ABQ Ride Honors Employees Who Are Veterans on Flag Day

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- As the city observed Flag Day, ABQ Ride honored those military veterans among its employees in a special ceremony on Friday.

ABQ Ride employees who served in the military were presented with commemorative coins from the City of Albuquerque, during a ceremony held at the Alvarado Transportation Center.

"We are very proud of our employees who devoted a portion of their lives so that our country might remain free," Mayor Richard Berry said in a statement. "It’s only fitting that on this special day, we not only honor the symbol of that freedom, but also employees who contributed to it."

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Parents Arrested After Leaving Baby in Hot Car

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- An eight-month-old boy was hospitalized this week after he was left in a hot car by his parents.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, the son of Juan Flores, 33, and Erica Garcia, 26, was left in a car and suffered infantile vehicular heatstroke. Flores apparently told Garcia to leave the child with him, rather than in the car while she went to a meeting with her probation officer.

The pair exchanged vehicles and Flores drove back to their apartment, where he apparently left the child in the car. Flores later admitted to police that he had used heroin that morning.

The child was brought to University of New Mexico hospital in critical condition, says the Journal. Both Garcia and Flores were arrested and charged with abandonment of a child.

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Mayor Berry Signs Fireworks Enforcement Bill

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Mayor Berry signed legislation Thursday imposing restrictions on the sale of fireworks in the city of Albuquerque due to hazardous fire conditions and severe drought.

According to National Weather Service measurements, the region has received less than one inch of rain since October 2012. As a result, there’s been a major buildup of dead grass and dry vegetation which greatly increases the risk of fire.

With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, the mayor, City Council and the Albuquerque Fire Department have decided to ban all types of fireworks within the city, both in the air and on the ground.

Anyone who is caught with illegal fireworks will be cited, will have their fireworks confiscated and could face up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.

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Apartment Complex Destroyed by Fire

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A Thursday morning fire destroyed an apartment complex before the Albuquerque Fire Department crews were able to extinguish the blaze, according to a release from the department.

AFD crews were dispatched to the apartment complex, located at 128 Glorieta Street NE, just after 8:30 a.m., and arrived to find the fire had fully engulfed the apartment’s south complex and was spreading towards the north complex.

An on-duty Albuquerque Police Department officer and an off-duty division chief with the Bernalillo County Fire Department had noticed the fire prior to the AFD’s arrival. They were able to safely evacuate the residents of the apartment complex, including a newborn baby and several dogs.

Firefighters worked quickly to put out the blaze, and were able to prevent it from spreading to neighboring homes. The apartment complex, however, was described as a “total loss” by AFD Public Affairs Officer Melissa Romero.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation, but aside from that there were no injuries.

The Red Cross has been called in to assist the displaced families in finding temporary housing, and AFD fire investigators are looking into the cause of the fire.

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Suspect Sought in Albuquerque Robberies

Albuquerque Police Department(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Albuquerque Police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying a suspect in at least two recent local robberies.

The suspect is being sought in connection with a robbery at a Circle K store located at 2019 Carlisle, on Monday, and also in connection with a robbery at a business located at 361 Coors Northwest, on May 27.

Police have released surveillance photos of the suspect.  Anyone with information on the suspect or the robberies is asked to contact Stoppers at 843-STOP (7867).

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Officials: Albuquerque Has Sustainable Water Supply Through 2050

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Despite the current drought, the Albuquerque area has a sustainable water supply through 2050, according to New Mexico Business Weekly.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by John Stomp, COO of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Stomp said that the reserves are due to conservation efforts and the use of San Juan-Chama water.

The San Juan-Chama is a project that brings water from southwestern Colorado to the Rio Grande system.

The project began in 2008, and it is given a lot of the credit for solving the area's water woes. Before the project was operational, all the area’s water came from pumping ground water, but San Juan-Chama water now accounts for 41 percent of the region’s drinking water.

The water authority serves 600,000 people, with the capacity to serve 400,000 more at the current water usage rate of 150 gallons per person per day.

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Infant Left in Hot Car Hospitalized in Critical Condition

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A 7-month old boy who was left inside a hot car Monday was in critical condition with brain trauma as of Tuesday night, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

The baby’s parents, 25-year-old Erica Garcia and 33-year-old Juan Flores, are being held on charges of abandonment of a child resulting in death or great bodily harm.

Garcia was going to take a mandatory drug test, and had told police that she had given the baby to Flores. Flores, who allegedly told police that he had used heroin that morning, says he has no memory of the event. He told officers that he thought the child was with Garcia the whole time.

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Shiprock Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Sex Abuse

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A Shiprock man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing a child.

Delbert Begaye, 56, was sentenced on Tuesday, after pleading guilty last September to two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Authorities say Begaye has admitted that between March and October of 1989, he engaged in sexual acts with a child who was about 10 years old at the time, on approximately six occasions.

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Man Killed in Accident at Construction Business

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A man was killed in an accident at the site of a construction business on Monday morning.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, the man was trapped underneath the boom of a crane at Structural Services Inc. The accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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City Opening 'Cooling Centers' for Residents Affected by Power Outages

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- The city of Albuquerque is urging residents affected by power outages to take advantage of "cooling centers" on Tuesday.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees or so Tuesday afternoon. In response, the city has opened four locations for the public to go to for shelter, air conditioning and water.

The cooling centers are located at Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, Palo Duro Senior Center, Mesa Verde Community Center and Cesar Chavez Community Center.

The city expects power to be resored by mid-afternoon, says the Journal.

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