Wednesday’s Top Stories

Wednesday’s Five Facts

[1] Prosecution to call Luis Talamantes’ friends to testify in trial for Jacque Vigil killing – On trial for murder, Luis Talamantes-Romero faces a second day of testimony Wednesday for his alleged role in the 2019 death of Jacque Vigil. Prosecutors have accused Talamantes of shooting and killing Vigil, 55, in the early morning hours of November 19, 2019. Vigil was in the driver’s seat of her car, backing out of her driveway when she was shot in the head. Wednesday marks the third day of proceedings in the case. Prosecutors and the defense spent all of Monday selecting a jury. On Tuesday, both sides delivered opening statements while the state called two witnesses to the stand.

[2] Rio Grande seeing high water levels, not expected to run dry this year in ABQ – The Rio Grande is flowing powerfully through Albuquerque these days. In fact, the river hasn’t been this full since 2019, thanks to recent snowmelt run-off from the mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico. Officials said the water is only going to get higher over the next two months. They say some river overflow is possible in the coming weeks with the potential of water-covered bike paths along the Bosque.

[3] Strong winds and high fire danger Wednesday – Wind advisories are in effect from late morning through late evening across much of New Mexico, as winds will gust to around 50 to 60 mph. Temperatures will cool by around ten degrees in the Four Corners as a cold front moves in. Central New Mexico will be a few degrees cooler than Tuesday. Eastern and southern New Mexico will stay hot. The front will cool down the entire state more on Thursday.

[4] Española dog poisoned with fentanyl pills recovers, adoptable – A dog in Española was given three fentanyl pills. Scooter, an 8-year-old terrier mix, also suffered physical trauma. However, Scooter has survived it all and is now ready to find a new permanent home. Scooter arrived at Española Humane in early January unable to walk and poisoned with fentanyl. He was in the ICU for several days and vets noticed Scooter also had a broken rib and a spinal injury. 

[5] Goodwill to open retail, services center in old Hastings building – Coming soon to the Fair Plaza Shopping Center off San Pedro and Lomas will be Goodwill, the first one south of I-40 in Albuquerque. After close to seven years, all of the former Hastings locations in the Albuquerque area have finally found a new purpose. This particular Goodwill will handle more than just retail and donations, officials say they will also have a training center, resource center, job development center and veteran services. The goal is to open sometime in July.