of members that they cherry pick, which will be empowered to usurp the judgment of trained librarians to decide what books are suitable for the public libraries or that should be transferred from the children to adult sections. These types of book-banning crusades have been playing out in communities across the nation, as well as in other parts of Orange County. Yet Huntington Beach is a particularly egregious example of this noxious trend, in part because its initiative is one piece of a package of extreme measures, and due to the methodical, single-minded way certain council members have pursued this agenda. The current climate has made life difficult for librarians, who by now would likely be more than happy to ditch their sudden notoriety and return to their previously overlooked and underappreciated status. “I know a lot of librarians, who didn’t get into the field to be called groomers and get death threats,” said Stephanie Beverage, who retired in November 2020 after nearly 12 years serving as the director of library services for Huntington Beach. Beverage herself provides a sterling example of why, instead of undermining librarians, we should celebrate them for the hard-earned expertise and dedication they bring to communities. It’s not easy to step back from our consumerist instincts, but it might be worth the effort as unneeded items pile up. After graduating from El Dorado High School in Placentia, she earned a bachelor of arts in history at UCLA and a master’s degree in history from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where her exposure to the many excellent libraries in our nation’s capital influenced her career choice. She returned to UCLA for a master’s in library science. Fueling this flurry of activity is a core belief in the power of libraries to enrich lives. “Libraries are at the heart of educating the next generation of leaders,” she said. Beverage is so committed to this mission that she remains involved even in retirement, currently serving as an unpaid trustee for the Placentia Library District. She is both mystified and alarmed by the continuing attacks on libraries, which strike at the heart of 1st Amendment free speech protections and the American tradition of intellectual freedom. Parents certainly have the right to guide their own children’s learning, she acknowledged, but that right does not extend to other people’s children. Equally baffling is the idea that an untrained group of citizens would conduct the same kind of detailed, rigorous review and selection process involving the thousands of titles that are considered for inclusion in every library collection — a process that is both data-driven and tailored to the needs of the communities these institutions serve. “I have absolutely no idea how any of what they proposed or suggested [in Huntington Beach] is going to work. It’s an absolute logistical nightmare.” Logistics aside, Huntington Beach’s plan is also just plain wrong. It’s an affront to skilled professionals and an unwarranted restriction of residents’ rights to make their own choices for themselves and their children. As Beverage likes to say, “free people read freely.” Huntington Beach City Council, let the people you represent read freely. LAS CRUCES - The City of Las Cruces is asking for additional public input as part of the ongoing Apodaca Blueprint neighborhood planning project A new online mapping tool is available for interested people to view and comment on updated concept plans being prepared for the former Las Cruces Country Club site The online mapping tool allows participants to view preliminary ideas regarding the placement of buildings More: Blueprint for Apodaca Park neighborhood improvement online Apodaca Blueprint to guide development of Villa Mora, former country club properties The Apodaca Blueprint was initiated on Sept. 18, 2017. Those interested may learn more about the Apodaca Blueprint neighborhood planning initiative at: www.apodacablueprint.com. Residents, property owners, and business owners may access the online mapping tool at apodaca.halff.com A corresponding “Concept Plan” public survey also remains open and may be accessed In English and Spanish at surveymonkey.com contact Timothy Pitts with the Community Development Department at 575-528-3089 or tpitts@las-cruces.org LAS CRUCES - The Apodaca Blueprint a plan to develop two parcels of open land on either end of East Madrid Avenue is moving forward after a series of public workshops in early January and despite residents’ concerns about pending litigation on one of the locations — the site of the former Las Cruces Country Club The study is being conducted by Halff and Associates They were hired by the city and are being paid $139,000 to assess the parcels and consider input from the city then recommend uses that would be in line with the city’s comprehensive development plans with representatives from Halff revamping designs in response to each day’s public sessions The suggestions and designs are being reviewed and refined for presentation at more public meetings to be held in February senior planner with Halff and the project lead “We’re only half way through,” Lentz said on the final night of the workshops public engagement is not over.”  More: Las Cruces Country Club files for bankruptcy The public can review plans and offer comments online at apodacablueprint.com The city is encouraging residents to voice their opinions partly in response to concerns that early plans for the former country club property were rushed through without input from neighbors who has lived in and out of the country club neighborhood since 2006 said he was “impressed by the level of involvement” and number of community members who turned out for the workshops “The planner did a really good job of presenting the ideas of what could be possible,” Tsyitee said “I really liked the layout and maps they had By day three you saw the iterations of day one and day two They were constantly updating maps and information By Thursday they had a good idea of the commonality they were seeing Time will tell when they come back if they really did pay attention or if there was any hidden influence we didn’t see at the time.”  “One of the reasons for putting the plan together was making sure that engagement took place,” said David Weir the city’s chief planning administrator “The city administration felt that was important the major portion of that is in her district really wanted to make sure every effort was made to do that.” More: Bankruptcy court: Country club assets as much as $4.8 million City officials expect to have a final design from Halff in February to present first to Planning and Zoning and then to the full City Council Council could then vote to adopt the blueprint as early as March the blueprint will serve as a guide for the type of development the city wants to see in both the roughly 158-acre former country club property as well as an approximately 77-acre parcel at the east end of Madrid Avenue called the Villa Mora Dam area The plan will also consider various improvements to surrounding neighborhoods and Madrid Avenue itself which Lentz referred to as “the neighborhood's main street.” The blueprint’s scope includes “land use transportation and housing,” said Larry Nichols the city’s community development director And it presents the city with a chance to design a major portion of a neighborhood within the existing city limits “We’ve got this one area and you don’t get those opportunities that often,” Nichols said “I believe the city planners and leadership could have developed a plan; but when you have a unique opportunity like this it’s best practice and good thinking to involve a consultant to come in and realize what the potential could be it’s going to be something like Central Park in New York It will have a uniqueness for this city that some other similar-type developments have,” Nichols continued “It will be a point of difference we don’t have.” The Villa Mora site contains roughly 77 acres of undeveloped land at the eastern end of East Madrid Avenue which abuts Triviz Drive and a berm — the remnant of an old dam the support was overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the property in as natural a state as possible It would include some “neighborhood commercial” spaces around Triviz and Madrid which would transition into “low impact” office space The designers are eyeing the bulk of the acreage as a possible nature park with walking trails The berm could be incorporated as an elevated trail overlooking desert ponding areas that would foster native vegetation and wildlife An ecological center could be included to host community meetings