‘We Want It To Work’: Senate GOP Challenges Dems To Act On Public Safety Reforms
Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, gives the Republican rebuttal to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s State of the State address at the Capitol on Tuesday. Sharer outlined policy changes tied to crime and public safety, economic development, education and child welfare during the 2025 legislative session. Michael G. Seamans/The Santa Fe New Mexican
By MARGARET O’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer said he hopes Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democratic lawmakers do more than talk this session, particularly when it comes to crime.
The Farmington Republican Read More
Council Tackles Small Business Issues At Work Session
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Again, and again, people have voiced their displeasure at the small business environment in Los Alamos. Fingers are pointed at the County government for its treatment of local entrepreneurs, rent prices for commercial buildings and Los Alamos National Laboratory for usurping all the available spaces.
It is easy to compile a list of grievances but figuring out a solution is much more difficult.
Los Alamos County Council tackled this issue of finding the most effective way to bolster the local business environment during its Read More
Heinrich Announces Over $1 Million Secured To Connect More New Mexicans To In-Demand Careers In Skilled Trades
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is welcoming $1,350,000 in federal funding that he secured through the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process for the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 412 (U.A. Local 412). The funding will support specialized journeyman training focused on filling jobs created by the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act, including needs specific to semiconductor plants, hospitals, and heat pump installation, service, repair, Read More
Heinrich Statement On Legislation That Would Crush Law Enforcement And Upend Everyday Immigration Decisions
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after voting against legislation that would reallocate resources away from addressing violent crime and keeping communities safe and allow state attorneys general to second-guess federal immigration decisions, even on individual cases:
“If you commit a violent crime in the United States, you should be held accountable. And if you’re unlawfully in the United States when you commit that crime, you should be deported.
“But this legislation does nothing to hold violent criminals Read More
Luján And Heinrich Announce $5.5 Million To Clean Up Orphaned Wells In New Mexico
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced a $5.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Interior for New Mexico to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells.
This investment to address hazardous sites will create good-paying union jobs, boost economic growth, and help protect public health and the environment from harmful methane leaks.
New Mexico will use its $5.5 million award to plug up to 10 orphaned wells on state-owned or privately owned lands and Read More
Scenes From Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration In New Mexico State Capitol Rotunda
From left, Ceci Tadfor, Linda Jones and Tauz Tamupovi sing ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ led by Malcom Morgan-Petty at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the New Mexico State Capitol Rotunda on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The Santa Fe New Mexican
Keynote speaker Sandra Session-Robertson, vice president of development and donor relations at Santa Fe Community Foundation, looks up toward the glass ceiling of the Capitol Rotunda before speaking at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The Santa Fe New Mexican
FrankViews Of Trump’s Redecorated Oval Office – Version 2.0
The interior of the Oval Office today, shortly after President Trump’s inauguration. Photo by Shuran Huang For WSJ
Military flags for each service branch have been put back in the Oval Office. Photo by Shuran Huang For WSJ
From Trump-Vance Transition Team:
(Article by Annie Linskey/WSJ)
President Trump’s redecorated Oval Office includes a portrait of Benjamin Franklin and a fresh Andrew Jackson painting, part of an Inauguration Day overhaul of the most exclusive office space in America.
On Monday, around 3:30 p.m., shortly after Trump was sworn into office, Trump’s aides gave The Wall Street Read More
Trump Announces Cabinet & Cabinet-Level Appointments
From The White House:
President Donald Trump today announced his choices for Cabinet and Cabinet-Level appointments:
To the Senate of the United States, I nominate
- Scott Bessent, of South Carolina, to be Secretary of the Treasury.
- Pamela Bondi, of Florida, to be Attorney General.
- Douglas Burgum, of North Dakota, to be Secretary of the Interior.
- Lori Chavez-DeRemer, of Oregon, to be Secretary of Labor.
- Douglas Collins, of Georgia, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
- Sean Duffy, of Wisconsin, to be Secretary of Transportation.
- Peter Hegseth, of Tennessee, to be Secretary of Defense.
Congressional Delegation Welcomes Historic $17 Million Federal Investment To Address Homelessness In NM
NM DELEGATION News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) are welcoming $17,137,326 — a 5.3% increase from last year — from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care program to support New Mexico projects that provide housing assistance and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness.
Specifically, the federal funding will support homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, Read More
Heinrich Statement On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 20.
“Today, in the same building where lawmakers passed major civil rights legislation borne out of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work — the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 — the U.S. Capitol will host the second inauguration of a president who incited violent rioters to stop the certification of a free and fair election and subvert the will of the American people.
