BY PATRICK LOHMANN / Source NM Forecasters with the National Interagency Fire Center are expecting wildfire risk to be above normal for much of the state this summer, citing ongoing drought and a potential transition this summer from El Niño to La Niña conditions. Significant wildfires are burning in Mexico and Canada. Several small fires have started and burned so far […]
■ Statewide News
Posted in■ Jobs, Workers & Economy, ■ Statewide News
New Mexico to stand in for California as McConaughey stars in new movie about a 2018 deadly wildfire
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN / Associated Press New Mexico is standing in for California in a new film as Jamie Lee Curtis’ production company and others tell the story of a bus driver and a school teacher who rescued students during the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history. The 2018 blaze killed 85 […]
Posted in■ New Mexico State Government, ■ Statewide News
US dedicates $60 million to saving water along the Rio Grande as flows shrink and demands grow
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN / Associated Press The U.S. government is dedicating $60 million over the next few years to projects along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas to make the river more resilient in the face of climate change and growing demands. The funding announced Friday by U.S. Interior Secretary […]
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Heinrich Celebrates Buffalo Tract Victory in Placitas
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich joined Placitas-area residents on May 6 in celebrating the withdrawal of more than 4,000 acres of land from mineral leasing, including gravel mining. The community gathering of about 100 residents and several tribal officials was held at the Placitas Winery. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland officially withdrew the area, including […]
Posted in■ Statewide News
As U.S. Spotlights MMIWP in Native Communities, Prosecutors Try to Solve Cases
By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It was a frigid winter morning when authorities found a Native American man dead on a remote gravel road in western New Mexico. He was lying on his side, with only one sock on, his clothes gone and his shoes tossed in the snow. There […]
Posted in■ Statewide News
The blind spot in the state’s most expensive election so far this year
By DANIELLE PROKOP AND PATRICK LOHMANN / Source NM The primary race for Albuquerque’s top prosecutor job is the most expensive in the state so far, between incumbent Sam Bregman and challenger Damon Martinez. But a gap in disclosure laws means voters have less information about one candidate’s finances and potential conflicts than the other’s. The sharp increase […]
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NM Efforts to Catalog Lead Water Lines Off to ‘Slow Start’ as Federal Money Flows In
Millions in federal dollars are headed to 10 New Mexico communities to address lead and copper pipes in local water systems. State finance officials said other municipalities need to act soon and apply to receive what’s left of the $28.6 million New Mexico received in its portion of the $3 billion from the 2021 Bipartisan […]
Posted in■ Federal Government & Congress, ■ Statewide News
Heinrich introduces bill to help teachers afford houses
Decrying the near-impossibility of homeownership for many educators, two Democratic members of Congress have introduced legislation designed to help bring that goal within reach. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich announced the bill Monday during a meeting with educators in Albuquerque. U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The […]
Posted in■ Jobs, Workers & Economy, ■ Statewide News
‘How Do You Approve an Underground Toxic Waste Dump Without Telling Nobody?’
By Jerry Redfern / Capital & Main In late 2022, an oil and gas production company petitioned the state of New Mexico to turn a water well into a waste disposal well in the northwest corner of the state. It sits on a plot of state land surrounded by tribal and federal property, and less than […]
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Top water official in New Mexico to retire as state awaits decision in Rio Grande case
ASSOCIATED PRESS / ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico’s top water official will be stepping down next month, wrapping up a four-decade career that has included work on water projects from New Mexico and Colorado to Texas. Mike Hamman has served as the state engineer for the past two years and previously led an irrigation district that […]