The lightning-quick second special session of the State Legislature, Nov. 10, to allocate state funds to fund SNAP in the event of longer Federal delays led me down a path of interesting research this week – about the history of public welfare in New Mexico and who uses SNAP in our state. There is some […]
Columnists
Posted inColumnists
Celebrate! Celebrate! We Can Do It!
Corner to Corner Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque. Over the past two weeks, New Mexico has been in the national spotlight, earning rave reviews for taking the bold step of making childcare universal and free for every family. No […]
Posted inEast Mountains
The permitting process of good ideas
If you are driving past Exit 181 on Interstate 40 from now on, you can spot them: American flags, properly displayed, on either side of the overpass. Depending on your perspective, you may smile, or snort derisively, or not notice them at all. These flags are the product of two and a half years of […]
Opinion
All Politics Is Local — Especially School Boards
Corner to Corner Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque. Editor’s note: An earlier version of this column stated that Acequia Madre School in Santa Fe was closed after public meetings over its future. A reader noted the error and the […]
Opinion
200 days in, rural New Mexico hardest hit by Trump policies
Corner to Corner Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque. We are now two hundred days into the second Trump administration, and the early outlines of its policies are beginning to take shape in New Mexico. Cuts to the Forest Service. […]
Posted inColumnists
Work comp law changes increase attorney fees
Triple Spaced Again Merilee Dannemann is a longtime New Mexico journalist. She has written freelance for many local newsrooms and served as the Taos correspondent for the Albuquerque Journal. Find her online at triplespacedagain.com It has been quite a while since New Mexico has done anything substantive to make life better for injured workers covered […]
Opinion
When Is the Right Time to Ask the Hard Questions?
This is a heartbreaking column to write. But as the flood tragedies in Texas and New Mexico unfold, heartbreak is unavoidable. More families are reeling from the deaths of children, missing loved ones, and homes and lives destroyed. As I watched the crisis in Texas, my mind went back to childhood memories — when my […]
Opinion
The future of undeveloped land
President Joe Biden proposed to protect 30% of all the land in America from development. The proposal was expressed as an executive order, but it was more like a goal, because the intention was to reach the goal by the year 2030. In working toward that goal, President Biden protected more land from development than […]
Reader-supported
‘Return to Office’ is not necessarily a return to efficiency
Whether in government or the private sector, “Return to Office” orders are very much in vogue these days. The message to workers is to stop watching reality shows and come back to real work and productivity. The reality is quite different. I started my company in 2005 as a telework company. We use a number […]
Opinion
After the smoke clears: Wildfires and economic fallout
Corner to Corner Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque. No one has to tell us wildfire season is in full swing in New Mexico. The smell of smoke — even from hundreds of miles away — reminds us of what’s […]