Wednesday’s Top Stories
- Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Zorro Ranch’ sold in New Mexico
- New Mexico’s national parks, sites brought $139 million in 2022 – Which was the biggest earner?
- Automated speed enforcement cameras coming to state roads after ABQ success
- Bernalillo County sees 12th teen charged with murder in 2023
- Lobos football ‘goes as offensive line goes’
- Albuquerque man kept behind bars, accused of having sex with a 12-year-old
- New Mexico State Fair 2023: What you need to know
- Intel New Mexico to host engineering hiring event
- Hawaii officials urge families of people missing after deadly fires to give DNA samples
- Russia and Ukraine trade drone attacks as Kyiv claims it took out a key S-400 missile defense system
Wednesday’s Five Facts
[1] Trial for River of Lights hit and run suspect – The trial of Sergio Almanza began Tuesday, he admits to hitting and killing a seven-year-old boy and injuring the boy’s father while they were leaving the River of Lights in 2021. But he’s fighting a key accusation tied to the crash. Almanza is arguing that he was not drunk when the crash happened. Almanza is expected to take the stand during the trial. The trial is expected to last through the middle of next week. If convicted, Almanza could spend up to 27 years behind bars.
[2] More changes come to ABQ bus routes amid driver, mechanic shortage – Five months ago, a shortage of bus drivers forced the city of Albuquerque to cut some bus routes and shorten others. Now, they are doing it again, suspending more bus services throughout the city. With more than a hundred vacancies, officials say bus drivers are sitting at a 41% vacancy rate, that number climbing since the beginning of the year. The Transit Department said they are making progress in other ways and scheduling changes have allowed them to move drivers to different routes to fill gaps.
[3] Tropical moisture arrives in New Mexico – Heavy, widespread rain is expected across the south and west parts of the state today. A flood watch will be in effect for the Sacramento Mountains from noon until tonight, as burn scar flooding will be possible. Showers and storms will be more hit or miss in the Metro, northern New Mexico, and the east plains. The northeast highlands and east-central plains will stay dry and partly sunny. Temperatures will be cooler in the areas that see clouds and rain today.
[4] BCSO searches for Walgreens shoplifting suspect – BCSO is asking for the public’s help. They’re attempting to track down a man suspected of trying to steal a cartload of merchandise from Walgreens. In June, a customer captured an image of the man deputies claimed tried to roll out a cart filled with makeup and other merchandise. Witnesses reported the man threatened a customer with a hammer, so employees unlocked the door, and he fled in a blue or green Saturn sedan with the driver waiting inside. Anyone with information is asked to contact BCSO.
[5] Longtime Albuquerque bookstore closing its doors – The Menaul Book Exchange in Albuquerque is closing its doors after 48 years in business, according to a post made online by the bookstore. The post said the gently used bookstore on Menual Boulevard NE near Eubank Boulevard NE is closing because the building is being sold. The owner says increased competition with digital book sales and crime around the neighborhood were other factors pushing her to move on.
