News

News

Hundreds of thousands in uncollected "Pit" suite fees place cloud over UNM athletics

Matthieu Cartron | July 19

It was only a few months ago that UNM was under fire for the Scotland golf trip scandal — the athletic director at the time, Paul Krebs, allegedly used public funds from UNM to finance a golf trip for himself, coworkers and business friends. Now, the focus has shifted to a new scandal involving perhaps the university’s most recognizable venue, “The Pit," recently renamed Dreamstyle Arena. Many reports have suggested there are uncollected skybox ticket revenues that date back as far as 2010 and total $432,000. The Lobo Club, the branch of UNM athletics charged with independent fundraising as well as financial management of the luxury suites, has come under heavy scrutiny for what appears to be errant and disorganized managing practices.

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African refugee youth choir raises cultural awareness at fundraiser

Ty Knight | July 19

A local refugee choir performed traditional African dances, songs and drumming before exhibiting varieties of traditional dress in a captivating fashion show on July 16. Co-founders of the Immigrant and Refugee Resource Village of Albuquerque, as well as New Mexico Women's Global Pathways, Lungile Sinandile and his wife Nkazi Sinandile organized the The Matunda Ya Yesu African Refugee Youth Choir performance and fashion show. The event was held to benefit displaced youth from South African refugee camps. Each choir member spent weeks preparing for the event, sewing their own garments and handcrafting their own jewelry. Items were placed on sale, and proceeds aimed to benefit the youth choir members and their families, assisting them with living and back-to-school costs.

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Homelessness in Albuquerque: Beating the Heat

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | July 17

Temperatures recorded at the Albuquerque International Sunport this summer maxed out at 103 degrees in June, posing a danger to the city’s homeless population. Without regular and reliable opportunities to find air-conditioning, access to shade or regular hydration, the blistering heat of Albuquerque summers sends many homeless persons to emergency rooms with heat stroke and dehydration. “The possibility of dehydration is always an issue during the summer months,” said Kathy Sotelo the executive assistant at Joy Junction, a local shelter. “But nothing changes when the weather changes, only the conditions do.”

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AllOutVR STEM learning camps put on hold

Ty Knight | July 16

STEM learning camps brought to life by UNM professor Elan Colello in partnership with VR Junkies at AllOutVR have been put on hold due to lack of participation. The learning camps were originally scheduled to take place in two different segments between June 19 and 23, and July 17 and 21, but only four students registered for the program. AllOutVR’s website advertises that “VR Days of Summer is the first STEM-based virtual reality camp in the nation.” This collaboration between UNM and VR Junkies, while unique and cutting-edge, represents a continuation in a long tradition of using games, simulation and role play to enhance learning.

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APD officer expected to live after shooting in NE ABQ

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | July 13

Following an hours-long standoff with SWAT, a man has been taken into custody after opening fire on APD officers responding to a domestic dispute late Wednesday night, injuring one officer. When a man fired three rounds at officers setting a perimeter around the scene of a domestic violence dispatch, one officer was hit in the shoulder and taken by ambulance to UNMH. Facing charges of aggravated battery on a police officer, false imprisonment, child abuse and misdemeanor domestic violence charges, Maximilano Villegas, 38, was booked into the county jail Thursday morning.

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Trump repeal proposal affects at least 280,000 New Mexicans' drinking water

Elizabeth Sanchez | July 9

Last month, the Trump administration released a proposal to repeal the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States policy, which protected roughly 60 percent of U.S. streams from pollution under the Clean Water Rule, a policy under the Clean Water Act. Trump signed an executive order in February instructing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to revise the policy. Fossil fuel companies, farmers and other groups opposed the Clean Water Rule, but without it some groups fear negative environmental impact. UNM emeritus professor Bruce Thomson said the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, protecting various surface waters throughout the U.S. with a loose definition. Over the next 20 years, it was interpreted to be waters used in commerce and their tributaries. In 2015, the Clean Water Rule created a clear definition of which waters within the U.S. are protected.

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LaPo renovations set to finish by start of semester

Nichole Harwood | July 9

UNM’s on-campus dining facility began renovations in April and is currently making progress to open its doors to students right before the beginning of the next semester. The design phase for the renovation of La Posada lasted almost two years, said Paul Wilson-Scott, Resident District Manager for Chartwells, the company that manages the dining hall. The designs made with UNM and the architectural team will include made-to-order areas, which is one of the current floor dining trends, Wilson-Scott said. To continue to keep up with the trend, there will be more made-to-order areas throughout the facility.

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Crime Briefs for July 10

Elizabeth Sanchez | July 9

Battery on a healthcare worker at UNMH On the afternoon of June 17, a police officer was dispatched to the UNMH ER Mental Health Isolation Unit, regarding a patient intentionally smearing blood on a nurse. Upon arrival, the nurse involved in the incident told the officer a patient was placed in this unit after an ambulance brought him to the hospital for a suicide attempt. The officer saw the patient was restrained to a hospital bed, calm and sedated. The nurse said the patient was initially non-cooperative, as he pulled off his hospital gown and pulse oximeter. He later calmed down and agreed to be placed on the oximeter again; while the nurse was doing so, she said he smeared blood from his open wound onto the left side of her face. The nurse said she washed the blood off immediately and notified her supervisor before calling police.

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New regent chosen by Martinez

Denicia Aragon | July 9

Former President and CEO of Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Alex Romero has been appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez to fill the open seat on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. For nearly 50 years Romero has gained experience in New Mexico’s business community. He is a retired bank executive who spent 35 years in the banking industry in the Albuquerque area. Romero is also the former Executive Vice President of Bank of America’s New Mexico Consumer Market Division, making him responsible for the bank’s marketing outreach and its New Mexico Banking Centers.

