Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News

Biden administration taps $366M to fund clean energy for Native American tribes and rural areas

By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America The federal government will fund 17 projects across the U.S. to expand access to renewable energy on Native American reservations and in other rural areas, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday. The $366 million plan will fund solar, battery storage and hydropower projects in sparsely populated regions where […]

Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News

NM officials are testing high schools’ wastewater for drugs without a clear plan for the results

By MEGAN MYSCOFSKI/ KUNM On an afternoon with blowing dust and sideways snow, two people in bright yellow vests and heavy winter clothes worked over an open manhole in the brush behind Belen High School. “Ice packs to make sure that everything stays cold. Not that that’s a problem right now,” said Tom Brown, an […]

Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News

County Expands Illegal Dumping Program to Include Bernalillo

Sandoval County officials announced the launch of an expanded Preserve Sandoval program earlier this week. It’s an offshoot of a pilot program launched in 2022, which was created to address illegal dumping off of county roads around Rio Rancho. This expanded program, covers all of Sandoval County. The formula is simple: The public identifies illegal […]

Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, Placitas

BLM asks for public comment on Buffalo Tract proposal

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to protect 4,213 acres within the Placitas area from new mining claims and mineral activity. BLM wants the public to give their feedback on the environmental assessment of the proposal, which officials say is intended to conserve sacred Tribal land, boost important local recreation opportunities and support wildlife […]

Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, State Government #nmgov

State budget includes $200,000 for new task force on missing and murdered Indigenous people

This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T). By Bella Davis/NM In Depth The state budget awaiting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s signature contains $200,000 for Attorney General Raúl Torrez to create a new task force concentrated on […]

Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News

How did live ammunition get on Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ set? The armorer’s trial will focus on this

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The scheduled trial this week of a movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited? […]

Posted inNew Mexico Statewide News, State Government #nmgov

The 72 bills that reached the governor’s desk and those that didn’t

Austin Fisher/Source New Mexico New Mexico lawmakers introduced a total of 658 bills this session, nearly 10 times more than they ended up actually voting to pass onto the governor. By the time the Legislature finished the budget-focused 30-day session on Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had signed three bills: House Bill 1, House Bill 141 and House Bill […]