New Mexico
Blue Hole closure in Santa Rosa affecting businesses
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Blue Hole, a New Mexico tourist hotspot that attracts thousands during the summertime, is closed to divers and swimmers. Businesses in the area that rely heavily on the influx of summer visitors looking to enjoy all the water recreation the city has to offer are now dealing with the effects of the closure.
People come from all over the country for the experience but the recent announcement has drastically reduced how many people are coming into town. City officials said the closure is due to a large boulder falling on the west side of the hole that brought other rocks with it.
Officials said hundreds of stones now cover the bottom. “Public safety comes first. We’ll make sure before we reopen to the public, we’ll make sure everything is protected and we’ll try to get more inspection on it,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Nelson Kotiar.
Due to the closure, businesses in town aren’t seeing the number of customers they usually do. That includes the Comet II Drive & Restaurant that’s been operating for over 90 years. “We rely on the tourists here, and without a lot of the vital things that we have here, we don’t have that,” said owner Casey Martinez.
Normally, Martinez said he could expect thousands of customers during the summer. He said since the closure, business has decreased by 30%-40%. “We have the divers that come in here. On a given weekend, we’d have 100 divers in here. Now, we’re lucky if we have five or ten,” said Martinez.
City officials said they will be conducting more inspections and expect the spot to open within the next 2-4 weeks.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — An ‘imposter nurse’ in Las Cruces is facing 34 charges after nearly causing the death of a patient and illegally giving medications to patients under 18 years old.
A Doña Ana County grand jury indicted Margarita Gonzalez. She is accused of assuming the identities of nurses in Texas to get hired at four nursing facilities in Las Cruces:
- Village at Northrise
- Las Cruces Wellness and Rehabilitation
- Peak Behavioral Health
- Matrix Home Care
The New Mexico Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau investigated and discovered instances where Gonzalez illegally gave injections and dispensed prescriptions, including narcotics to eight inpatient residents under 18 years old.
An investigation also found Gonzalez was also about to allegedly give “an incorrect insulin dose” to a patient that they claim could’ve killed the patient if another nurse hadn’t caught the error.
Several facilities fired Gonzalez over patient safety concerns and an observed lack of knowledge.
“Impersonating a healthcare provider is a reckless and selfish crime that subjects those most vulnerable to risk of serious injury or death,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. “I will not tolerate those who risk the safety of patients or cause danger and unnecessary confusion within the healthcare system. These charges should keep anyone attempting to pose as a healthcare provider on notice: we will find you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law to protect New Mexicans.”
Gonzalez’s charges include identity theft, nursing without a license, abuse of a resident, distribution of controlled substances to a minor and fraud totaling over $25,000.
If convicted on all counts, Gonzalez could face up to 100 years in prison.
New Mexico
Republican governor candidate calls for eliminating New Mexico’s gross receipts tax on retail sales – New Mexico Political Report
Duke Rodriguez, a Republican candidate for New Mexico governor wants to eliminate the state’s gross receipts tax on retail sales entirely — and says the state can afford it right now. Rodriguez, a former state cabinet secretary and hospital executive, reiterated the idea during Friday’s Albuquerque Journal Republican gubernatorial debate, arguing the state’s surplus reserves of $3 to $4 billion cover the estimated $1.2 to $1.5 billion cost of elimination.
Rodriguez was careful to draw a distinction: his proposal targets only the state’s portion of the tax, leaving intact the local rates cities and counties levy to fund police, fire and other services. “It’s the state portion of New Mexico gross receipts tax,” Rodriguez said. “I still say cities and counties should have their local control.”
Fellow candidate Gregg Hull called the personal income tax the “lowest-hanging fruit” for reform but cautioned that eliminating the gross receipts tax required protecting municipal revenue streams that fund police and fire departments. Doug Turner, who is also running for the Republican nomination, didn’t put a specific number on the shortfall from GRT elimination, but said “that cost could be as much as two billion or three billion dollars that the state would have to come up with.”
Rodriguez pushed back against the estimate of a $2 billion shortfall, arguing that the actual $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion cost of his targeted tax cut is already covered by the state’s massive revenue windfall. “We have a surplus now that goes directly into our reserves closer to three to four billion,” Rodriguez explained, noting that the state could easily afford the elimination “before even talking about cutting services.” Instead, he argued the state is failing because it puts money “in the wrong places.” His proposed solution is to implement better accountability and demand better results from the money that is already being spent. He’s also initiated lawsuits to undo the universal childcare program, a new spending program he opposes.
Rodriguez’s plan is not without precedent. When the state legislature and Governor Bill Richardson eliminated the sales tax on groceries in 2005, they created a “hold harmless” payment to cities and counties paid from other state funds to make up for the lost sales tax revenue.
Vote in the June 2 Primary
Early voting is open now through May 30.
- Now through May 15 — Early voting and same-day registration available
- May 16–May 30 — Early voting and same-day registration expand to additional locations
- All early voting locations closed Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day
New this year: The June 2 primary is New Mexico’s first under a semi-open system. Voters with no party affiliation may choose a Republican or Democratic ballot at the polls without changing their registration.
Find early voting locations: NMVote.org
Find your county clerk: sos.nm.gov
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