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Local nonprofit provides legal help for environmental issues

Kelly Urvanejo | July 9

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center held their second annual Beer with a Barrister event Wednesday night at Monks’ Corner Taproom to promote their organization as well as thank their supporters. Nonprofit NMELC was founded 30 years ago by Executive Director Douglas Meiklejohn, who defines it as a space that “provides free legal services for protection of communities and the environment in New Mexico.” In the Albuquerque area, the group is working with Kirtland Air Force Base to clean up their fuel spill in a timely and efficient manner. They are also working on a case involving a proposed development on the West Mesa, called Santolina, where more than 90,000 people live without an adequate water supply.

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UNM cuts minority org's budget

Brendon Gray | June 25

Many UNM grad students have come to rely on the Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color. Now, after a significant budget cut, the student-led group supporting graduate students of color is fighting to keep its influence. After a recommendation from the Student Fee and Review Board last semester, PNMGC funding was cut from $50,160 to $9,907 — a nearly 80 percent decrease. From event programming to assistant salaries, funding pays for everything the group does. The cuts came after an SFRB recommendation that PNMGC “functions more as a student organization and should be classified as such.” The SFRB is a student committee made up of undergraduate and graduate students who determine how student fee revenue should be spent.

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ABQ celebrates World Refugee Day

Gabriella Rivera | June 25

In celebration of World Refugee Day, an international event voicing support for displaced persons in every community globally, one Albuquerque group hosted a crafts fair where refugee women sold handmade goods. Women’s Global Pathways is a branch of the Immigrant Refugee Resource Village of Albuquerque, whose mission is “empowering the most marginalized populations of New Mexico including refugee, other immigrant local low income women, girls and their families.” Their work aims to help this population with some of the common issues they face, including acquiring transportation, breaking language barriers and securing jobs.

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UNM athletics under financial scrutiny

Gabriella Rivera | June 18

Two weeks after the retirement of Athletic Director Paul Krebs and the naming of Janice Ruggiero as interim director, investigations by state officials into athletic department spending continue. In a letter to President Abdallah, Attorney General Hector Balderas explained he was opening an investigation into “the University of New Mexico Vice President of Athletics, Paul Krebs, and the June 19, 2015, through June 25, 2015, golf trip to Scotland.” State Auditor Tim Keller also opened a special audit into the Spending record of UNM Athletics, which includes the same golf trip. The investigations come after the athletic department reported a $1.6 million deficit over the last fiscal year.

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Pollinating our future

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | June 18

Kicking off National Pollinator week and the beginning of the summer solstice, the Open Space Visitor Center hosted the Burque Bee City and Pollination Celebration Sunday. Cities across the globe are celebrating National Pollinator week by teaching the public about the benefits of pollinators – and why we can not live without them. “Every insect, intrinsically every living creature has a job to do here and if we continue to disturb the balance of nature, we’re going to pay, and we are paying,” said Lu Lu Sage, local bee lover.

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Regents approve budget for next year

Brendon Gray | June 13

UNM’s $2.9 billion budget was unanimously approved by Regents on Tuesday. The approved budget plans for $833 million in total revenues and an equal amount of expenses, leveling out to a 1.9 percent overall decrease compared to last year. In his administrative report to Regents, Interim President Chaouki Abdallah said decreases in state funding and Lottery Scholarship support were primary drivers of the revenue reduction.

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Photographer Mark Holm: Remembering a true mentor

Diana Cervantes | June 11

Mark Holm was an extraordinary visual storyteller, who with a quiet disposition, steady hand and ready heart captured amazing photographs that have since been published in The New York Times, The Albuquerque Journal and The Guadalupe County Communicator. Holm came on board with the Daily Lobo as a photo coach in 2011, and remained a mentor here until his departure in the fall of 2015.

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Top 5 resources for LGBTQ students

Denicia Aragon | June 11

The Daily Lobo has compiled a list of the top five resources for LGBTQ students and community members: Common Bond For over 20 years, this support group has brought together LGBTQ youth under age 21 to talk about issues and join in activities in a judgment-free environment. Common Bond creates a safe environment every Friday night for those in the Albuquerque LGBTQ community to express themselves and learn while having fun.

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Pulse Nightclub victims remembered at Pride Week vigil

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | June 11

As part of Albuquerque’s Pride Week celebrations, a candlelight vigil in remembrance of lost loved ones in the LGBTQ community was held at Morningside Park on June 9. “Over the past 47 years we have been working on this thing that we call pride,” said Neil Macernie, president of Albuquerque Pride. After 41 years of celebrating pride in Albuquerque, this year’s vigil held special importance. On June 12, 2016, an attack on Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida left 49 people dead and 53 wounded.

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Recent UNM grad begins mayoral campaign with community event

Brendon Gray | June 6

After walking across the graduation stage at UNM just weeks ago, Gus Pedrotty is now making a bid for the Mayor’s office. On Sunday afternoon Pedrotty hosted an event to thank his volunteers and reengage with the community. A chemistry and psychology grad, Pedrotty and his team secured a spot on the ballot with 3,000 signed petitions while the semester was coming to a close. Now that his campaign has accomplished their first goal, it’s on to the next phase. “There’s more work to be done,” he said.

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National Briefs for June 6

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | June 5

Arab countries sever ties with Qatar Accusing Qatar of supporting terrorist groups and backing Iran, Saudi Arabia was one of many Arab powers to sever diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar, moving to isolate the energy-rich nation that is home to a major U.S. military base, the Associated Press reports. Qatar was plunged into chaos after the decision ignited the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Gulf since the 1991 war against Iraq, the AP reports. The U.S. military base in Qatar is home to about 10,000 U.S. troops and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.