Wednesday’s Top Stories

Wednesday’s Five Facts

[1] New Mexico Governor gives update on public safety initiatives – The governor is calling on the state legislature to take up the next phase in her crackdown on gun violence in the state. During a press conference Tuesday, multiple state departments reported on what they have been doing to follow up on her health order. A major focus was the increase in arrests in the Albuquerque area, with more than 500 arrests in the month of September. According to the governor’s team, the number of reported gun incidents is down 22%. The governor said among her priorities during the legislative session are proposals targeting theft and reforming pretrial detention.

[2] Damon Martinez running for Bernalillo County District Attorney – Former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez announced he will be running for Bernalillo County District Attorney. The position is currently held by Sam Bregman, who Martinez will compete against as a Democrat. Martinez was the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico from 2014 to 2017. He has been working in private practice since stepping down as U.S. Attorney in 2017. Martinez said he would make criminals more accountable for the crimes they do commit, rather than pleading down.

[3] High winds arrive Wednesday around New Mexico – Strong jet stream winds will move over the state today and Thursday. The winds will make it to the surface, and gusts of 30 to 50 mph are expected in western and central NM this afternoon. Wind advisories will be in effect from noon until 6 PM today. A cold front will arrive Thursday, cooling temperatures down on Thursday and Friday by around 5 to 15 degrees. Overnight lows will be especially cold on Friday morning, and it will be our coldest morning of the season for most of New Mexico.

[4] New video shows Poland gas balloon team crash into powerline in Texas – Two balloon pilots involve din the Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race are recovering in a Texas hospital. Krzysztof Zapart and Piotr Halas were the first of 17 teams to take off Saturday night in the race. The two were flying over the Dallas, Fort Worth area when their tracker showed they stopped. Video shows a fireball going up as the hydrogen gas balloon came into contact with a power line. Zapart sustained cuts and burns, while Halas had burns and broken bones. Both pilots are expected to make a full recovry.

[5] RC balloon pilots hope to break world record – Wednesday at the Balloon Fiesta will include the remote-controlled ‘Globitos’. Last fall, pilots tried to break the world record for number of RC balloons. They didn’t quite break the record last year and are trying again this year, hoping to get more than 75 in the air. The Fiestas de los Globitos RC Balloons Exhibition is scheduled to start around 7:30 a.m.