By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – And now there are four.
Businessman, editor and writer Alan Webber became the fourth Democrat to enter the race to challenge Republican Gov. Susana Martinez on Monday, announcing his candidacy while making media appearances in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
“I consider myself a pro-business, progressive Democrat,” Webber, 65, [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – The long-running drama over allegations of misspent Medicaid dollars has been extended.
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King on Thursday said his department’s investigation into charges of up to $36 million in potential fraud against 15 behavioral health-care providers will run for at least two more months.
“We [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — The race for the Democratic candidate to take on Republican Gov. Susana Martinez got a little more crowded Wednesday.
Saying he’s “in it to win it,” state Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, said he’ll join New Mexico Attorney General Gary King and state Sen. Linda Lopez in [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — By the end of this month, Gov. Susana Martinez will decide on a replacement for a state representative who died in August.
“She will select someone from the candidates she has available to her at that time,” Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said in an email to New [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – When it comes to weather, the climate in New Mexico — 300 days of sunshine annually — is hard to beat.
But when it comes to taxes? New Mexico’s climate ain’t so good.
According to the Tax Foundation, a fiscally conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., New [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
New Mexico taxpayers’ $209 million investment in Spaceport America soon will be part of a reality show on NBC-TV but it isn’t clear how prominently the facility will be featured and what kind of economic impact the show will have.
Plus, while the reality show highlighting Virgin Galactic blasting well-heeled [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – The good news about a possible government shutdown? It won’t affect the vast majority of people in New Mexico, even most state employees.
The bad news? Since the state’s economy is so heavily reliant on federal dollars, a shutdown centered in Washington, D.C., will have more financial [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Sidonie Squier had a busy day Friday.
First, she issued a public apology for an email she wrote about child hunger in the state. Then, she told New Mexico Watchdog she’s confident the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office will find evidence [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — A long-running court case surrounding an alleged fake documentary that aired on New Mexico’s largest Public Broadcasting System affiliate will continue.
Judge Nan G. Nash on Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss filed by attorneys for KNME-TV and other defendants in a case that has dragged on [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — New Mexico legislators may have passed a pension reform law this year, but a financial think tank says the state still has serious issues in front of it.
“Promises Made, Promises Broken,” a national study released by State Budget Solutions, claims public employee retirement promises in the [...]