UTAH

Plan allows drilling, grazing near national monument

SALT LAKE CITY – A new U.S. government management plan clears the way for coal mining and oil and gas drilling on land that used to be off limits as part of a sprawling national monument in Utah before President Donald Trump downsized the protected area two years ago.

The plan released by the Bureau of Land Management would also open more lands to cattle grazing and recreation and acknowledges there could be “adverse effects” on land and resources in the monument.

But while allowing more activities, the plan would also add a few safeguards for the cliffs, canyons, waterfalls and arches still inside Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that weren’t in a proposed plan issued last year.

Among them are opening fewer acres to ATVs and cancelling a plan that would have allowed people to collect some non-dinosaur fossils in certain areas.

The BLM says no land will be sold from the 1,345 square miles that were cut from what had been the 3,000 square miles of the monument.

Conservation and paleontology groups have filed ongoing lawsuits to stop the downsizing.

Trump cut the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante amid a review of 27 national monuments by then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Trump also downsized Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by about 85%.

Conservation groups have called Trump’s decision the largest elimination of protected land in American history.

NEW MEXICO

State on pace for record revenue thanks to oil

SANTA FE – New Mexico is now on track to collect an unprecedented $7.8 billion in the budget year thanks to skyrocketing oil production, according to a new legislative revenue tracking report.

The report says total state revenue collections were roughly $273 million above projected levels through April largely because of oil production in southeastern New Mexico.

The higher-than-expected revenue surge for the budget year that ended June 30 could allow for additional spending increases on public schools, roads, pension funds and other programs.

New Mexico was already expecting a $1.3 billion budget surplus for the fiscal year.

Most of the revenue windfall is due to an oil boom in the Permian Basin that has been driven by improvement in drilling techniques and production methods and has made New Mexico the nation’s third-highest oil producing state.

Already, the state’s cash-flush revenue situation has allowed lawmakers to authorize an unprecedented $663 million spending increase for the budget year that started in July – or roughly 11% over previous levels – during this year’s 60-day legislative session. Roughly two-thirds of that amount is going toward salary increases for teachers and other types of education spending.

In addition, the $7 billion budget signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham authorizes $389 million in spending for highway repairs and construction around New Mexico.

NEBRASKA

State supreme court upholds pipeline-path OK

LINCOLN – Nebraska’s highest court lifted one of the last major hurdles for the Keystone XL pipeline in the state when it rejected another attempt to derail the project by opponents who wanted to force the developer to reapply for state approval.

The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the decision of regulators who voted in November 2017 to greenlight a route through the state. The court’s decision was a victory for the $8 billion project, which has been mired in lawsuits and regulatory hearings since it was proposed in 2008.

Despite the victory for Canada-based TC Energy, opponents vowed that the legal fight to block construction was far from over, noting several pending federal lawsuits.

The ruling stemmed from the Nebraska Public Service Commission 3-2 vote nearly two years ago in favor of an “alternative route” for the project instead of developer TC Energy’s preferred pathway. Opponents filed a lawsuit arguing the company didn’t follow all the required procedures for the alternative route, in violation of state law.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican and longtime supporter of the project, said building the pipeline would bring jobs and tax revenue to the state – an assertion opponents repudiate.

The pipeline faces intense resistance from environmental groups, Native American tribes and some landowners along the route who worry about its long-term impact on their groundwater and property rights. But in Nebraska, many affected landowners have accepted the project and are eager to collect payments from the company.

MONTANA

State’s high court reverses Colorado man’s homicide conviction

HELENA – A split Montana Supreme Court reversed a man’s conviction for the July 1999 drowning of his wife in southeastern Montana.

Former Fort Collins attorney and fly-fishing guide Brian David Laird, 51, appealed his 2016 conviction for deliberate homicide in the death of Kathryn Laird, for which he is serving a 100-year sentence in the Montana State Prison.

Four of the seven justices agreed the trial judge wrongly allowed the state to rely heavily on a remark by a now-deceased medical examiner who said marks on the victim’s neck were troubling.

The judge allowed an FBI agent to testify that the medical examiner’s statement that he found the bruises on Kathryn Laird’s neck “troubling” led to a second autopsy.

The medical examiner died before the trial, so Laird’s attorneys were unable to cross-examine him, causing error that prejudiced Laird’s case, the justices wrote.

The case was referred back to District Court in Big Horn County. Laird’s attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Prosecutors said Brian Laird killed his wife of five months after a series of arguments on July 30, 1999. She had recently told friends and family she was going to leave her husband.

NEW MEXICO

State lawmaker plans to stay in office following arrest

LOS ALAMOS – A New Mexico state official has announced plans to remain in office and seek re-lection after a drunken driving arrest.

Democratic state Sen. Richard Martinez stated following a legislative hearing in Los Alamos that he has no intentions to step down despite calls for his resignation.

Authorities say the 66-year-old has pleaded not guilty after being charged with aggravated DWI, and is free on his own recognizance awaiting trial.

Officials say he has skipped other committee meetings since his arrest nearly two months ago.

The state Republican Party called on Martinez to resign.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says no one is above the law and that elected officials should be held to a higher standard.

WYOMING

Casper’s economy improves, but stagnation could be ahead

CASPER – The local economy has seen continued improvements the last two years after a rocky period following an energy bust in 2016. The most recent figures from state economists show that rebound holding, but signs of stagnation could be on the horizon.

A Wyoming Economic Analysis Division report shows Casper’s economy thriving in a few key areas, including housing, tax revenue and employment. Nearly all the areas addressed by the report show improved year-over-year figures in Casper.

Unemployment is down from 4.6 percent last June to 4.1 percent in June. Weekly earnings for Casper residents are up to $998.31 from $967.99 this time last year. And both housing sales and housing prices are up: 132 homes were sold in June, compared to 109 in June 2018. And the average price for those homes was up to $230,000 from $206,900 a year ago.

But the Casper Business Cycle Index shows the city’s growth stagnating in the first six months of 2019.