Metro Rolls Out Rush Plus

Dulce man faces up to 25 years for pot, mushroomsA Dulce man is facing prison after pleading guilty in a federal drug trafficking case in New Mexico. Prosecutors say 27-year-old Jordan Vigil pleaded guilty Monday to a two-count indictment charging him with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms with intent to distribute. They say Vigil entered his guilty plea without the benefit of any plea agreement. Vigil was arrested on Jan. 18 after being indicted in the case. He was arrested in March 2012 in Rio Arriba County. Vigil's sentencing date hasn't been set, but prosecutors said he is facing up to five years in prison on the marijuana charge and 20 years on the other drug charge. Felon pleads guilty to possessing ammunition An Albuquerque man has pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition. Prosecutors say that under the terms of his plea agreement Monday, Jonathan Matthew Sandoval will be sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing date hasn't been set. The 26-year-old Sandoval has been in custody since December 2011. Prosecutors say Sandoval pleaded guilty to one count of a superseding indictment charging him with unlawfully possessing ammunition in Bernalillo County. Sandoval admitted possessing 30 cartridges of ammunition that were found in the trunk of his vehicle in August 2011. At the time, authorities say Sandoval was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses in New Mexico including four home burglaries and possession of a controlled substance.

Every year in Andy Cordova's science classes, students dissect squid.They slice them open and identify their ink sacs, their gills, their eyeball lenses and other parts, while Cordova talks them through the basic anatomy of a squid.And then they eat calamari."Fiesta de Calamari" is an annual tradition at 21st Century Public Academy - a charter school near Jefferson and Osuna NE. Cordova likes to end all of his science units with a hands-on project and the squid dissection caps a unit of studying oceans. Cordova said he started the tradition about six years ago and now it has become a rite of passage for eighth-graders at the school."It has evolved into a fiesta," he said. At the start of class Monday, he urged students to be respectful of the squid, even though they are dead, and to cut them apart carefully.Students worked in pairs, each pair bent over a squid on a paper plate. Some students were eager, others squeamish about cutting open the squid and examining its innards. And students had mixed feelings about eating something right after examining its hearts - all three of them."It's cool, but it's kind of gross," said Michaela McGeorge, 14.Squid have an internal structure called a "pen," which looks like a feather made of clear plastic. Cordova told the students the pen is what remains of a time when squids had shells. Students pulled the pens from their squid and then dipped them in squid ink to write on paper plates.Cordova's wife, Lomie, comes in every year to help with calamari fiesta day. During the dissection lesson, she moved around the room with her husband, expertly helping students locate different squid parts and determine whether their specimen was male or female. After a squid anatomy lesson, it isn't hard to tell: female squid have prominent glands inside that are missing from the males.After the dissection, the students separated out the parts of the squid that would become calamari, specifically the fleshy part of the body - the mantle - and the ring of arms and tentacles. Squid have eight arms and two tentacles, which have different lengths and functions.Lomie Cordova breaded the squid pieces and dropped them into a deep fryer, serving up platters of hot calamari. Some students, who had eaten squid before, devoured several pieces and declared it delicious.Andrea Manzanares, 14, tried calamari for the first time and made a thoughtful face as she chewed it. "It's, like, rubbery," she said.

Bipartisan legislation adopted by the City Council late Monday calls for a series of town hall meetings this year on how to overhaul Albuquerque's police oversight system. In contrast, a separate proposal aimed at giving the council confirmation power over the hiring of police and fire chiefs failed on a 5-3 party-line vote, with Republicans in the majority. The town hall resolution was far less controversial. It establishes an 11-member task force to evaluate and make recommendations on the Police Oversight Commission by the end of the year. The group would hold three town hall meetings before sending a report to the council. Brad Winter, a Republican from the Northeast Heights, and Rey Garduño, a Democrat from the university area, co-sponsored the resolution, which won approval without opposition. "I think this is a great start," Winter said. The resolution also provides up to $50,000 to hire a consultant to help the task force with its work. Community activists, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and others spoke in favor of the bill. The proposal comes at a critical time for the Police Oversight Commission, which has faced criticism from across the political spectrum. The ACLU, for example, filed a freedom-of-speech lawsuit against the POC in April for abruptly limiting public comment during a meeting. City councilors are also discussing whether to suspend the oversight commission temporarily while changes are considered. Albuquerque's civilian oversight system dates to 1999. An independent review officer investigates citizen complaints against police and decides whether an officer is in the right or wrong. The POC can accept or reject the findings, but the police chief has final say on disciplinary matters. Albuquerque Police Department itself is also facing scrutiny, including a federal investigation into whether it has a pattern of violating people's civil rights, specifically through officers' use of force. There are also federal criminal investigations involving APD, although officials have not released details. Councilor Ken Sanchez, a Democrat, proposed sending a City Charter amendment to voters this fall to grant the council confirmation authority for the hiring of police and fire chiefs. The idea failed on 3-5 vote, with Democrats Isaac Benton and Garduño joining Sanchez in favor. Don Harris, a Republican, wasn't present when the vote was taken. Republicans Dan Lewis, Roxanna Meyers, Winter, Janice Arnold-Jones and Trudy Jones voted against it. Opponents said it would "politicize" the chief positions and make it harder to recruit people for those jobs.

University of New Mexico regents routinely approve major expenditures, but it's not often they cry over one.This was different, and it was personal.Regents last week approved $100,000 to study the possibility of bringing to campus a national program that trains people with developmental disabilities for hospital jobs.The program, called Project SEARCH, provides one-year internships in different hospital departments. Students also receive classroom instruction on learning to live independently.It is what led regent Jamie Koch's daughter, Amy, who is featured in a video shown at a meeting last week, to a steady job at Seton Healthcare Family in Austin."I think my favorite part of working here at Seton is knowing that I'm helping out people. I think that's what I'm called to do. And I think the other reason why I like this job is because I feel very loved and very accepted by everybody," Amy Koch says in the video.Koch, who is in her late 40s, has Williams syndrome, a genetic condition that affects 1 in 10,000 people, according to the Williams Syndrome Association. People with the syndrome can suffer from cardiovascular disease, learning disabilities and developmental delays.Amy Koch found work as a floor specialist delivering linens in the hospital and maintaining the linen room about four years ago after participating in Project SEARCH.Her father says UNM Hospital should look into starting the program, which is operating in most states. After the presentation at the meeting last week, Koch struggled to speak through tears and deferred his comments to regents president Jack Fortner, who also was too choked up to talk. Regents voted unanimously in favor of the study."To me it's a great publicity for the university, for the hospital to be able to help these people who have disabilities to have a job," Koch told the Journal.He said the study will look at the cost of establishing Project SEARCH, which might be beyond what UNM can afford."By January I hope we would know what our budget would be. That could kill it, I don't know. But at least we have an opportunity to look at it," he said.

Longtime Soddy-Daisy High School softball coach Lamar Lasley died of an apparent heart attack Monday afternoon, just a few hours before the 2012 state champion Lady Trojans' season ended in a Class AAA sectional game at Smyrna High School.