or corporate retreats and serve as an educational destination as well It could be designed to include a café area MORE: City: Amador project, Church-Water conversion on time, on budget That ecological center would be set back from the businesses and retain a natural feel The portion south of Madrid is being eyed as an extension of the green space that could be used for gatherings such as concerts A paved parking area could be used for the Las Cruces Food Truck Fiesta and food trucks could provide catering for concerts and other events It would also create another “gateway” into the Apodaca Park neighborhood and include connections to other walking and biking trails “It’s something we don’t have now,” Nichols said “It’s something that gives us an opportunity to join in with other cities doing similar things We want those types of services available.” Development of the non-commercial portion of the property would likely fall to the city Commercial development would rely on private investors preliminary work could begin shortly after council approval and as budgets allowed “It doesn’t take too much effort to push dirt around and make trails … some of those type projects could be forthcoming pretty quickly,” Nichols said Country ClubThe privately held land at the former country club property is divided into two areas Current plans call for a hospital and senior assisted-living facility The second portion of the property is held by Park Ridge Properties which is planning a residential and commercial development It is currently zoned residential for single-family homes The early version of the Apodaca Blueprint covers the area of the former country club as well as the current Apodaca Park It calls for a mix of multi-family and single-family housing that could include duplex or triplex housing apartments and more traditional homes with separate yards Apodaca Park would be incorporated into the design and would retain sports fields Additional amenities like tennis or pickleball courts could be added Walking trails will run throughout and provide pedestrian access to the different areas of the development with garden offices between the pond and the medical complex The issue of a pond in the desert area was raised with Halff engineers saying it could either be left dry when runoff evaporated or be filled with non-potable water A central commercial area would include shops and a possible anchor retailer or grocery store Sheri Ross have lived the area for 13 years Their home belonged to Sheri’s parents for 18 years prior to that Rick said they were both supportive of the “appropriate” development of the hospital/medical complex and would like to see it go forward at “full speed.” could use some development,” Rick said “We like the idea of a number of people have a workspace with vitality to it and an attractive neighborhood near where a resident of the old country club neighborhood since 2005 noted the only new green space in the three renderings is located in Apodaca Park behind the Alpha Tots and dance studio and is inaccessible by road from Madrid Her concern is that the only access would be from midway on Desert Drive where there is no parking She said one of the plans calls for a portion of Apodaca Park to be used for commercial development in exchange for the “inferior and inaccessible land in return to connect high-traffic East Madrid through the park at Solano.” More: Work to begin for medical campus on old country club property high-density apartments in another scenario back directly to the park with the development offering no other green space,” Potter said “We have always been concerned about developers making Apodaca their personal city tended park - this looks like how that can happen and can force out traditional users from the community.” She also noted the Halff consultants “consistently used the term ‘If the hospital is built,’ when discussing the 34 acres held by LC Medical Group.” said uncertainty over the hospital construction is unfounded “The 34 Park Ridge Medical Campus is moving forward,” Pofahl told the Sun-News “The improvements to the intersection of Main and Camino Real have been approved and will begin soon We are communicating with the city on the Apodaca Plan and support the revitalization plan for the park and surrounding neighborhood.” a private debt and equity firm based in Colorado Springs announced they would work with Johnson Commercial Real Estate on the construction of the hospital and that it would be managed by a consortium including Galichia Hospital Group construction was expected to be complete by the end of 2018 The Las Cruces Country Club sold the property to Pofahl in 2007 The two parcels were separated and rezoned but the property remained undeveloped and residents began to raise concerns over the legality of the land deal and whether work had begun within the allotted time to comply with city zoning and permitting requirements City officials have said the zoning for the medical complex is in place and "vested." The zoning for the remainder will be addressed when a developer comes forward with a plan but the current R-1 zoning is set until it is readdressed at that point.  Bankruptcy Court seeking to prevent Park Ridge and LC Medical from transferring lands and asking the court to void the original transfer of property to Park Ridge thereby returning it to the country club to be used as an asset in paying off debts owed under the terms of the bankruptcy filing A call to Montoya’s office seeking comment was not returned An attorney representing the Country Club declined to comment on behalf of his client citing pending litigation will likely include an appendix on the country club area, Weir said the project’s pace will hinge on the developer’s financing The blueprint will serve as a guide for developers who can come to the city to request zone changes for specific parcels or approach the city with a Planned Unit Development which allows for more flexibility and innovation than traditional zone changes The developer could also come forward with a plan to develop the entire residential area for single family homes If developers bring forward a PUD that aligns with the blueprint the zone changes would all be established as a group at that time with council’s approval “This is a very prominent property in the city,” Weir said “You have a main street that comes into the city It’s one of those properties you don’t usually see 100-acre tract in the middle of the city and have the opportunity to be innovative with it; to integrate with the existing neighborhood The improvement made on this property makes it as marketable and resilient At the same time it gives you the opportunity to integrate with the neighborhood.” Jason Gibbs may be reached at 575-541-5451, jgibbs@lcsun-news.com or @fjgwriter on Twitter LAS CRUCES - A long-range vision that sets the stage for how redevelopment should happen in the former Las Cruces Country Club neighborhood will be voted upon Monday by the Las Cruces City Council Some residents of the neighborhood said they were satisfied with some parts of the plan — known as the Apodaca Blueprint — but not happy with others Some criticized that the city for releasing the final draft two weeks ago about a week prior to being voted upon Tuesday May 1 before the Las Cruces Planning & Zoning Commission Focus Area A is the privately owned Las Cruces Country Club property while Focus Area B covers the publicly owned Villa Mora levee property we received essentially a really wide range of public opinion about whether or not they wanted to see any development on either of these two focus areas and a wide range of public opinion on the intensity of development that might or should occur on each of those properties," Lenz said Continued Lenz: "It's important to acknowledge that we had a wide range of feedback we also had a lot of positive feedback throughout the process and also with the final concepts that are reported in the report documents." the concept was that higher density development would be in the west with less-dense development toward the east "a lot of people don't want to see development" on this acreage The plan would carve out one segment for a plaza-type future commercial project But most — about 47 acres — of the levee parcel would be reserved for natural habitat type recreation space, according to the plan The plan also recommends the city adopt rules that allow for certain styles of pedestrian and bicycle-friendly streets that currently aren't in the city's design rules.  