Today's News

State hospital employee Ralph Gallegos may have a friend in Gov. Bill Richardson.

Through a public records request, the Optic had obtained documents that make it appear as if the governor’s office helped Gallegos transfer from the state engineer’s office to the state hospital, known formally as the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute.  

The state has downgraded the cafeteria at Valley Elementary and Middle School to unsatisfactory status.

In an inspection last week, the state Environment Department found violations involving improper holding temperatures, plumbing and waste disposal, and inadequate cooking and cooling.

The department said it will reinspect the cafeteria after corrective measures are taken. Meanwhile, an “unsatisfactory” grade emblem is posted at the facility’s entrance, according to a department press release.

When Rick Kingsbury came home Saturday night, he had 20 or so strange dogs hanging out in his yard. He traced them to the home of a neighbor, and to what may be the biggest animal cruelty case in the history of El Valle.

Kingsbury, whose home is the headquarters of Pecos Valley Grassfed Beef in Villanueva, said he had heard barking from a neighbor’s house, and so he went over there to have a look.

The West Las Vegas school district recently decided against renewing the contracts of more than 10 non-tenured employees, but the superintendent said the district hasn’t triggered the formal process known as a reduction in force.

A few weeks ago, some school board members questioned whether a reduction in force was planned this year because of budgetary constraints. Abreu told the members that he was doing all he could to prevent that from happening.