Portrayal Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg At Fuller Lodge March 18
The Los Alamos County Library System is hosting a living-history portrayal of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in honor of Women’s History Month March 18 at Fuller Lodge. Courtesy/LAC
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County Library System welcomes the community to attend a living-history portrayal of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in honor of Women’s History Month live at Fuller Lodge 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 18.
The program, Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Notorious RBG, is free to the public and is made possible by the generous support of the New Mexico Humanities Council. The event will also be livestreamed to accommodate those Read More
Los Alamos County Council To Meet Tuesday March 7
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County Council will hold a regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 7 in Council Chambers at 1000 Central Ave. and virtually on Zoom.
This meeting will be televised.
This meeting is open to the public.
Find the agenda to this meeting here: March 7, 2023 County Council Agenda.
Find the link to this meeting here.
Webinar ID: 826 8317 6848 Read More
Scenes From LAHS Students Recognition At Roundhouse
From left, Teacher Lynn Ovaska poses with LAHS Student Council CYFD team Andrea Chapman next to Rep. Christine Chandler, Lourdes LeDoux, Deeanna Foster and counselor Cristin Haake. Courtesy/Lynn Ovaska
Students with CYFD Cabinet Secretary Barbara Vigil, center. Courtesy/Lynn Ovaska
By LYNN OVASKA, NBCT
AP Psychology and Psychology Teacher
Student Leadership Co-Teacher
As we continue to celebrate our students, Wednesday was a big day for the Student Council members who led the NM CYFD (Children, Youth, & Families Department) Donation Drive last month.
They were invited to the New Read More
Holland: A Huge Day For AFT NM-Supported Legislation
By WHITNEY HOLLAND
President
AFT New Mexico
As we have conveyed throughout the legislative session, sometime progress is slow and in other cases, it seems like everything happens all at once.
Wednesday was an “all at once” day for legislation that our union supports and has been advocating for on behalf of our members.
Wednesday, five major pieces of legislation advanced in their respective committees, and we are beginning to see more clarity about legislative outcomes relating to both healthcare and minimum hours of instruction in our schools.
Read below to see what happened Wednesday:
Wednesday, Read More
Senate Committee Advances Gun Bills On Waiting Period, Advertising In New Mexico
Bill Sponsor Sen. Joseph Cervantes
By NATHAN BROWN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Another bill to impose a 14-day waiting period on gun purchases made it out of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee on Sunday.
Senate Bill 427 passed on a 6-1 vote. It would do the same thing as House Bill 100, which made it out of two committees with a do-pass recommendation last month but hasn’t yet been brought to the House floor.
New Mexico does not have a waiting period to buy a firearm. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said 14 days would put New Mexico at the high end of waiting periods. While Read More
Legislative Roundup: 12 Days Remain In 2023 Session
Name-change bill clears Senate committee: The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted unanimously Sunday afternoon to advance a bill getting rid of the requirement name changes be published in the newspaper.
House Bill 31 has already cleared the House of Representatives on a 43-24 vote. Its sponsor, Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, called requiring publication of name changes an “outdated practice.”
“This bill is on behalf of the LGBT community and survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” she said.
Civil rights bill advances: Read More
Ringside Seat: Controversial Cabinet Nominee Deserves Speedy Hearing
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
It looks as if James Mountain will collect a salary of $169,600 a year to be the unconfirmed leader of the state Indian Affairs Department.
Aside from the money, Mountain won’t benefit from a process that’s putting the public last. It only serves to undermine his effectiveness.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is at fault, having stalled Mountain’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Rules Committee.
Lujan Grisham on Feb. 3 selected Mountain to be Cabinet secretary of the Indian Affairs Department. She soon found Mountain, 51, has more than the usual Read More
Democrats Table Second Medical Malpractice Proposal
Sen. Mark Moores
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bipartisan bill that would have left the cap on medical malpractice payouts for independent outpatient health care facilities at $750,000 for another two years stalled Thursday in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee.
Supporters said the measure was designed to fix a flaw in the state’s medical malpractice law that has left health care facilities that are not majority-owned by a hospital unable to obtain medical malpractice insurance — further exacerbating New Mexico’s shortage of doctors.
After a two-hour Read More
Huang: ‘As Long As It Takes’ – How Long Is Long?
A young Ukrainian girl’s biggest wish: ‘To end the war now’. Courtesy/Zhen Huang
By Zhen Huang
Los Alamos
During the unannounced visit to Kyvi, President Biden repeated what he said at a joint news conference in the White House with the Ukraine’s President Zelensky Dec. 21, 2022:
“The American people are with you every step of the way, and we will stay with you. We will stay with you for as long as it takes.”
“As long as it takes”?
It’s been one year since the decade-long military conflicts in eastern Ukraine escalated to a full scale war. The Ukraine people have endured a year of escalating violence, Read More
House Acts On Measure To Pay New Mexico Lawmakers
Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces
By ROBERT NOTT
The santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico got one step closer to the possibility of a paid Legislature Saturday when the state House of Representatives voted 40-24 to approve a resolution that would, if voters agree, open the door to lawmaker pay.
House Joint Resolution 8 would create a citizens’ commission to study possibly paying the state’s 112 lawmakers beginning in 2026. The commission would also recommend salary ranges for the lawmakers.