A series of recommendations to the city about how to achieve the vision also is contained in the blueprint to revitalize and preserve the neighborhoods surrounding Madrid Avenue some of the recommendations include establishing a codes enforcement action team to promote compliance with environmental codes developing a "pavement preservation" program to carry out routine street maintenance and creating special assessment districts to pay for infrastructure improvements The plan also advises the city delve into marketing create a brand for the neighborhoods of the Apodaca Planning Area," the document states " Incorporate the brand on public signage and as part of an accompanying way-finding program." John of the Country Club Neighborhood Association told P & Z commissioners on May 1 they disapproved of a number of aspects of the blueprint as it applies to the former Las Cruces Country Club property at 2700 N They said the association didn't have enough time to review the blueprint as a group because it has only been released the week before the planning and zoning commission meeting they said they think the blueprint too closely resembled plans by a developer of the property from several years ago and includes too much commercial and intense development.  A city staff person said the plan looked similar to the developer's because there was an attempt to retain similarity John asked the planning and zoning commission to postpone action on the blueprint "This planning has to be done upfront," she said "These things should not be rushed through." The residents noted there's uncertainty surrounding about 76 acres of the former country club property because it's tied up in an ongoing bankruptcy case in federal court As for the criticism that the process was moving too fast city Director of Community Development Larry Nichols said that's because the city is trying to promote economic development initiatives "I have lots of folks who visit my department," he said "I've never heard one of them say: 'Let's have the city do nothing and take a long time doing it.'" P & Z Commissioner Abraham Sanchez expressed concerns about the possible traffic increase in the area due to increased development called for in the plan He noted he had a car "totaled" in an accident in the North Main Street area about a year ago.  P & Z Commissioner Sharon Thomas said the blueprint "is just a vision "My only concern is the neighborhood didn't get a chance to respond," she said the P & Z voted 6-0 on May 1 to recommend the blueprint to the city council The city council will consider the plan during a meeting at 1 p.m Read more about the plan at: http://www.apodacablueprint.com Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter We are hopeful that a new plan approved last week will begin the revival for an area of Las Cruces that has been in decline for several years ever since the closure of the Las Cruces Country Club approved last week in a unanimous vote by the Las Cruces City Council will provide the way forward for 730 acres bounded by Interstate 25 to the east Mesquite Street to the west and Main Street to the north That area was once a country club community With the 115-acre Las Cruces Country Club at 2700 N residents enjoyed the largest greenspace in the city and had served for decades as the centerpiece of the neighborhood But in November 2011 the golf club was shut down with members planning to take over the Sonoma Ranch course instead The country club property sat abandoned and neglected weeds overran the property and the trees that had once bedeviled golfers began to die for lack of water and care An effort was launched to encourage the city to purchase the site for a premiere park but the asking price was always far higher than what city officials were willing to pay The country club land was sold to developers instead with plans to build a medical complex on the property But the sale is now tied up in bankruptcy due to zoning issues That was the situation planners at Halff and Associates inherited when contracted by the city to provide a blueprint for the future They started with a series of public meetings attempting to determine what kind of development residents wanted and where A survey of area residents showed that changes are needed Nearly half (47 percent) or the residents said they thought the area had changed for the worse while only 12 percent said it had changed for the better Respondents said the area needed better street and sidewalk maintenance and was in need of new shops and restaurants which was approved unanimously by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and Las Cruces City Council calls for higher density development in the area of the former country club while restricting development at the nearby Villa Mora levee property and preserving that natural habitat Some residents said they did not have enough time to review the plan before it was voted on by the City Council and should be reviewed and changed in the future as necessary We understand that government plans by themselves do not bring jobs and private investment But they can lay the foundation to help attract those things That is our hope for the Apodaca Blueprint Print Oh You were doing so well — actually taking steps toward becoming a healthy thanks to a series of ignoble moves by current city leaders you’re once again looking like the poster child for what my late sister used to call “lockjaw of the mind” syndrome the city still had a long way to go to overcome its notoriety as a magnet for neo-Nazis it remains saddled with a tragically deserved reputation for being a community that fiercely and otherwise intolerant roots — a reputation that is reinforced every time a white supremacist demonstration is held or Nazi symbols surface So I don’t mean to suggest that this element disappeared Yet many of us took heart from the rays of progress that had begun to peak through in recent years when Ku Klux Klan propaganda was circulated in Huntington Beach the City Council issued a full-throated condemnation of the incident — a council that included the first black member — and passed three anti-racism measures The council also voted to fly the LGBTQ Pride flag during Pride Month every year These moves toward greater inclusion reflected the reality that Huntington Beach is inching toward diversity in its populace the city’s population was found to be 76.7% white; by the 2020 census the city appeared to be a more welcoming place But a majority on the current City Council want to erase the progress rewind the clock and hurl Huntington Beach back into its exclusionary Four members of the seven-member council — Mayor Tony Strickland Pat Burns and Casey McKeon — have been championing this disturbing vision over the objections of the remaining three members and despite pleas from many residents to reconsider their stances Daily Pilot columnist Patrice Apodaca believes a new City Council rule that effectively prohibits flying the LGBTQ Pride flag outside City Hall is discriminatory They denied the decision was aimed at the Pride flag even though it was the only one on the previously approved list that was excluded even had the temerity to suggest the Pride flag — widely recognized as symbol of love and acceptance — is “divisive” and that was justification for prohibiting it That vote was followed by another troubling decision by the same four-member majority. Earlier this month, they moved to restrict who would be eligible to deliver the invocations at council meetings These prayers have been offered by religious leaders who are part of the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council The dubious rationale for ditching that system and instead instructing the city manager and city attorney to compile a list of approved religious leaders was that the prayers had become “highly political.” Or did the move have more to do with the Interfaith Council’s stated goal of “understanding promoting and celebrating spiritual and cultural diversity,” or with the participation by a rabbi who had previously criticized Van Der Mark for posting what he described as bigoted material online These actions should also be viewed within the context of another development: Huntington Beach’s costly, controversial legal battle with the state over California’s affordable housing mandate but suffice it to say that the City Council refuses to abide by state laws seeking to remedy the severe housing shortage that has priced far too many people out of the market for homes contributing to homelessness and decisions by residents to move out of the state in large measure by NIMBYism; now Huntington Beach is pulling the ultimate Not In My Backyard move by blocking the solution The stated reasons for opposing the mandate center around accusations that it’s a draconian