BY AUSTIN FISHER / Source NM State officials are looking to hire workers — teachers and non-teachers alike — to teach elementary and middle school students how to read this summer. The New Mexico Summer Reading Program will provide reading instruction in small group, four-hour classes of children ranging in age from those becoming kindergarteners to […]
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Wildfire potential ‘above normal’ through much of NM’s central mountains this summer
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 […]
After nine years of court oversight, Albuquerque Police now in full compliance with reforms
ASSOCIATED PRESS The Albuquerque Police Department is now in full compliance with reforms ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice and that paves the way for the end of nine years of court oversight, authorities said Monday. The assessment came from an independent monitoring team hired by the city in 2015. The DOJ released findings […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Biden administration will seek partial end to special court oversight of child migrants
By ELLIOT SPAGAT / Associated Press The Biden administration will seek to partially end the 27-year-old court supervision of how the federal government cares for child migrants traveling alone, shortly after producing its own list of safeguards against mistreatment, an attorney involved in the case says. The Justice Department has told opposing attorneys it will […]
‘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 […]
Undercover operation nets arrests as New Mexico’s top prosecutor blames Meta for online predators
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN / Associated Press New Mexico’s top prosecutor announced charges Wednesday against three men who are accused of using Meta’s social media platforms to target and solicit sex with underage children. The arrests are the result of a monthslong undercover operation in which the suspects connected with decoy accounts that were set […]
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 […]