“Many New Mexicans Read More
Think New Mexico: House Bill 94 Introduced To Cap Size Of Kindergarten Through Third Grade Classes At 20 Students
Mandi J. Torrez
Education Reform Director
Think New Mexico’s
From Think New Mexico:
House Bill 94 sponsored by House Majority Caucus Chair Raymundo Lara (D-Las Cruces) has been introduced to phase in a cap of 20 students per class in grades K-3. The bill was drafted by the nonpartisan statewide think tank Think New Mexico, which recommended this reform in a 2022 policy report, A Roadmap for Rethinking Public Education in New Mexico.
Current state law caps kindergarten classes at 20 students and sets “average” class sizes of 22 for grades 1-3 and 24 for grades 4-6. Yet, when Think New Mexico examined Read More
President Trump Shares America First Priorities
Following his swearing-in ceremony today, President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address setting the tone for his next four years in office. Post screenshot
From the White House:
Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States at a ceremony today in Washington, D.C.
Following the inauguration, the White House released President Trump’s America First Priorities:
Make America Safe Again
- President Trump will take bold action to secure our border and protect American communities. This includes ending Biden’s catch-and-release policies, reinstating Remain
RPNM Chair Statement On Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration
RPNM Chair Amy Barela
RPNM News:
ALBUQUERQUE — In response to Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America, the Republican Party of New Mexico Chair Amy Barela gives the following statement:
“As I attended the Republican National Committee (RNC) meetings in Washington, D.C., the energy and excitement here are absolutely contagious. This is not just a celebration within our party—it’s a celebration that resonates across the country. People from all walks of life have come to witness firsthand this historic moment as President Trump begins Read More
Today Honors Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr. Courtesy/The King Center
Staff Report
Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day, a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader. He is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States.
He was an American Baptist minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.
Martin Luther Read More
Dannemann: There’s No Mystery About Malpractice
© 2025 By MERILEE DANNEMANN
We can’t take action on the medical malpractice issue, said Rep. Liz Thomson, because we don’t have data.
You’ve got to be kidding, I muttered.
Thomson made this comment to a standing-room-only audience at a pre-legislature town hall where she was one of eight legislators on stage. It was almost the end of the event, which had until that moment been pretty cordial.
Instead of asking for closing statements, the moderator asked for each legislator’s final comments to be his or her proposed solutions on the issue of healthcare, which all had agreed was a major concern. Read More
Chacón: The Breaking Point?
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
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- After a failed special session and pressure by the governor to take action on crime, public safety is in focus at Roundhouse
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When lawmakers return to Santa Fe for this year’s 60-day legislative session, unfinished business from the summer will be hanging over their heads.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham didn’t hold back after lawmakers gave her public safety proposals the cold shoulder during a special session she convened in July, adjourning sine die five hours after gaveling in without giving any of her proposed bills so much as a hearing.
Lawmakers argued Read More
The Deciders: Handful Of Powerful Legislators To Shape 2025 60-Day Session
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
BY NATHAN Brown
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The Legislature may have 112 members, but only a few will play the biggest roles in deciding which bills advance, which don’t and, in the case of the Republican minority, what they will fight the hardest and what sort of compromises they will be willing to make.
House leadership
House Speaker Javier Martínez: The Albuquerque Democrat is a lawyer and community advocate who has been in the House for a decade. He is entering his third year leading the chamber. The 2024 session saw some liberal successes, including the Read More
Fr. Glenn: Ready Or Not…
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Well, a rather historic day for America on Monday—the inauguration of President Trump for the second time for a discontinuous second term—an event only matched once before with Grover Cleveland in the latter 1800s. Love him or hate him, I think just about everyone realizes that it’s going to be quite the change.
As we well know and experience, the political pendulum swings back and forth—one you win, another you lose. Nonetheless, Christians most of all should pray for wisdom, grace and sincerity of intent upon all who are in office to bring about a greater good, whether at the Read More
Nuclear Weapons Council Commemorates Pit Production Milestone At Los Alamos National Laboratory
Marv Adams, deputy administrator for Defense Programs for the National Nuclear Security Administration, speaks to Laboratory employees as part of the Nuclear Weapons Council’s visit in November to Los Alamos to celebrate the first production unit of the plutonium pit for the W87-1. Courtesy/LANL
LANL News:
In November 2024, the Nuclear Weapons Council, staff and affiliates visited Los Alamos National Laboratory to mark the first production unit of a W87-1 plutonium pit, an achievement for the United States that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1980s.
The daylong visit included a tour Read More
Think New Mexico Advocacy Group Marks 25 Years
Staff members of Think New Mexico, from left, Mandi Torrez, Susan Martin, Kristina Fisher, Fred Nathan, Katie Gutierrez and Marcus Lujan seen Thursday in the organization’s downtown Santa Fe office. Photo by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Fred Nathan remembers the moment when the idea for a nonpartisan think tank popped into his head.
The Santa Fe attorney was in the middle of a yearslong fight to shutter New Mexico’s drive-up liquor windows while working as special counsel to then-Attorney General Tom Udall in the 1990s, pushing Udall’s policy Read More