power play that subverts local control and threatens to overly urbanize the city But it’s impossible to ignore that the city leaders heading up the charge are same ones that champion other exclusionary policies It’s fair to ask if their motivations for opposing the housing laws are rooted in an ideologically driven goal of keeping out a certain “element” they consider undesirable The four council members who were swept into power in last November’s elections were elected to four-year terms It’s reasonable to assume they’re just getting started trying to impose their narrow vision of what Huntington Beach should look like and those who operate out of fear of that change will become yesterday’s news voters will insist upon leaving Huntington Beach’s disgraceful lockjaw-of-the-mind legacy fully in the past Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. ALBUQUERQUE – Albuquerque Chief of Police Harold Medina announced the resolution of a 33-year-old cold case with a murder charge related to the 1988 homicide of Althea Oakeley APD produced a video about the cold case investigation Police worked with the District Attorney’s Office to charge Paul Raymond Apodaca a native of Taos who was 21 at the time of her death was attending the University of New Mexico Chief Medina previously asked detectives in 2012 to look into Oakeley’s case when he became an APD Commander Medina once again asked detectives to explore any new leads in the case in 2018 after he became deputy chief Apodaca was arrested by University of New Mexico police on July 20 Apodaca told police he had committed several murders and rapes in the 1980s and 1990s because I knew Althea and her family from Taos,” Chief Medina said but I remember the impact her death had on our community I hope this arrest provides some closure for Althea’s parents and her brother I will always think about them as we work to bring justice for victims of crime.” APD Cold Case detectives have been investigating the murder of Oakeley as well as other murder cases and a shooting since Apodaca made his confessions Sex Crimes detectives have also been investigating his claims of raping women Detectives are attempting to corroborate details provided by Apodaca about each crime and verify whether any of those details were available to the public since the crimes occurred One rape has been tied to Apodaca because of Mayor Tim Keller’s efforts to clear a backlog of more than 5,000 sex assault kits that sat on evidence shelves for decades The DNA in one of those kits returned a match on February 2021 APD was recently notified that the DNA matched the known DNA of Paul Apodaca “This just shows how important it is to test every rape kit in a timely way,” Mayor Tim Keller said Anyone with information about these cold cases or any other homicide being investigated by the Albuquerque Police Department are urged to call 505-768-2416 Victim:                        Althea Oakeley Summary of Incident:          Althea Oakeley was at a gathering at a fraternity house with her boyfriend on the University of New Mexico campus Oakeley got upset and left on foot through the campus heading south toward her residence that she shared with her brother and she was found stabbed outside a home at 1320 Buena Vista Drive S.E The 311 Community Contact Center is a centralized call center for the City of Albuquerque The 311 service is a single telephone number for all non-emergency City of Albuquerque inquiries and services The official website for the City of Albuquerque (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Las Cruces City Council on Monday approved a rezoning ordinance that could allow for more development on the former Las Cruces Country Club property City council approved rezoning the 75-plus acre property located at 2700 North Main Street from single-family medium density to multiple zones in seven planning areas Proposed land uses include single and multi-family residential housing according to the city council's agenda RECOMMENDED:First African American school principal in Las Cruces honored on 94th birthday A smaller portion of the property has already been developed into a hospital and ancillary uses The property was included in the Apodaca Blueprint public planning initiative in 2018 The Blueprint developed a guiding land use and development plan for the property said it intends to utilize the Apodaca Blueprint as the guiding land use document and master plan some residents raised concerns about the state of the vacant property and somee expressed support for development of the site Others had concerns about potential impacts of development Sign up to receive the topmost interesting stories from in and around our community once a day to your inbox. Wind gusts of 30+ mph along with afternoon and evening blowing dust, could reduce visibility. Weather MapsRadarCity of Las Cruces unveils plan to revitalize deteriorated neighborhoodsby David Ibave (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Las Cruces City Council has identified four "deteriorated" areas in the city it wants to redevelop the Las Cruces City Council approved a resolution identifying the following four areas the City wants to revitalize: RECOMMENDED: Mexican American Cultural Center opens in March in 2022 they hired Groundworks Studios to identify these areas in the city The company ended up choosing these four areas for their "deteriorated and blighted conditions," which include crime and infrastructure issues The City said then said this is the first step in its redevelopment process the next step involves developing a plan for each of these areas RECOMMENDED: Kinship Commons opens, expanding affordable housing in rural El Paso Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox RIO COMMUNITIES—Eight months after being sworn into office Helen Smith has resigned as the Rio Communities municipal judge Smith took her letter of resignation into City Hall on Nov I am submitting my resignation as municipal judge for the city of Rio Communities Thank you for the honor of being your appointed judge from march to November 2024.” Rio Communities Mayor Joshua Ramsell said during Monday night’s council meeting that Smith had to resign “due to health complications.” Those interested in being appointed to the position is asked to send a letter of interest to the city of Rio Communities, 360 Rio Communities Blvd., Rio Communities, NM, 87002, or email mmoore@riocommunities.net. Smith was selected as the new municipal judge after former judge Holly Noelle Chavez resigned from the position at the end of January. During Monday’s meeting, Councilor Matthew Marquez questioned City Manager Martin Moore about who knew about Smith’s resignation, when it was received and why the council wasn’t informed until more than a week after the letter was given to the city. “You said you found out on the 26th of November. We didn’t receive an email until the 6th of December. That’s a lot of time,” Marquez said. “On this resignation letter, it states: mayor, city council members and city of Rio Communities. As soon as you received this letter, it should have been sent out to the city council.” Marquez said he wouldn’t have an issue if it wasn’t “announced” in the city’s newsletter before the council was informed. The newsletter, which is sent to residents to inform them of city issues, news and other relevant information, listed all city offices. Under municipal judge, it states “TBA,” which is an abbreviation for “to be announced.” “This is a systematic failure of the mayor and the city manager, because the mayor is the boss of the city manager and the day-to-day operations of the city,” Marquez said. The councilor said someone knew about the judge’s resignation before she handed in her letter because the newsletter was published prior to Nov. 26. “My recommendation is to have the newsletter approved by the city council before it’s sent out to the public,” Marquez said. “The city council must be aware of any city business, including resignations before it’s sent out to the public.” When the councilor insisted he will be involved in the newsletter going forward, Moore interrupted, saying, “There is a line between the legislative, policy-making body of this city and the management. I respectfully request that the line be respected. “I also request that false statements that are not verified are not to be credited. I also respectfully request that members of this governing body stand up and have respect for each other and not say derogatory comments behind their backs when members of the public can hear it. I think it’s wrong. “I think this is a city that needs to be acting professional, acting courteous and acting respectful,” the city manager said. Marquez countered, saying the city manager needs to send the council information before it’s made public. Moore said it was. City Councilor Art Apodaca said it would be appropriate if the newsletter committee members are separate from the council. