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Voting on pot penalties in Berry's hands

Jonathan Baca | August 28

Mayor Richard Berry must decide today whether he will give residents the chance to to vote on decriminalizing marijuana in Albuquerque. On Aug. 18 the city council passed an election resolution of five ballot initiatives, including a measure that would decrease penalties for personal possession of marijuana under an ounce to a $25 civil fine. If Berry vetoes the resolution, all five initiatives would not be brought to voters on the upcoming November ballot.

The restrooms behind the locked door, at the bottom of this stairway at Hokona Hall will be renovated this fall. The new restrooms will feature new plumbing fixtures, partitions, hand dryers and trash receptacles.

News

Hokona's Cellar soon to get a facelift

Matthew Reisen | August 28

The Cellar recreation area in Hokona Hall may be getting a makeover for the first time in 40 years. The proposed budget, at nearly $400,000, will add 10 fixtures to the existing bathrooms, which will be the first improvements since The Cellar was established as a recreation area in the 1970’s, Chris Vallejos, Institutional Support Services’ associate vice president, said. The renovations would reduce wait times at the bathrooms in The Cellar, where two stalls each in the men’s and women’s restrooms serve about 750 people. But the project needs to be approved by the Higher Education Department, according to a memorandum submitted to the board of regents.

Sergio Jiménez ·

News

President Frank challenges Lobos to join cause

Daniel Montaño | August 28

Nearly $2,200 has been raised since President Bob Frank challenged the UNM community to donate to ALS research after taking the Ice Bucket Challenge on Wednesday. Frank took the icy bath with several other top UNM administrators in Smith Plaza in front of Zimmerman Library after being challenged by Mayor Richard Berry and head Soccer Coach Jeremy Fishbein last week, Ethan Rule, University marketing representative, said. Frank said campus administrators will collectively match the donations up to $1,000 dollars.

Kenneth Ellis, father of Albuquerque Police shooting victim Kenneth Ellis III, holds a photo of his deceased son at the office of Mayor Richard Berry at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Several relatives of people shot and killed by APD came to City Hall to call on Mayor Berry to cancel a police shooting competition taking place next month.

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Protesters object to APD shooting contest

Zach Case | August 27

Two upcoming shooting competitions are drawing community members’ interest, but not in a positive way. Protesters rallied at Civic Plaza Wednesday against the Albuquerque Police Pistol Combat Tournament and the NRA Police Shooting Championship. The tournaments, scheduled for Sept. 10-12 and Sept. 13-18, respectively, are co-sponsored by the Albuquerque Police Department and the National Rifle Association. David Correia, an associate professor of American studies at UNM, has been actively involved in recent protests against APD shootings and said he is a proud advocate for families affected by APD’s alleged use of excessive force.

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Lobo researchers make 'most-cited' list

Jonathan Baca | August 27

Three University of New Mexico researchers have been named among the ‘World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.’ XueXian Yang, Vittorio Cristini and Dr. Mauricio Tohen were recently recognized by Thomson Reuters on their list of Highly Cited Researchers. The list honored more than 3,000 of “the standout researchers of the last decade” from around the world in 21 different fields, according to ScienceWatch.com. “I think it’s a great pride for UNM,” Cristini said. “It’s about 3,000 researchers worldwide, in all disciplines of science, medicine, everything — and UNM has three of them. It’s pretty good, right?”

Sergio Jiménez ·

News

VIDEO: UNM president takes Ice Bucket Challenge.

August 27

On Wednesday morning, President Robert Frank and leaders at UNM took the Ice Bucket Challenge to draw awareness to ALS. Check out this video.

Mary Macias, a local farmer, sets up her produce early Tuesday morning at the Albuquerque Uptown Grower’s Market, located at Presbyterian Hospital. Macias and other vendors are part of an initiative to foster positive economic relationships between local buyers and farmers by accepting various modes of payments such as WIC, Senior Checks, EBT and Debit.

News

Growers' Market sprouts love of produce

Daniel Montaño and Matthew Reisen | August 26

Low income students can double their money at a UNM-area market. Nancy Erickson, manager of Albuquerque Growers’ Market at Presbyterian, said her market price matches any EBT or SNAP purchases up to $20, doubling the amount of food those customers can purchase. The market, which is located in the Northeast corner of the Downtown Presbyterian Hospital parking lot, focuses on providing excellent food from local growers, she said. “I have a deep appreciation for fresh local food that goes back as far as I can remember”, she said. The market has been operating for three years, every Tuesday from 7 a.m.

News

Union staff pay raise delayed by four weeks

Daniel Montaño | August 26

Union staff employees missed out on nearly four weeks of a pay raise, and UNM officials said Human Resources does not plan to reimburse the lost wages. All UNM staff members who are not a part of the union started receiving their raise on July 1, according to University officials, however because contract negotiations between the University and the United Staff at UNM were ongoing, union members were unable to receive the pay increase. All university staff members were guaranteed a 1.9 percent raise by the New Mexico legislature in February, and the Board of Regents voted to increase the raise to 2.5 percent in late March. Jeanette Albany, a union member and administrative assistant for the Communication and Journalism Department, said she contacted the staff council, the union and Human Resources after receiving her first reduced check and did not receive any explanation as to why her check was lessened. All she knew was that she did not receive her promised pay raise and was paying more in deductions, she said. “They were taking all that out, but we didn’t get our raise, so I got a net loss, a decline in my pay,” she said. Albany’s situation is not an isolated incident.

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Crime Briefs

August 26

Aug. 18-19 UNMPD detained two people at the UNM bookstore on separate occasions after the bookstore employees caught them trying to leave with items they had not paid for.

