FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - Farmington drivers are being warned that the city's new ban on texting while driving will take effect soon. The Farmington Daily Times that the City Council outlawed texting while driving in June, but police held off on enforcing it so that word of the ban spread around town. Violators will face fines ranging from $100 to $300.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Groups against uranium mining in Church Rock and Crownpoint are suing the state Environment Department. They claim the department wrongly gave the go-ahead for mining-related activity while a groundwater discharge permit application is pending. The complaint alleges the department sidestepped the normal regulatory process in the case of Hydro Resources Inc.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Time's running out for the federal government to decide whether to renew Lockheed Martin's contract to manage Sandia National Labs or hold a bidding competition to pick a corporate manager. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the contract for the nuclear weapons lab expires at the end of September 2012. Records suggest that the federal government has run out of options to easily grant the company a one-year extension.

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - Fire restrictions on the Navajo Nation have been lifted, thanks to recent rain showers that have reduced the danger of wildfires across the 27,000 square-mile reservation. Those conducting ceremonies, branding livestock or burning personal possessions still have to get a burn permit from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)