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. LOS LUNAS — A proposed shopping center could bring some big changes and big names to Los Lunas, west of Interstate 25 — if developers and the village are able to come to an agreement. (Editor’s Note: The following agendas should be considered draft agendas until 72 hours prior to the meetings.) LOS LUNAS — The Los Lunas Library is cooking up an exciting community initiative aiming to celebrate and connect the community through the rich culinary traditions of Valencia County. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account. Sign up Sign in It's time for everything to do with Dodger baseball Listen The Dodgers farm system returns five of their seven managers from last season, with Jair Fernandez taking over the High-A affiliate at Great Lakes after serving as the manager of the ACL Dodgers in 2023. Joining the fold in 2024 are Apodaca and Bonilla, who will manage the ACL and DSL Dodgers this season. Apodaca, 37, played nine minor league seasons, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2013 with the Durham Bulls. He hit a combined .250 with 40 homers and 212 RBI. The backstop played 14 additional seasons in the Venezuelan League and Mexican Leagues, amassing 52 homers and 316 RBI in 603 combined games. He began his professional career with the Boston Red Sox, signing as an international free agent on March 12, 2010, out of Caracas, Venezuela. Bonilla, 39, joins the team for his first season as a manager of the DSL Dodgers. The Dominican Republic native played 11 Minor League seasons, hitting .256 with 42 homers and 284 RBI in 834 minor league games. In his last season with Triple-A Tacoma in 2015, he hit .250 with four homers and 21 RBI. He was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners on May 11, 2009, as an international free agent. Shoemaker begins his 30th season as a Dodger Minor League manager. He became a Dodger Minor League coach in 1981 after playing in the organization from 1977–1980. In 2023, he was the recipient of the second annual Tommy Lasorda I Bleed Dodger Blue Award, an honor given to a member of the Los Angeles Dodger community that embodies the passion, enthusiasm and love for the Dodgers that Tommy Lasorda possessed. In 2023, Michael Busch, Jonny DeLuca, Bryan Hudson, Kyle Hurt, Bobby Miller, Nick Robertson, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone, all made their Major League debuts for Los Angeles, and six of the eight players were signed or drafted by the Dodgers. James Outman finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, clubbing 23 homers and driving in 70 RBI in his first full season with the club. Travis Barbary (Oklahoma City Baseball Club)The rest of the Dodger coaching staff is below: Oklahoma City Baseball Club (AAA)Manager: Travis BarbaryHitting Coach: Manny BurrissPitching Coach: Doug MathisPitching Coach: Justin DeFratusBench Coach: Chris GutierrezAthletic Trainer: Chelsea WilletteAthletic Trainer: Griffin BoytePerformance Coach: Paul FournierPerformance Coach: Taylor MillerVideo Associate: JD Osborne Tulsa Drillers (AA)Manager: Scott HennesseyHitting Coach: Dylan NasiatkaPitching Coach: Ryan DennickPitching Coach: Durin O’LingerBench Coach: Ronny PaulinoAthletic Trainer: Jesse GuffeyPerformance Coach: Ethan QuarlesVideo Associate: Tyler Hollow Great Lakes Loons (A+)Manager: Jair FernandezHitting Coach: O’Koyea DicksonPitching Coach: David AndersonPitching Coach: Richard De Los SantosBench Coach: Elian HerreraAthletic Trainer: Ikuo KatoPerformance Coach: Jake TaylorVideo Associate: Colby Wyatt Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A)Manager: John ShoemakerHitting Coach: Blake GailenPitching Coach: Ramon TroncosoPitching Coach: Sean CoyneBench Coach: Cordell HipolitoAthletic Trainer: Akinori MaedaPerformance Coach: Walter LindoVideo Associate: Dallas Young No responses yetHelp To use all available functions on this website JavaScript must be enabled in your browser - DENSO expands Apodaca plant and establishes HAMADEN MEXICO - New Mexico environment officials put more than 100 drinking water systems on notice recently that they need to provide plans to address drinking water deficiencies by mid-August or face steep fines The 138 letters sent on July 29 by the New Mexico Environment Department declare that those drinking water systems responsible for sending water to at least 100,000 New Mexicans still haven’t fixed current outstanding water quality violations the parties have 15 days to send their plans to resolve their issues with the state The list of all 138 water systems was forwarded to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office in Dallas and both the state auditor and attorney general’s offices Failure to to submit a plan could bring a fine of $1,000 per day the new director of the Compliance and Enforcement division said the notices were based in part by findings that the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority sent arsenic last year to thousands of residents in Sunland Park Santa Teresa and Southern Doña Ana county – without telling the public or the state the department plans to list the utilities that sent in plans and also name those that failed to comply More than 100,000 people get their drinking water from the 138 water systems Baizel said he expects to see stricter penalties levied at larger water systems in the coming weeks Tri-City Record contacted the eight water system owners in San Juan County who received letters asking for their comments about how the violations were being addressed four responded – Blanco Mutual Domestic Water Consumers & Mutual Sewage Works Association Inc. Morningstar Water System (New Mexico Water Service) Aztec Domestic Water System and Navajo Lake State Park Drew Goretzka, director of communications for New Mexico Environment Department, emailed information provided by Joe Martinez “Water systems in San Juan County had a variety of violations that triggered the enforcement letters,” Martinez said New Mexico Environment Department Drinking Water Bureau chief) Drinking water sampling is conducted in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulation requirements Any drinking water sampling completed in New Mexico must be conducted by a certified operator Sampling is completed by NMED staff and certified operators or certified samplers from each individual public water system NMED staff generally collect the compliance samples that are required to be collected at the point where the water leaves the water system source or treatment location and enters the distribution system Public water system operators or samplers are required to collect samples that collected from points in the distribution system These samples include microbiological samples like coliform and E.coli and also samples like lead and copper Sampling schedules are conducted on schedules ranging from monthly up to as long as once every nine years Schedules are dependent on the type and size of water system the sample being collected and the results of previous samples Some samples are required to be collected monthly Some samples like asbestos are required to be once every nine years Apple Orchard MDWCA: Total haloacetic acids MCL2 Aztec Domestic Water System: Failure to correct deficiencies noted in a Sanitary Survey La Vida Mission Community Water Supply: Failure to conduct a Level 1 assessment after multiple total coliform positive results1 Failure to correct deficiencies noted in a sanitary survey Morningstar Water System: Failure to correct deficiencies noted in a sanitary survey Navajo Dam Domestic Water Consumers Inc.: Total haloacetic acids MCL4 and total trihalomethanes MCL19 Navajo Lake State Park – Pine site: Failure to correct deficiencies noted in a sanitary survey Rosa Joint Ventures Water System: Failure to conduct a Level 2 assessment Martinez provided a breakdown of the deficiencies that caused the violation warning letters sent to eight water system owners in San Juan County “Haloacetic acids five (HAA5) refer to the five haloacetic acids most commonly found in drinking water. HAA5 consists of monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid (DCA), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), monobromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid,” as stated on the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services website. Goretzka