SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has received final federal approval to pursue $675 million in federal grant funding to expand high-speed internet across the state, officials said Monday. That means the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion can now start the grant application process. The state must submit a final proposal […]
Katy Barnitz
Advisory board alleges city ‘violates the autonomy, dignity, and rights’ of those experiencing homelessness
As Albuquerque grapples with stubbornly high housing costs and an increase in people living on the streets, a city board says there’s more reason for concern. The city’s unhoused population also faces widespread discrimination, stigma and exclusion — often from city employees or city contractors. The Albuquerque Human Rights Board published its preliminary findings last […]
Six tribal water rights settlements for NM heard on Capitol Hill
By Danielle Prokop The Navajo Nation president and leaders from Acoma, Ohkay Owingeh and Zuni Pueblos joined tribal leadership from across the nation on Capitol Hill, offering testimony about the benefits of $3.7 billion federal dollars in six proposed water rights settlements across New Mexico. The deals would settle tribes and Pueblos’ water rights in […]
NM governor says special session ‘was not fair,’ but she won’t punish wildfire survivors for it
By Austin Fisher More than a week after a contentious special legislative session, New Mexico’s governor still has not signed the single piece of legislation lawmakers sent to her desk. As part of a wide-ranging five-hour-long town hall meeting in Las Cruces on Thursday night, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham talked about House Bill 1, the only […]
Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practices
By DEEPA BHARATH MESCALERO, New Mexico (AP) — Anne Marie Brillante never imagined she would have to choose between being Apache and being Catholic. To her, and many others in the Mescalero Apache tribe in New Mexico who are members of St. Joseph Apache Mission, their Indigenous culture had always been intertwined with faith. Both […]
Federal court won’t block New Mexico’s 7-day waiting period on gun purchases amid litigation
By MORGAN LEE SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that New Mexico can continue to enforce a new, seven-day waiting period on gun sales while a court challenge backed by the National Rifle Association moves forward. In a ruling Monday, Albuquerque-based U.S. District Court Judge James Browning denied the NRA’s request […]
Preventable heat injuries and deaths rising in New Mexico
BY DANIELLE PROKOP Heat and degraded air quality harming New Mexicans is projected to worsen in the coming years, as climate change fueled by burning and extracting fossil fuels cranks up the planet’s temperature. State lawmakers heard that message from panels of experts from government and outside groups in an interim Water and Natural Resources […]
NM Democratic delegates rally behind Harris
BY AUSTIN FISHER President Joe Biden handily won New Mexico’s primary election earlier this year, and most of the state’s delegates who were pledged to him are starting to coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris to take the top of the ticket. New Mexico’s presidential delegates will represent the state at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago […]
New Mexico village battered by wildfires in June now digging out from another round of flooding
RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — A southern New Mexico village that was ravaged by wildfires in June and then battered off-and-on by flooding across burn scars was cleaning up Monday from another round of flash flooding in which a dozen people had to be rescued and many more were displaced from their homes. “Hopefully by Thursday […]
FBI warrant claims couple started Salt Fire
BY PATRICK LOHMANN A federal search warrant application filed last week revealed that the FBI believes two people are responsible for igniting the Salt Fire that began June 17 and burned more than 7,000 acres in southeastern New Mexico. According to the July 11 document signed by an FBI agent, the suspects are a man […]