Rep. Leger Fernández Announces Two New Mexico Institutions Join Regional Innovation Hub
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
STATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Defense awarded nearly $40 million dollars to establish the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub, which includes both Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico.
The regional innovation hub will focus on microelectronics education, research and development. This initiative is funded through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, which the Congresswoman voted for last Congress.
“Congratulations to Sandia National Laboratories Read More
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Day: Chile And Other New Mexico Specialty Crops Benefit From Farm Bill
By TRAVIS DAY
Executive Director
New Mexico Chile Association
Recently, you may have heard discussions coming out of Washington, D.C., regarding the farm bill and it poses the question: What is the farm bill? In general, the farm bill is an omnibus law that relates to agricultural and food issues. Specifically, it allocates funding and sets policy for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its programs for 5 to 10 years.
These programs are essential to our everyday lives as they include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Read More
Commissioner Garcia Richard And New Mexico Department Of Game And Fish Expand Camping Opportunities For Licensed Hunters On State Lands
NM Road 199 before repairs. Courtesy/NMDGF
NM Road 199 after repairs. Courtesy/NMDGF
NMSLO News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard and Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) Director Michael Sloane announced Sept. 13 that the agencies have increased camping opportunities on state lands in the White Peak area for licensed New Mexico hunters.
The State Land Office (NMSLO) conducted a landscape planning process to develop a camping program in the White Peak area (known to hunters and the agencies as Game Management Unit 48), relying on recommendations Read More
Robinson: Who, Exactly, Is Served By Government Shutdowns?
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
Ten years ago, during a 16-day shutdown, tourists stood outside locked gates at national parks and monuments. Kirtland and Holloman Air Force bases furloughed nearly 1,500 civilian employees. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia closed, which delayed training for 350 agents sorely needed by the Border Patrol. The Department of Energy’s 1,000 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant employees kept working and got late paychecks, but a subcontractor that processed and shipped transuranic waste had to lay off 154 workers. Read More
U.S. Senators Heinrich And Luján Urge Immediate Action On Wildland Firefighter Pay Reform
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) to lead 10 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling for immediate action to advance permanent, comprehensive pay reform for the country’s wildland firefighters as temporary, short-term pay increases for over 22,000 federal firefighters are set to run out at the end of this week.
In their letter, the senators note the increasing threat posed by wildfires in the U.S. and issues that Read More
Parra: A More Effective Approach To Covering Teacher Absences Requires Creativity And Courage
By AIMEE PARRA
Teach Plus New Mexico
My daughter Maddi is a joyful, bright, and kind 7-year old. She wakes up every morning ready for school to see her friends and to learn new things. Last year, there was not a single day that Maddi didn’t come home with stories to tell about all the things that she explored and practiced that day. Of her school subjects, math was her favorite.
At the beginning of the school year, a substitute teacher was assigned to Maddi’s class. Her stories and tone shifted. “We still have a sub, the work is too easy, my friends are wandering the halls, and I don’t know what we are learning Read More
Denish: Keep Focus On Guns, Gun Violence And Crimes Using Guns
By DIANE DENISH
Corner to Corner
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
I started the week wishing lawmakers and elected leaders were as concerned about kids killing kids and families being fearful as they were about Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s proposed 30-day ban on guns in public places.
There has been a flurry of press conferences, lawsuits, statements by various politicians in office and by aspiring politicians.
There is a weak effort to impeach the governor, sponsored by two state representatives who proudly wear AR-15 lapel pins during legislative sessions. One of them, John Block, displays Read More
Senators Luján, Thune Announce Bicameral Effort To Evaluate Universal Service Fund
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and John Thune (R-S.D.), Chair and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, respectively, announced U.S. Reps Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Chair and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, respectively, have joined the Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group.
Launched earlier this year in the Senate, this bipartisan working group was established to evaluate and propose Read More
Jimenez & Wallin: State Must Continue Historic Investments In Families And Kids
By JAMES JIMENEZ
NMVC Action Fund Executive Director &
AMBER WALLIN
NMVC Executive Director
With great opportunity comes great responsibility. As was the case earlier this year, the Governor and Legislature will again have significant revenue to allocate once they meet in January of 2024. At a recent legislative hearing, Secretary of Taxation and Revenue Stephanie Schardin Clarke spoke eloquently about both the opportunity and the responsibility. She said the state is “building a bridge from peak oil” to income that is more predictable and sustainable. Such a bridge is built on investments Read More
Three New Mexico Schools Win National Blue-Ribbon Schools Award
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
NMPED News:
SANTA FE — U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will recognize three New Mexico schools—Lincoln Elementary in Gallup, Lydia Rippey Elementary in Farmington and Monte Vista Elementary in Albuquerque—for their exemplary high performance over the past years with the Blue-Ribbon School Award from during his announcement from Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Education’s Blue-Ribbon School Program recognizes public and private schools for their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps. Read More
County Council To Meet In Regular Session Sept. 26
Tales Of Our Times: Popcorn Pops When People And Nature Get It Right
Tales of our Times
By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens for Clean Air & Water
Popcorn Pops When People And Nature Get It Right
Popcorn is a marvel of engineering, both nature’s kind and the human way. Corn (or “maize”) has four varied forms that are native to the Americas—flint, dent, popcorn, and sweet. Popcorn dates back some 5,000 years. The Mayans knew about popcorn, but the oldest remains of popcorn came to be found in the “Bat Cave” in west central New Mexico in the late 1940s.