said Level 1 assessment is a basic examination of the entire water system to try to identify the cause of TC+ samples “The water system is responsible for ensuring the assessment is completed,” he said “triggering a Level 1 assessment is not a violation; however not completing it within 30 days is a violation.” A Level 2 assessment is a more in-depth examination of the entire water system usually done to identify the source of E “It may also be triggered to find the cause for repeated occurrences of TC+ samples Level 2 assessors must have a higher level of operator certification at either the WS3 or WS4 or any level of operator that attends an approved NMED 8 Hour RTCR Training Session,” Goretzka said president Blanco Mutual Domestic Water Consumers & Mutual Sewage Works Association Inc. stated in an email that they are now in compliance He provided their response to Bruce Baizel director of the Compliance and Enforcement Division “It is disappointing that NMED has to include the statement the failure to comply with these standards may subject your drinking water system and individuals to civil and/or criminal penalties The Board of Directors volunteer to serve their Community and get no compensation for the time they give System Water Operators generally work for a flat fee but are on emergency call out standby 24/7 Just a comment from the departing Operator/Manager Only but it may explain why there is a shortage of Board Members and Water Operators general manager of New Mexico Water Service which provides the drinking water to the Morningstar subdivision said in a phone call Monday that the two violations were procedural She said the New Mexico Environment Department has been notified and they are in full compliance Finished water is purchased from the city of Farmington and delivered to customers by New Mexico Water Service They bought the water system from AV Water in April 2022 “some of them are done by New Mexico Water Service personnel and others are done by the New Mexico Environment Department.” “So one of the things that we take great pride in is delivering safe we just adopted the approved sampling plan which calls for us taking five samples after we became the owner of the system and then New Mexico Environment Department informed that we should be taking 20 samples The other violation occurred because their predecessor mistakenly checked an asbestos box in a NMED survey said that four of 11 deficiencies remain to be corrected The bladder tank project on the south side of town is causing a delay in correcting the issues The final two deficiencies will be rectified when the total project is done in 2025 “During the sanitary surveys completed by NMED they found overflow pipes that were not properly screened to prevent access by insects and rodents and rodent droppings in the treatment building The Division has corrected these deficiencies and posted public notice as required by the NMED,” Jared Langenegger The email "' + userEmail + '" could not be added Please try again or email Shane at shane@durangoherald.com for assistance Choose from several print and digital subscription packages We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to our policies Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor Students returning to school Friday for the first time since the devastating Tubbs fire were greeted with hugs It was like the first day of school all over again for Kara Myers’ son who for the most part was all smiles when he took to the playground at Hidden Valley Elementary School on Friday morning insisted his mother stand next to him when he got in line with the rest of his second-grade class was destroyed nearly three weeks ago by the devastating Tubbs fire Its 85 students were taken in by Hidden Valley’s main campus on Bonita Vista Drive “Although this is a new experience for him I think he’s comfortable because he’s with his classmates,” Myers said “It’s more of an adventure than a scary time.” Santa Rosa City Schools reopened 13 of its 24 campuses closed by the fires They included the district’s elementary school sites as well as Piner and Maria Carrillo high schools Rincon Valley Middle School and Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter The district plans to open its other 11 campuses on Monday Piner Olivet and Mark West school districts in Santa Rosa and Geyserville schools are to reopen campuses on Monday from smiles and laughter to parent tears and school-age nervousness Hidden Valley Satellite School on Parker Hill Road was among the thousands of structures destroyed by the recent fires “This is like her second first day at school,” said Justin Wangler Hidden Valley staff and teachers warmly greeted Satellite students and parents Signs were posted all over the school welcoming the students one big heart.” The custodian at the satellite school “These kids are trying to adjust to a new environment,” Hernandez said Five classrooms at Hidden Valley were repurposed for Satellite’s pre-K to second-grade students said Hidden Valley principal Jacqui Parker adding that she and other staff are doing everything they can to make the Satellite students and parents feel at home district leadership and neighbors,” she said “The level of compassion has been amazing throughout this time.” Hidden Valley staff invited parents into “safe spaces” where they discussed the events of the last three weeks including ways that parents can support their children District staff said about five Hidden Valley staffers and 178 students lived in the “burn zone” and were directly affected by the fire the district dispatched a small army of counselors to help address grief-stricken parents and students Chaplains and a therapy dog were also on hand at Hidden Valley said she was eager to get back to school and resume her studies said she was feeling a bit “overwhelmed” given the amount of school time she’s lost and the impact the fires have had on her friends and family and her aunt lost her home in Fountaingrove “It felt like I couldn’t do enough to help,” she said a district counselor who works with English language learners emphasized the importance of students coming together again since the fires said student tears were soon followed by laughter “The hardest part was students not having their friends to go through this with,” Wegman said they shed a tear and then started laughing.” Piner High Principal Tim Zalunardo said students exuded both comfort and joy when they came together Friday About 80 students lost their home in the fire which caused particularly widespread destruction in the Coffey Park neighborhood About seven Piner staff and teachers lost homes it feels good to be here and reconnect,” he said But Zalunardo said it will likely be a long time before students completely comprehend the magnitude of the natural disaster and the long-term impact on the local community the economy and their individual social networks That in itself will be an important life lesson for the students many of whom will grow up with the aftermath being a part of their lives He said the disaster will likely become a “contextual marker” for how they will come to understand the world other elementary schools that reopened Friday included: Biella Kenwood also was scheduled to reopen Friday SRCS campuses to be opened on Monday include: Comstock Middle Cesar Chavez Language Academy and Lewis Preschool You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com Amazon Mexico this week announced it will open a new shipping warehouse in the northern state of Nuevo León will be located in the municipality of Apodaca in the northeastern sector of the Monterrey metropolitan area and is projected to employ more than 500 people “We are very excited about this next step for Amazon in Nuevo León,” Jesús Elizondo regional director of operations for Amazon Mexico “We want to continue contributing to the local economy … as well as the personal and professional development of our employees by providing a safe diverse and inclusive work space that allows them to cultivate their talents and continue growing.” The multinational technology and e-commerce giant opened its first facility in Apodaca in 2020 investing 1.5 billion pesos in the state and creating 1,500 jobs to date In addition to the existing shipping center in Apodaca a recruitment center and an Amazon Web Services (AWS) office The new shipping center will also work to support small- and medium-sized businesses — known as PyMEs in Spanish — across Nuevo León so as to increase e-commerce sales Querétaro and Jalisco are the entities with the highest percentage of Amazon vendors per inhabitant Last September, Amazon opened a new