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Magazine gives UNM high marks

Daniel Montaño | August 25

UNM has been crowned the “king of graduate schools” for Hispanics in the United States, according to a recent ranking. Hispanic Business magazine ranked UNM fourth in business, sixth in engineering and 10th in both law and medicine in its annual list released this week.

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C&J platform buoyed by grant

Sayyed Shah | August 25

UNM’s Communication and Journalism department, in partnership with local media outlets, is using a $35,000 grant to create a platform where students can get their schoolwork published and read by thousands across the state. The department has established an online news portal called New Mexico News Port with the help of the grant.

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World briefs

August 25

France French president Francois Hollande dissolved all cabinet positions in the government on Monday amid political infighting in the Socialist party. Prime Minister Manuel Valls offered his government’s resignation, and has been tasked by the president to form a new government, which will be announced on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. The resignation came after Valls accused Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg of being overly critical and disloyal to the party after calling for “a major change in our economy policy,” ABC News reported. France’s economy has been struggling in the wake of austerity measures, with unemployment around 10 percent and little economic growth this year.

News

SFRB funding applications get earlier deadline

Aydan Sparks | August 24

The UNM Student Fee Review Board has made changes to the guidelines for organizations requesting funding for the new school year. The deadline for student organizations to submit their applications for funding has been pushed forward to Sept. 5, as part of a compromise set forth over the summer by UNM President Robert Frank. In a joint statement on Friday with ASUNM President Rachel Williams, GPSA President Texanna Martin said the two groups worked together over the summer to make changes that would adhere to the new guidelines.

New Mexico women’s soccer Head Coach Kit Vela awaits questions from the media at the Tow Diehm Athletic Center on Wednesday. New Mexico Athletic Director Paul Krebs announced Friday that 22 women’s soccer players will be suspended for one game and Vela will be suspended for one week without pay for a hazing incident that occurred last week.

News

Women's soccer team, coach suspended for hazing

Thomas Romero-Salas | August 24

Twenty-two Lobo women’s soccer players will serve a one-game suspension, and head coach Kit Vela will be suspended for one week without pay after last week’s hazing incident, New Mexico Athletics Director Paul Krebs announced Friday. As punishment for the Aug. 17 incident involving all of the team’s athletes, Vela is not permitted to have any contact with her team beginning today. Assistant coaches Jorge Vela and Krista Foo have been issued letters of reprimand; the two assistants will run the team’s day-to-day operations until the head coach’s return. “We believe the disciplinary measures we have taken today send a clear message about the gravity of the incident: that it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Krebs said. “We feel we have a full understanding of what happened that night through the facts we received from the third-party investigation.”

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The Howl: Aug. 23, 2014 episode.

August 23

Did the first week back at UNM monopolize your time? Miss any of the big news? Catch up with this week's episode of The Howl.

News

Campus employee faces grand jury for murder

Jonathan Baca | August 21

A UNM employee will face a grand jury on charges of second-degree murder after two previous failed indictment attempts. A date for a grand jury trial against Amy Herrera has not yet been set. She is currently out on a $100,000 bond. In July 2012, police were called to the home of Amy Herrera, a Health Sciences Center employee, where she and her husband Marc Herrera were holding a party for a UNM exchange student they were hosting, according to police reports.

News

CAPS goes digital with new online tutoring

Matt Reisen | August 21

This semester a new program will help students bring tutors into the comfort of their own home — electronically. Anne Compton, associate director of the Center for Academic Program Support, said CAPS will debut its new Online Learning Center on Monday, which allows students to receive tutoring from their own computer. The Online Learning Center, a combined effort of CAPS, Extended University and New Media and Extended Learning, will give tutoring to students who may be too busy, or too far removed, to physically go to the CAPS office, but still need assistance, she said.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry gets doused with water as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge Thursday at Civic Plaza. Berry became the latest to participate in the viral video event that has drawn awareness to ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

News

Berry challenges President Frank to feel the chill

Daniel Montaño | August 21

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS Thursday in Civic Plaza. After getting doused with four buckets of ice water, the mayor called out five individuals to take the challenge — Ian Anderson, publisher of Albuquerque Business First; Kent Waltz, editor-in-chief of the Albuquerque Journal; Bill Anderson, general manager of KRQE News 13; Mike Burgess, general manager of KOB Eyewitness News 4 and UNM’s own President Bob Frank. Four out of five have accepted the challenge, including Frank, who will be releasing a statement Monday in the President’s Weekly Perspective.

News

Bookstore: New buyback system drops used book cost

Robert Salas | August 21

Student’s wallets may feel light after leaving the bookstore, but Carrie Mitchell, UNM Bookstore director, said her used book prices have been falling steadily since 2012. In May 2012, UNM Bookstores implemented a new buyback system that has helped to drop the average price of used books by about 20 percent, or an average of about $13 per book, she said. “Which adds up to quite a bit, especially when you’re talking about 10,000 books a year,” she said.

New Mexico women’s soccer Head Coach Kit Vela awaits questions from the media at the Tow Diehm Athletic Center on Wednesday. UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs confirmed at the press conference that the team did commit acts of hazing.

News

Details of women's soccer hazing incident emerge

Thomas Romero-Salas | August 20

The New Mexico women’s soccer team did commit an act of hazing while attending several parties Sunday night, UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs confirmed. During a nearly 40-minute press conference Wednesday, Krebs and head coach Kit Vela discussed the incident, which allegedly involved underage drinking and freshman players being sprayed with “soap and water.” Krebs said the incident involved the entire women’s soccer team, but that none of the players were forced to drink. The Athletics Department cancelled the team’s season opener at Texas Tech due to the investigation.