Forest Service Announces $182M In Retroactive Secure Rural Schools Payments
USDA News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Forest Service today announced it is issuing $182 million in retroactive Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments for 2024, delivering critical funding to eligible states and counties with National Forest System lands. These payments help sustain public schools, maintain local roads, strengthen wildfire preparedness, and support other essential services in rural communities.
“For many rural counties, SRS payments aren’t optional—they’re essential,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “The Forest Service’s annual payments provide reliable, Read More
NM State Bar Foundation Celebrates 35th Anniversary
NMSB News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico State Bar Foundation (“the Bar Foundation”) announces its 35th anniversary, marking 35 years of advancing access to justice and supporting the legal community and public across New Mexico.
Established on Feb. 20, 1991, by the governing body of the State Bar of New Mexico (“the State Bar”), the Board of Bar Commissioners, the New Mexico State Bar Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the State Bar. The Foundation supports the legal community through educational opportunities and serves the public through multiple legal helplines and free workshops, Read More
Chairwoman Barela Issues Official Statement On Conclusion Of New Mexico’s 2026 Legislative Session
RPNM News:
SANTA FE — As we expected, this legislative session proved that Republicans are serious about wanting to make our communities safer, spend tax dollars efficiently and responsibly, & improve access to healthcare across our state. Democrats, however, approached the legislative session differently as they prioritized their ‘hate-everything-Trump’ policy agenda over everything else. Democrats went after Second Amendment rights, made New Mexico a safe haven for criminal illegal immigrants, increased government spending, and made every attempt to damage New Mexico’s Read More
FBI: Window Rock Man Charged With Assault
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — A Window Rock man is facing federal charges after allegedly stabbing another man.
According to court records, June 17, 2025, Jacoby Edo Begay, 20, an enrolled member of Navajo Nation, assaulted John Doe with a knife and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury to Doe.
Begay is federally charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. If convicted, Begay faces up to 10 years in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Read More
Governor Celebrates Landmark Final Legislative Session
STATE News:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Thursday celebrated passage of landmark bills approved by the New Mexico Legislature during her final session, including medical malpractice reform, universal childcare and new public safety, health care and education initiatives.
The 2026 legislative session delivered a responsible, forward-looking budget that reflects New Mexico’s fiscal strength and the governor’s commitment to investing in New Mexicans. The FY 2027 budget totals $33.4 billion —including more than $11 billion from the general fund—and increases Read More
Unlock The Universe With James Webb Space Telescope At PEEC Tonight
Ant Nebula (jpl-NASA). Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) invites the community to journey across space and time in a special planetarium program, The James Webb Space Telescope Unlocked Universe, from 7–8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Admission is $6 per child, $8 per adult or $20 per family (new!).
This immersive show highlights the groundbreaking discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has transformed our understanding of galaxies, planets, and the Read More
Canceled: County Personal Board Meeting Feb. 24
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Personnel Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24, has been canceled due to a lack of agenda items. Read More
It’s Snowing At Pajarito … Tickets Available Now
Pajarito Mountain Ski Area is open today, Saturday, and Sunday, Courtesy/Pajarito
PAJARITO News:
Just in time for reopening, Pajarito picked up a couple inches of snow this week and it’s snowing right now – check the live cams and see for yourself.
Pajarito Mountain Ski Area is open today, Saturday, and Sunday, and it’s shaping up to be a great weekend. Lift tickets are under $70 (while supplies last), and when purchased online by midnight the night before visiting, purchasers receive $10 in Bird Bucks to use on food, drinks, or gear.
UNITE’s Arrive Alive Tour® Coming To Los Alamos
COUNTY News:
UNITE’s Arrive Alive Tour®, the nation’s number one ranked drunk and distracted driving awareness event, and first-and-only marijuana driving simulator is coming to Los Alamos.
The community is invited to participate from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the parking lot in Central Park Square off Main Street.
The Arrive Alive Tour® aims to empower drivers with the knowledge and tools needed to build lifelong safe driving habits by using a high-tech, state-of-the-art simulator that allows participants to drive while distracted, drunk, or drugged in a fully functioning Read More
Los Alamos County Invites Community To Listening Session On Urban Park Athletic Court Improvements
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County is seeking community input on potential renovations to the athletic courts at Urban Park and invites residents to participate in an upcoming listening session focused on how the courts and surrounding spaces are used today.
The community meeting will provide an opportunity for participants to share feedback, identify needs, and explore ideas to improve athletic facilities and better serve the community. This project involves removing and replacing current assets within the same footprint, including the tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts.
Community Read More
Listen To The Stars: How Blind Astronomer ‘Hears’ The Cosmos At New Mexico Museum Of Space History Launch Pad Lecture March 2
NMDCA News:
ALAMOGORDO — The groundbreaking work of blind astronomer Wanda Díaz-Merced will be brought into focus at the New Mexico Museum of Space History Launch Pad Lecture 9-10 a.m., Friday, March 6.
Museum Curator Brianna Buller will introduce visitors to Díaz-Merced’s methods, demonstrate how data can be translated into audio patterns, and highlight how these approaches open doors for researchers with diverse abilities while enriching how all scientists interpret information from space.