delivery center in Mexico City Amazon said it had invested 52 billion pesos (US $3 billion) and employed roughly 40,000 people — 8,000 directly and 32,000 indirectly — in Mexico since launching here in 2015 Last month, the company revealed that AWS would invest more than US $5 billion in a cluster of data centers in the central state of Querétaro With reports from Forbes México, El Economista and Mexico Industry ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC LAS CRUCES - A tax increment development district at the property on which the former Las Cruces Country Club once sat won't move forward without a work session on the matter The Las Cruces City Council voted Monday to table a resolution that would have declared the city's intent to form a TIDD on the property as a way to reinvest some tax revenue into the area as it develops The "Royal Crossing TIDD" will be discussed in more depth at a June 29 work session so councilors and the public have more time to thoroughly understand the proposal and ask questions The resolution could be voted on as soon as July 6 Some council members had concerns they and the public hadn't been given sufficient time to read and comprehend the lengthy 229-page application outlining the developers' TIDD plans, which was posted online late last week "It's a lot to digest," said District 1 Councilor Kasandra Gandara who received emails about the TIDD from constituents "Most would like to see development there .. "It's scary to approve something without knowing what the plan is going to be," Gandara said The city's Economic Development Department said it's worked with the LC Nova who are working on behalf of four property owners in the area Mayor Ken Miyagishima said he didn't want to rush the resolution through and preferred a work session first "There's just a lot of moving parts," he said City Council:  Calls for increased oversight of local police at special city session The district would be formed with similar boundaries to a redevelopment "focus area" featured in the Apodaca Blueprint a long-range plan for the development of land in the former Las Cruces Country Club neighborhood that amounts to 730 acres The blueprint includes Apodaca Park; the former Las Cruces Country Club golf course off North Main Street; a segment of the east-west Madrid Avenue; an old flood control dam on Triviz Drive known as the Villa Mora property; and a swath of existing homes north and south of Madrid Avenue The 91-acre TIDD would sit on top of most of the blueprint's Focus Area A, which includes the country club property and some surrounding properties. The blueprint was adopted by the city in 2018. The TIDD excludes Apodaca Park which is included in the 158-acre focus area a new hospital has been under construction on the country club land but the rest of the property is undeveloped The city said the property owners intend to develop office space multi-family homes and senior living within the TIDD The land is one of the city's infill areas plus it's a part of a federally designated Opportunity Zone meaning the governor has designated it as needing development a baseline amount of gross receipts and property tax revenue would be set As development occurs and revenue increases a portion or "increment" of the difference between the new revenue and baseline can be used to finance public infrastructure and improvements which is supposed to spur more development A board would govern how the increment revenue is spent The Royal Crossing TIDD would have a board first made up of two city council appointees two developer appointees and one appointee made by the state Department of Finance and Administration drainage and interchange improvements using the TIDD money plus to build public parking and parks and trails Local news:  Las Cruces residents gather at town hall to discuss policing The EDD estimated a $42 million investment in public infrastructure from the city in that area would lead to $457 million in private investment "I am concerned about using taxpayer dollars to do what I think in a lot of ways benefits the developer," said Gandara District 5 Councilor Gill Sorg said he didn't believe the land needed a TIDD designation "It's just putting more money into the developer's hands and more profits into their hands," Sorg said To meet state deadlines to form the TIDD by Jan formation documents must be submitted to the state by Sept Michael McDevitt can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter Spain's leading hotel company and a global hospitality giant has announced the signing of its 28th hotel in Andalusia (Spain) This property is slated to be the premier luxury five-star hotel in the historic center of Cadiz city operating under the distinguished Meliá Collection brand The hotel's launch is scheduled for 2026 and will involve the transformation of two adjacent architecturally protected buildings on Alameda Apodaca nestled between Zorrilla and General Menacho streets located in the San Carlos neighborhood and parallel to the sea The project involves the restoration of an old baroque palace built for the Marquise of Casa Recaño in 1760 and an Elizabethan-style estate from the late 18th century Both buildings will undergo meticulous restoration to bring forth a luxury hotel that retains classic elegance and historical legacy while seamlessly integrating contemporary 5-star comforts.​ The future hotel aims to offer an exclusive experience featuring 40 rooms and an array of luxurious services Among these are a restaurant boasting a terrace overlooking the Alameda for savoring local cuisine an exclusive rooftop with a pool affording sea views Belonging to the Meliá Collection portfolio this hotel joins a curated selection of luxury hotels with an independent spirit each breathing the history and personality of its destination this new addition in Cádiz strengthens Meliá's position in Spain's luxury hospitality segment expressed pride in their role as the leading hotel chain uplifting the standard of five-star hospitality in key Spanish destinations He emphasized their commitment to excellence in Cádiz with this new hotel Property owners Luis López de Carrizosa Caballero and Diana Domecq Delgado also conveyed their satisfaction seeing the project as pivotal in attracting higher quality tourism to the city this venture marks its second hotel in Cádiz and the sixth in the province contributing to a portfolio of over 1,000 rooms Notable hotels in the region include the Gran Meliá Sancti Petri in Chiclana and the recently revamped Meliá Zahara Resorts & Villas in Zahara de los Atunes a benchmark for hotel repositioning in southern Spain.​ Your browser is not supported for this experience.We recommend using Chrome  Stay up-to-date with what's happening in New Mexico through our weekly newsletter.  Safeguarding hidden treasures—both inanimate and living—in Rockhound State Park APODACA WOULDN'T CALL HIMSELF a rockhound the self-proclaimed history buff has managed a destination that attracts 80,000 gemstone-hungry visitors annually His career with New Mexico State Parks began 26 years ago at Caballo Lake State Park where he still moonlights as a law enforcement ranger Apodaca had been working on the road until a seasonal gig opened at Caballo Lake Later he moved to Deming for a full-time position at Pancho Villa State Park After a dozen years there and two at City of Rocks State Park where the administrator has learned to wear many hats: maintenance man I think New Mexico by far has the broadest variety in what its parks offer Rockhound has 1,100 acres in the foothills of the Little Florida Mountains plus our bonus Spring Canyon Recreation Area The Floridas formed during a volcanic eruption period Rockhound was established over 50 years ago as the first park in the U.S Everyone thinks the rocks have been picked over but there are still plenty of gems and minerals to be found on the mountain Monsoon season is prime for rockhounding—once the washes and ravines dry out there weren’t black-and-white parameters around rockhounding People would see part of a rock sticking out of the ground and they’d try to pry out the two-foot-wide stone Once we noticed a man coming every day with a five-gallon bucket Our management plan now says visitors can use tools up to 12 inches long—basically rock hammers—and take a few rocks just for personal enjoyment Our 29 camping sites are full most every night between October and April and Pancho Villa state parks in 14-day stints Our snowbirds leave around when the poppies come out in full force If we get a wet winter and the stars align we’ll have a pretty good poppy growth Seeing this yellow haze on the mountain is pretty