Local News

Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a south wind 15-20 mph, increasing to 20-25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Mostly cloudy at night, with a low around 27. Breezy, with a south wind 15-25 mph.

Saturday
A slight chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Windy, with a southwest wind 20-25 mph, increasing to 30-35 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10 percent. A 10 percent chance of snow showers at night. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Breezy.

The Associated Press

SANTA FE — A House panel has approved a proposal for increasing New Mexico’s minimum wage for inflation each year.

The measure cleared the Labor and Human Resources Committee on a party-line 5-4 vote on Tuesday.

Republicans opposed the proposal and Democrats supported it.

The state’s $7.50 an hour minimum wage has been in effect since 2009.

By Russell Contreras
The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE — Republican leaders are launching an effort led by Hispanic governors in New Mexico and Nevada in an attempt to make up ground with Latino voters who have largely turned away from the GOP.

The nation’s only Hispanic governors plan to recruit minority candidates and groom them for state-level offices with an eye toward creating a pool of candidates for higher positions in the future, the Republican State Leadership Committee said in a statement.

By Mercy López and Martín Salazar
Las Vegas Optic

Incumbent Ernesto Salazar and political newcomer Luis Ortiz pulled off victories in Tuesday’s Las Vegas City Schools Board races, marking a potential power shift on the district’s governing body.

Salazar, 42, trounced opponent Sean Medrano, taking 61 percent of the vote to Medrano’s 39 percent in the hard-fought battle for the Position 1 race. Salazar won a four-year term.