Drawing from her lived experience with disability, Díaz-Merced has created new ways of engaging Read More
How Did New Mexico Housing Bills Fare In 30 Day Session? A Few Wins, Several Disappointments
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
By MIKE EASTERLING
The Santa Fe New Mexican
It took nearly every minute of the New Mexico Legislature’s 30-day session to get it done, but a measure that will make zero-interest loans available for qualified, first-time buyers of starter homes earned legislative approval Thursday morning.
The Senate’s last-minute passage of House Bill 200 gave affordable housing advocates a late victory at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe just before lawmakers adjourned and headed home.
HB 200, designed to create the New Homes for New Mexico Program, was Read More
Flanged Tritium Waste Container Final Report, Volume 2, Published
LANL News:
The Flanged Tritium Waste Container Radioactive Air Emissions Summary, Volume 2, Environmental Sampling and Expanded Plume Modeling is complete and available to the public.
This second volume to the FTWC final report examines downwind air and soil sampling measurements that were conducted to support the FTWC depressurization operation and presents expanded plume modeling scenarios, looking at different time frames of evaluation, different plume modes, and different age range scenarios.
Volume 1 of the report discussed in detail the execution of the FTWC pressure mitigation Read More
Los Alamos Mountaineers Meeting To Feature Talk On Kilimanjaro And Beyond With Toni Taylor Feb. 24
Stuart Trugman in February 2025 heading to Crater Camp (18,000 ft.) on Kilimanjaro. Courtesy/Mountaineers
By WILLIAM PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos Mountaineers
The Feb. 24 meeting of Los Alamos Mountaineers will feature a talk by Toni Taylor on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with her husband, Stuart Trugman, as part of a supported group in February 2025.
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, rising to 5,895 m (19,341 ft) above sea level and about 4,900 m (16,100 ft) above its plateau base. Their nine-day journey via the Northern Read More
Home Country: Golf Tournament
Home Country
By SLIM RANDLES
It was Doc’s idea, of course. That’s what made it sing. That’s why it took off in gales of laughter and fun.
He knew we needed the money for the children in our area who might be without warm clothes this winter, so he brainstormed among himself and came up with the golf tournament.
He went to Delbert McLain, who is our local chamber of commerce. Delbert’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, but then suddenly clouded over with doubt.
“But Doc,” Delbert said, “we don’t have a golf course.”
“Leave that to me, Delbert me lad. Leave that entirely to me.”
And so our medical leprechaun talked Read More
NMSA’s Theatre Department Presents: All Night Diner– The NMSA One Acts Festival
NMSA News:
Join NMSA’s Theatre Department for All-Night Diner: The NMSA One Acts Festival running March 19-21 at NMSA’s Bluedio Theatre. The lights never go off at this 24-hour diner. Over the course of a single day and night, strangers cross paths, conversations collide, and lives quietly (and not so quietly) change.
All-Night Diner serves up a collection of original one-act plays written by Creative Writing students and brought to life by Theatre students—each story unfolding in the same diner, each revealing a different slice of humanity. From late-night confessions to early-morning Read More
Community Invited To Take County Tourism Survey
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County is inviting community members to participate in an online tourism survey open through Feb. 28, 2026. The survey is intended to gather community feedback to help inform future tourism planning, marketing, and management efforts across the county.
Community members are encouraged to share their perspectives by completing the survey online at lacnm.com/TourismSurvey.
Those interested in current tourism initiatives can visit lacnm.com/Tourism.
Los Alamos County values community input and encourages broad participation to ensure tourism efforts Read More
Daily Postcard: Curious Weasel At Valles Caldera
Daily Postcard: A long-tailed weasel camouflaged by its white winter coat in the snow scans its surroundings, shown on Tuesday at Valles Caldera National Preserve. During the Valles Caldera Winter Fest this Saturday, Feb. 21, Ranger Jordan will lead a hike for little ones to learn about winter wildlife adaptations. Meet at the Volcano Discovery Center a few minutes before 11 a.m. to participate. No registration required. As you hike, try your best to insulate a gelatin creature from freezing in the cruel winter of Valles Caldera. On a cold winter day, there can be upwards of a 40-degree difference Read More
Office Of The State Engineer Enforcement Bill Heads To Governor’s Desk After Strong Bipartisan Support
State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson
STATE News:
SANTA FE – A bill raising the maximum penalty for illegal water use from $100 to $3,400 per day—the first major update to New Mexico’s water enforcement authority in more than a century—is headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk after passing the legislature with near-unanimous bipartisan support.
House Bill 111 modernizes the Office of the State Engineer’s (OSE) enforcement tools against illegal water use at a moment when scarcity is intensifying across New Mexico. Once signed, the measure will mark one of the most significant updates Read More
New Mexico Legislature Wraps Up 30-Day Session After Busy Final Week
State House Speaker Javíer Martinez, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, embrace following a Democratic news conference at the Capitol after the 2026 legislative session ended Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham laughs while listening to final comments made by members of the House of Representatives during her final news conference to conclude the 2026 legislative session on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN and CLARA BATES
The Santa Fe New Mexican
In years past, Gov. Read More