Chris Clark

Native Families In New Mexico Hope Session Brings Justice For Missing And Murdered Kin

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Nathaniel Brown, with the Navajo Nation’s Council of Delegates, the Sexual Assault Committee and Human Trafficking Council, addresses a crowd Friday in front of the state Capitol. Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno/SFNM

By JESSICA POLLARD
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Pepita Redhair’s family hasn’t seen her since March 2020, when she left her mother’s home in Crownpoint on the Navajo Nation to visit her boyfriend in Albuquerque.

Her older sister, Shelda Livingston, 41, said their mother has left Redhair’s room in Crownpoint untouched, awaiting the skateboard-loving 29-year-old’s return. She said Read More

Proposed Legislation For ‘Baby Boxes’ Passes Committee

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Safe Haven Baby Box. Courtesy/shbb.org

STATE News:

SANTA FE —  The New Mexico Health & Human Services Committee passed HB 157 Wednesday, which  proposes funding for ‘Baby Boxes’ in every county in the state.

These boxes aim to prevent infant abandonment by increasing safe, confidential options for parents who make the difficult decision to surrender an infant under the state’s existing safe haven law.

The legislation would expand New Mexico’s safe haven law, which allows parents to surrender newborns to a health care worker, law enforcement officer or first responder without legal Read More

New Mexico Lawmakers Take Steps To Stop Predatory Lenders

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Rep. Susan Herrera 

STATE News:

SANTA FE — A law to protect the financial security of low-income New Mexicans and prevent predatory lending cleared its first legislative hurdle today, passing the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

HB 132 reduces the annual interest rate for loans made under the New Mexico Bank Installment Loan Act and New Mexico Small Loan Act from 175 percent to 36 percent. The legislation would also limit maximum loan terms for loans of $10 thousand or less to a period of 24 months and prohibit accrual of fees, penalties and charges for ancillary products.

“Abusive Read More

Bianca Ortiz-Wertheim Joins Governor’s Infrastructure Team

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Bianca Ortiz-Wertheim

From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday the appointment of Bianca Ortiz-Wertheim as director of Infrastructure and Implementation.

She comes into the role from the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), where she served as cabinet secretary since May of 2020.

In this new role, Ortiz-Wertheim will work directly with Senior Infrastructure Advisor Martin Chávez, as well as broadband and water advisors Matt Schmit and Mike Hamman, to organize and oversee major investments in New Mexico’s Read More

Best Way To Honor Downwinders? Extend, Expand RECA

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BY MIA MONTOYA HAMMERSLEY
Staff Attorney
N.M. Environmental Law Center

Every summer when I was growing up, I looked forward to the time I would spend with my family in Tularosa.

A quiet oasis, these weeks were spent picking fruit from the trees in my grandparents’ yard and racing empty banana split boats through the irrigation ditches with my cousins.

My grandfather, Demetrio “Dee” Herrera Montoya, served as mayor of Tularosa for many years. He passed away in 2010 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He and my grandmother were children when the world’s first nuclear weapon was detonated July Read More

New Mexico Science/Tech Companies Receive SBIR Grants

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Alexander Ukhanov PhD of Actoprobe LLC of Albuquerque. Courtesy/EDD

Emerging Technology Ventures, Inc. of Alamogordo. Courtesy/EDD

EDD News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico Economic Development Department Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced that five New Mexico companies will receive New Mexico Small Business Innovation Research (NMSBIR) Matching Grants to help their businesses grow.

The NMSBIR Grant Program provides recipients additional resources to commercialize the technology developed using Federal SBIR funding. The NM SBIR Matching Grants are designed to support local science and Read More

New Mexico Museum Of Natural History & Science Presents ‘Dogs! A Science Tail’ Feb. 5-May 1

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NMNHS presents ‘Dogs! A Science Tail’ exhibition, Feb. 5-May 1. Courtesy/California Science Center

NMNHS News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMNHS) announces the opening of “Dogs! A Science Tail”.

This is an ambitious, multi-media, hands-on science exhibition that highlights the dynamic nature of the bond between humans and dogs, and invites guests to experience the extraordinary way that dogs see, hear and smell the world. 

The exhibition will demonstrate how the ability to understand and communicate with each other lies at the heart of the unique Read More

FBI Seeks Public’s Assistance To Identify Man Suspected Of Robbing Same Albuquerque Bank Twice This Month

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Anyone who recognizes this thief is asked to contact the FBI at 505.889.1300, Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at (505).843.STOP or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Courtesy/FBI

FBI News:

The FBI and Albuquerque Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the individual responsible for a bank robbery Friday, Jan. 21.

At approximately 9:52 a.m., an unknown male entered Bank of the West, 2101 Eubank Blvd. NE.

The suspect presented a note to the teller demanding money from the bank. The robber received an undisclosed sum of money and headed southbound Read More

New Mexico Ethics Watch Releases New Report On Possible Effects Of Lender Industry’s Lobbying Efforts

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The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo

By ROBERT NOTT and DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

It has become a cycle of despair for low-income residents with poor credit scores: They take out a high-interest installment loan to tide them over in tough times and soon accumulate an unmanageable load.

They pay off old debt with new loans at rates of up 175 percent.

For years, state lawmakers have unsuccessfully tried to introduce legislation capping the interest rate for such loans at 36 percent. Their efforts have failed repeatedly. An attempt last year to forge a compromise — with a 99 percent Read More

Governor Proclaims NM School Choice Week Jan. 23-29

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NSCW News:

SANTA FE — Great students and great schools deserve a celebration. That’s the message New Mexico families are bringing to their events for National School Choice Week 2022.

New Mexico schools, organizations, and individuals are planning 175 celebrations for the Week, which will feature more than 26,000 activities nationwide. New Mexicans will participate in the 1ra Feria Virtual Nacional Escolar y de Recursos en Español (First National Virtual School and Resource Fair in Spanish) Friday, Jan. 28.

More than two dozen U.S. landmarks and notable buildings will light up Read More