Commentary by New Mexico State Senator Carrie Hamblen — More than a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt pioneered the American conservation movement. Using the Antiquities Act of 1906, he declared vast tracts of land as national monuments, notably the El Chaco, Morro, and Gila Cliffs National Monuments in New Mexico (subsequent presidents would later add Bandelier, […]
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Posted inJobs, Workers & Economy
Should Edgewood raise taxes to subsidize business growth?
Amidst months of discussion and debates over budget gaps and fire service costs, town commissioners asked the town’s Economic Development Advisory Board to evaluate a proposal to raise local taxes to incentivize new growth in Edgewood. Grant Taylor, a local economic development specialist who works with PNM and other large industries in the state, pitched […]
Posted inJemez & Jemez Spring
Wildfire near Battleship Rock forces evacuations in Sandoval County’s Jemez Mountains
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Residents in two Sandoval County mountain communities must leave their homes immediately as firefighters battle a growing wildland blaze near Battleship Rock in the Jemez Mountains. Sandoval County Fire Rescue confirmed an evacuation GO order — meaning leave now — is in effect for Sierra Los Pinos and Vallecitos. The […]
Posted inJobs, Workers & Economy
New Mexico added 13,000 new jobs in Biden’s last year. Since Trump’s tariffs and wars, just 400.
New Mexico added 13,100 jobs in 2024, averaging 1,091 jobs per month during the last 12 months of President Joe Biden’s term in the White House. Now, the rate of job growth has slowed significantly, with the state’s public and private employers adding a net 400 jobs in the 12 months since President Trump implemented […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
West Nile virus detected in Bernalillo County mosquitoes
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have turned up in Bernalillo County, and health officials want residents to act before monsoon season makes things worse. The infected insects were collected near the Rio Grande through the joint mosquito surveillance program run by the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, with testing […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Lightning-caused Deer Canyon fire forces evacuations near Mountainair
A lightning-caused wildfire south of Mountainair sent residents of the Deer Canyon neighborhood scrambling for safety over the weekend. The fire had burned over 100 acres and was 0% contained by Monday night and 15% on Tuesday, state forestry officials said. More than 140 crew were assigned to the fire including helicopter and bulldozer crews […]
Posted inJobs, Workers & Economy
PNM, Blackstone commit $20 million to build New Mexico trades jobs needed for PNM renewables and statewide economic growth
Rosendo Najar stops at construction sites to check the tags on the trucks parked outside. Too often, he says, those trucks sport tags from Arizona or Texas, not New Mexico, and that means local developers are bringing in labor to do jobs trained New Mexican laborers can do. Najar, who is a leader with the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Testing the waters: Feds stop paying to sample LANL runoff
By Alicia Inez Guzmán, Source New Mexico — With every spring snowmelt or heavy summer monsoon comes the chance that radioactive particles and toxic chemicals could run down the lobed canyons that are etched into the sides of the Pajarito Plateau and outside the boundaries of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Evidence of Cold War experiments […]
Posted inEnvironment, Conservation & Climate
Did you feel the New Mexico earthquake this past weekend?
Earthquakes aren’t normally cause for much thought in the quiet desert landscape across Central New Mexico, but some Valencia County residents got a reminder on Sunday that the ground under their feet is still very much active. The Valencia County Fire Department’s Facebook page generated hundreds of comments after it shared that they had received […]
Posted inRio Rancho
Reaching for the sky: New RRPS superintendent seeking gains at high-performing district
By Rodd Cayton, The Paper. The year is 2040. The Rio Rancho Events Center is packed, as the community celebrates hundreds of newly minted graduates of a local high school. They are asked to stand, arranged by their plans for after high school. Eventually, every graduate is standing, and the community embraces its status as […]