SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Local elections officials petitioned the New Mexico Supreme Court for permission to conduct the June 2 primary elections by mail because of the coronavirus. County clerks said in the petition Monday that the pandemic makes it impossible to conduct traditional election-day balloting and that existing procedures for mail-in balloting should be adopted for all voting with limited in-person assistance. They also say it is impractical for the Legislature to quickly meet and establish emergency voting procedures. The Supreme Court had no immediate response. The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the state increased to 281 cases on Monday.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Plans for a Navajo Nation entity to manage Medicaid on parts of the reservation are up in the air over disagreements among tribal leaders. A tribal corporation has been touting a plan that would incorporate traditional healing, food boxes and customer service in the Navajo language. But it hit another snag last week when tribal President Jonathan Nez vetoed a resolution that he says unconscionably tried to capitalize on the spread of the coronavirus. Nez says the resolution wasn't an emergency as written and the corporation wasn't set up to manage health care. Tribal lawmakers had approved the corporation's efforts to administer Medicaid on the New Mexico portion of the reservation.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Archaeologists, historians and environmentalists are joining New Mexico's congressional delegation and a coalition of Native American tribes in asking federal land managers to grant more time for the public to comment on a contested plan that will guide oil and gas development near Chaco Culture National Historical Park. They say the federal government should wait until the coronavirus outbreak subsides to ensure the public has an adequate opportunity to participate. Despite existing protections within its boundaries, the World Heritage site has been at the center of a decades-long fight over drilling in northwestern New Mexico.

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) - The Hobbs News-Sun is ending its Saturday edition and shrinking the size of the paper amid falling oil prices and the downtown caused by COVID-19. Hobbs News-Sun Publisher Daniel Russell announced Saturday the moves in response to economic pressures the newspaper faces in the heart of New Mexico's oil and gas country. Russell says the newspaper will continue to print editions Tuesday through Friday and Sunday. He also says the width of the paper will go from 25 inches across to 23 inches across to save money on cost.

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