The secrets behind popcorn’s glorious popping are stored in its little world of synergy. The forces and the stuff for Read More
Heinrich Welcomes Creation Of American Climate Corps
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Vice Chair of the National Service Congressional Caucus and the first AmeriCorps alum to serve in the United States Senate, welcomed President Joe Biden’s launch of the American Climate Corps, which will put more than 20,000 young people on skilled trades career pathways in the growing fields of clean energy and climate resilience.
“As the first AmeriCorps alum in the Senate, I have been calling to create a Climate Corps for years,” Heinrich said. “There is a lot of work to do to solve climate change Read More
Gov. Lujan Grisham Issues Statement Following Arrests Of Suspects In Murder Of 11-Year-Old Froylan Villegas
From the Office of the Governor:
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham released the following statement after the arrests of three men suspected in the murder of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas:
“Thank you to every officer, investigator, and detective involved in this case. The hard work of the Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and federal law enforcement partners made apprehending these men possible.
“I join my fellow New Mexicans in continuing to mourn the senseless loss of another young life from gun violence. These tragedies are becoming all too common Read More
New Mexico’s August 2023 Unemployment Rate: 3.7 Percent
NMDWS News:
New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in August, up from 3.6 percent in July and up from 3.4 percent in the previous year.
The national unemployment rate in August was 3.8 percent, up from 3.5 percent in July and up from 3.7 percent in August 2022.
Total nonagricultural payroll employment grew by 16,600 jobs, or 2.0 percent, between August 2022 and August 2023. The majority of gains came from the private sector, which was up 11,800 jobs, or 1.7 percent. The public sector was up 4,800 jobs, or 2.7 percent.
The majority of private sector gains were in the goods-producing Read More
PRC Approves Settlement Requiring PNM To Provide $115 Million In Credits To Customers To Reflect ETA Bond Savings
SIERRA CLUB News:
The Public Regulation Commission Thursday approved a settlement between multiple environmental and consumer groups and the PNM agreed to deliver $115 million back to PNM customers in a settlement agreement with advocacy groups.
These savings come from expected savings from Energy Transition Act bonds. The bonds were meant to refinance PNM’s previous investments in the plant that customers would otherwise still have to pay off after the plant was no longer producing electricity.
The commission had approved PNM’s abandonment and power-replacement plans in 2020 with Read More
Senators Luján And Menendez Urge FCC & EPA To Address Public Health Threats Posed By Toxic Lead Cables
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
From the Office of U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sent letters to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on recent media reports on the potential public health threat of lead-sheathed telecommunications cables. The 18-month long investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that a nationwide network of lead-sheathed cables—remnants of legacy telecom networks—are potentially leaching dangerous levels of toxic lead into Read More
National Hispanic Cultural Center Names Zack Quintero Permanent Executive Director
New National Hispanic Cultural Center Executive Director Zack Quintero with renowned labor activist Dolores Huerta. Courtesy/NHCC
NMDCA News:
ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (NMDCA) announced today that Zack Quintero will serve as permanent executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) in Albuquerque.
Having vetted Quintero as interim executive director since March of 2023, the Board of Directors of NHCC voted to recommend him to NMDCA Cabinet Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego as the candidate for the Center’s top leadership role. Secretary Read More
Governor Sends $57 Million To Support Law Enforcement Recruitment Efforts Across New Mexico
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
From the Office of the Governor:
Funding supports 434 jobs in law enforcement agencies statewide
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced today that the state will allocate $57 million from two funds for law enforcement agencies to bolster recruitment and strengthen departments.
This money is on top of the $50 million allocated in 2022 supporting the governor’s initiatives to broaden law enforcement capacity by funding recruitment or retention of law enforcement personnel.
“I have been clear since day one – getting more officers in New Mexico communities Read More
