DWI blitz focuses on women

Drunken women drivers are the focus of a new DWI superblitz campaign beginning today and running through March 29.

Women accounted for 300,000 alcohol-impaired driving incidents in 2006, according to state statistics. In 2007, one in 20 female binge drinkers said they drove after drinking an average of almost six beers.

Television and radio stations will begin airing a new ad, "Women Drive Drunk, Too," featuring a young woman kissing her baby goodbye and promising her father that she will return home soon. The woman has a few drinks with her friends and gets in a vehicle to drive.

"Drivers can expect to see stepped-up law enforcement efforts, sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols throughout the month of March," said Gov. Bill Richardson, announcing the campaign.

Fuel contaminates courthouse site

Soil and water contaminated by petroleum has been discovered at the site of the new District Courthouse at Montezuma and Sandoval streets.

The pollution might have leaked from three underground gasoline storage tanks that were located in the area between the 1920s and the 1970s, according to a statement issued by Santa Fe County spokesman Stephen Ulibarri.

Soil contamination has been found at about 30 percent of the courthouse site and floating gasoline on groundwater has been found at about 15 percent of the site, according to the release.

Ulibarri said the county has consulted with state and federal officials about the best way to clean up the toxins and will conduct the cleanup over the next six days.

Soil will be trucked to the Caja del Rio landfill and contaminated water will be treated on site then removed by city sewer drains, according to the release.

"Some odor can be expected as the impacted soil is removed from the site," Ulibarri wrote.

County fined for landfill excavation

The state Environment Department has fined Santa Fe County $5,000 for excavating dirt and trash from an old landfill in Stanley without a permit.

County spokesman Stephen Ulibarri said the county encountered trash under the soil while constructing a building that will be part of a new landfill adjacent to the old one. That trash and surrounding soil was taken to the Caja del Rio landfill without first obtaining a permit, violating state rules.

Ulibarri said he didn't know why a permit was not obtained before moving the soil and trash. "The person in charge at the time has since retired from the county," he said.

The county has since terminated its contract with the environmental firm hired to help determine the best location for the new building, Ulibarri said.

The unlawful soil removal happened last summer, Ulibarri said.

125 antelope sent to Mexico

An expensive wall may hamper northward human migration, but a program between New Mexico and Mexico just moved antelope south of the border.

New Mexico captured and sent 125 pronghorn antelope to Coahuila, Mexico, this month. In exchange, New Mexico will get 10 desert bighorn rams in the fall to expand an existing sheep herd north of Lordsburg.

State game staffers herded 152 antelope into a fence trap using a helicopter. Santa Ana Pueblo near Bernalillo received 27 of the pronghorns and four died during capture.

U.S. House passes water legislation

A bill to invest $18.7 billion over the next five years in water and wastewater systems across the United States passed the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., voted with 316 colleagues for the bill; 101 representatives opposed the measure. Luján's amendment authorizing new technical assistance grants for water and wastewater projects for tribal communities was included in the legislation.

"Water infrastructure is critically important for communities across New Mexico, but particularly for our tribal communities," said Luján following the vote. "By investing in water infrastructure, we can improve water quality and delivery, and we can create jobs throughout the country — including in rural communities like those in New Mexico."

The bill goes now to the U.S. Senate.

Funds to help weatherize homes

New Mexicans who need to weatherize their homes will get a boost from $58.6 million in federal funds through the recently approved American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The federal government is releasing $26.8 million to help New Mexicans make improvements to their homes to reduce their heating and cooling bills. An additional $31.8 million will be released to the state Energy Program, which guides energy priorities and projects in New Mexico.

Volunteers can help chimpanzees

Got a couple hours to spare? How about helping out chimpanzees?

On Saturday, a group of people are gathering to make enrichment boxes for rescued chimps at Save the Chimps, a sanctuary in Alamogordo. They're meeting from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Wild Oats Community Room, 1090 South St. Francis Drive. Vegan snacks will be offered to volunteers.

Sanctuary chimpanzees are served wholesome meals that include fruits and vegetables, but enrichment boxes are a special treat, organizers said. Goodies are placed in small wrapped boxes and given to the chimps, who love ripping into the gifts. Organizers are looking for unsweetened and salt-free treats such as dried fruit, rice cakes and sunflower seeds, along with clean small boxes or toilet paper or paper towel tubes. Supplies will be provided for those who simply want to help assemble the packages.

For more information about what to bring, call 466-1692 or e-mail mrokke@aol.com. For more information about Save the Chimps, visit the Web site at www.savethechimps.org.

Gunshot wounds found in body

ALBUQUERQUE — Medical investigators have found multiple gunshot wounds in the body of a man found floating in a canal in Albuquerque's South Valley.

The man carried no identification, but Bernalillo County sheriff's detectives have identified him and are contacting his family before releasing his name.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Erin Kinnard Thompson says the man was 25 years old.

A passerby spotted the body about 5 p.m. Wednesday and called authorities.

Nacchio request to remain free denied

DENVER — A federal judge has denied a request for former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio to remain free until the U.S. Supreme Court can review his challenge of his insider-trading conviction.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger said Thursday the request was premature because Nacchio hasn't asked the Supreme Court for a review, though his attorney plans to do so.

A federal appeals court also denied a request for Nacchio to remain free.

Nacchio has been ordered to report to prison by noon March 23 to begin a six-year sentence. His motion asking for a postponement of that date is still pending.