picturesque Our friends group developed a native garden to help visitors identify plants found along Rockhound’s four hiking trails The Jasper Trail from the visitor center intersects with the Thunder Egg Trail and Lover’s Leap Trail climbs from 2,500 to 6,000 feet in a mile you can see down the other side of the Floridas to Deming’s agricultural fields use all your senses to spot gravity-defying Persian ibex—nonnative goats introduced in the 1970s Fixate on the mountain and look for movement Listen for pebbles tumbling from the bluffs Subscribe for monthly deliveries filled with the best of New Mexico Subscribe to our free eNewsletter to gain exclusive access to unique content © 2025 New Mexico Magazine.All Rights Reserved Sign Up Now to stay connected with what's happening in New Mexico Explore New Mexico with exclusive event updates and stunning photography—straight to your inbox An artist has integrated facial motion capture in an online exhibition that explores the military industry’s “disfigurement” of San Diego California in an attempt to share a largely untold part of the region’s history and archival materials — explore the topic of the military in San Diego and delves into various topics from the city’s industrial development to the local history of the antiwar movement from the late 1960s and current-day examples of U.S intervention and its implications in the city The larger body of work includes an augmented reality app and a feature-length documentary film with additional short video pieces featuring interviewees and actors’ performances combined with facial-motion capture to “surrealistically bring to life dismantled and displaced public statues and architecture poetically strewn around the city.” Apodaca tells PetaPixel that the idea to include facial-motion capture arose when he visited a giant aircraft carrier that functions as a museum in San Diego “The absurdity of having a huge weapon of destruction as a major tourist attraction finally hit me and that’s when I realized I have to explore the topic of the military Apodaca had digitally animated family photographs and portraits to tell a family history in a film “Que Lejos Estoy,” so he figured he could use this method for this project To create the talking heads-like scenes with statues Apodaca photographed various sculptural busts and monuments around the city using different angles he went to different locations in the area that had a specific ambiance representative of the story Apodaca felt that the architecture in the location “surrounds you totally and is made up of very violent machinery,” which then informed his choice to find locations where viewers could see this effect within the entire scene Apodaca superimposed the animated statue within it using static shots and compositing them into a live-action video scene I’m interested in the banality of talking heads on pedestals and how the ‘talking head’ is banal within the world of documentary film and I’m trying to create shots where the absurd is enhanced,” says Apodaca To record the performed dialogues and interviews he used a head-mounted GoPro that captured the performer’s facial expressions and words he used the motion data from the GoPro to animate the statues Apodaca also used a DSLR for parts of his project The primary goal of this project and the subsequent online exhibition is to look at the city through a critical lens and “to convey the history of how the military has disfigured the San Diego region how it has created an uncritical patriotism amongst residents how it has created an absurd military tourism and how even art itself has been influenced or shaped by the military Apodaca also wants to point out that this grew to become a larger body of work with the motion capture of statues acting as a preliminary phase followed by a broader look at the topic of the military from a survey and interview-based perspective with the addition of a feature film with a story arc which developed out of all the surveying and research he conducted More information about Apodaca’s upcoming exhibition can be found on the project’s website Image credits: All images by Evan Apodaca and used with permission Become a PetaPixel Member and access our content ad-free Those as yet unnamed South Asheville businessmen that Sen says have complained about a lack of representation on City Council should not expect a big change in council's basic political leanings if the city ever switches to district elections Asheville is a liberal city whether it is split into six council districts three districts with three members elected at large ZIP codes or areas where people put the loose end of the toilet paper roll on top and where they put it on the bottom That seems clear from statistics compiled by General Assembly staff about the bill Apodaca himself said in a legislative committee that each of the district is likely to vote Democratic won each of the districts but one in the 2010 U.S Senate race with incumbent Republican Richard Burr despite the fact that Burr won statewide with 55 percent of the vote to Marshall's 43 percent The exception was the South Asheville district Her total citywide was 65 percent of the vote Barack Obama won each of the six districts in the 2008 presidential race with his lowest total again in South Asheville but still a very respectable 54.5 percent there That's substantially better than the 49.7 percent Obama got statewide the legislative data don't include more recent elections but one suspects the results would be similar Democrat Kay Hagan won about 54 percent of the vote in the three main city precincts located south of the Blue Ridge Parkway in her 2014 race against Republican Thom Tillis even though Tillis won with 48.8 percent statewide People with similar political views often tend to end up living in the same areas these days and Asheville's reputation as a liberal bastion is probably drawing even more progressive voters a reporter met a couple from Georgia who said they might consider retiring here but South Asheville and southern Buncombe County in general are the traditional stronghold of the local Republican Party but traditions change and residential construction means the south side is a popular destination for newcomers Both the South Asheville and westernmost West Asheville districts Apodaca proposed would be more moderate than other parts of the city but probably not enough to change the basic political orientation of City Council one of the big issues in South Asheville these days is growth with many residents feeling there is too much of it there is a good chance whoever South Asheville chose to represent them on council would not walk into City Hall looking to ease development Vijay Kapoor is a South Asheville resident who has been active on growth issues there He doesn't like the way Apodaca pushed his plan but favors a system with some council members elected at large and some by districts While the legislature was debating Apodaca's proposal "In the back of my mind was be careful what you wish for," Kapoor said "If you think you're going to get a tea party candidate from South Asheville elected A fight among inmates at the prison led to a riot that killed dozens on Sunday Mexico — A fight among inmates led to a prison riot in northern Mexico that killed 44 people Sunday Nuevo Leon state public security spokesman Jorge Domene Zambrano said the riot broke out at about 2 a.m in a high-security section of a prison in the city of Apodaca outside the northern industrial city of Monterrey and the fighting then spread and blew up into a riot Forty-four people died before authorities regained control of the prison a couple of hours later Families of the prisoners gathered outside the prison pushing at the fences and shouting at police to demand word of the victims Deadly fights happen periodically in Mexico's prisons as gangs and drug cartels stage jail breaks and battle for control of penitentiaries Some 31 prisoners died in January during a prison riot in the Gulf coast city of Altamira in Tamaulipas state Another fight in a prison in the Tamaulipas border city of Matamoros in October killed 20 inmates and injured 12 a riot at a prison in the border city of Juarez killed 17 inmates Mexican authorities detained the director and four guards over that clash Surveillance video showed two inmates opening doors to let armed prisoners into a room where the slain victims were reportedly holding a party Twenty-three people were killed in a prison riot in Durango city in 2010 another city in the northern Mexican state of Durango Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and 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