Even if the Senate, where the measure goes next, approves the resolution, it would not necessarily become Read More
State Announces Major Investments In Cybersecurity
DoIT News:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico is set to receive nearly $13 million in federal funding over the next four years for Cybersecurity enhancements to better protect networks from outside attacks and bolster the protection of Personally Identifiable Information.
In September 2022, through an executive order the Governor established a Cybersecurity Planning Committee. The committee represents cyber and IT leaders from the Department of Information Technology (DoIT), the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), local Read More
Senate Advances Paid Leave Bill Over GOP Objections
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The santa Fe New Mexican
A proposal to establish a paid family and medical leave program in New Mexico is heading to the House for consideration after winning approval Saturday in the Senate.
After more than three hours of debate and several failed amendments, Senate Bill 11 cleared the chamber 23-15. Two Democrats —George Muñoz of Gallup and Daniel Ivey-Soto of Albuquerque — joined Republicans in voting against the bill.
Republicans described the proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave Act as government overreach and a tax on businesses as well as employees, both of whom would Read More
State Auditor Maestas: A Brighter Future For New Mexico
By JOSEPH MAESTAS
New Mexico State Auditor
New Mexico’s way of life and cultural preservation depends on the small local public bodies like Acequias, Ditches, Land Grants, Mutual Domestic Water Consumer associations, and Soil and Water Conservation districts that manage vital local resources.
New Mexico has hundreds of these small public bodies currently registered with the State Auditor’s Office. Most of these entities receive capital outlay money to support their mission, but Executive Order 2013-006 restricts these entities from receiving those funds if they aren’t up to date on Read More
Legislative Roundup: 13 Days Remain In 2023 Session
Free school meals: The Senate voted 35-0 Saturday to advance Senate Bill 4, which would fund free breakfasts and lunches for New Mexico school kids.
The bill, one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s major priorities for this year’s session, now heads to the House.
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said the bill had “personal resonance” for her.
“I remember when my father lost his job when I was in third grade,” she said. “He was too embarrassed to apply for the free lunch program even though we qualified. … We were hungry and sometimes we’d have Read More
Bestiality Ban Clears New Mexico Senate Committee
Sen. Brenda McKenna
By Daniel J. Chacón
Santa Fe New Mexico
“This really is a difficult issue to talk about.”
That’s how Sen. Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales, kicked off a discussion today on a bipartisan bill that creates the crimes of bestiality and aggravated bestiality.
It wasn’t a long discussion.
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously endorsed Senate Bill 215 after a short presentation.
“One of the most common questions that we have gotten about this bill … is whether this is a serious issue in New Mexico, whether it happens here,” said Jessica Johnson, chief government affairs Read More
Rojo: How Criminal Fees Damage Our Communities
By JAVIER ROJO, MPA
New Mexico Voices for Children
As New Mexicans, we’ve made significant progress in improving the economic well-being of our children and families, including passing new and expanding existing tax credits for working families, requiring that employers provide paid sick leave, and passing a constitutional amendment that increases funding for early childhood education to help families afford childcare.
However, a number of barriers continue to prevent working families and their children from reaching their full potential. One devastating barrier many New Mexicans Read More
EMNRD Has Certified More Than $10 Million In Solar Tax Credits For 2022
Director Louise Martinez
EMNRD Energy Conservation and Management Division
EMNRD News:
SANTA FE – The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) has issued more than $10 million worth of tax credit certificates to New Mexico residents who installed solar energy systems in their homes in 2022.
By state law, the agency is authorized to issue a total of $12 million in tax credits for the 2022 tax year.
“The Solar Market Development Tax Credit has proved extremely popular,” said Louise Martinez, director of EMNRD’s Energy Conservation and Management Division, which administers Read More
Bilingual Education Advocates Push For Increased Focus
Carlos Medina, 6, waves a New Mexico flag while singing with the West Las Vegas bilingual program Friday during Bilingual Day at the Capitol. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The Santa Fe New Mexican
By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Students from José Eduardo Cervantes’ third-grade class at Bernalillo Elementary School are in agreement: It’s good to be bilingual.
“You can speak two languages, and you can translate to other people that don’t know a language,” Luis Martinez said.
“You can be a bilingual teacher and help other kids learn other languages,” Jared Marquez Gonzalez added.
Not only Read More
House Committee Endorses New Special Education Agency
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that would create a New Mexico Office of Special Education moved a step forward Friday as members of the House Education Committee voted to endorse it.
The vote on House Bill 285 was by a narrow margin — 6-5 — raising questions about its chances of passing both chambers with just two weeks left in the legislative session.
Several members of the committee, including at least one lawmaker who supported the measure, questioned whether such an agency would make much of a difference when it comes to improving the education of the state’s roughly 50,600 Read More
Senate Passes 1st Major Gun Control Law Of Session
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Courtesy photo
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that would hold adults responsible for keeping guns out of the hands of children passed the Senate largely along party lines Friday.
Sen. Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez Pueblo, joined Republicans in voting against House Bill 9, which creates two new crimes related to negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor.
The bill is one of several gun control measures lawmakers are considering in this year’s 60-day legislative session and the first to pass both chambers. HB 9 says a gun owner would be liable if Read More
