U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s Bill To Block Illicit Vapes & Tobacco Products From China Becomes Law
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that his Ensuring the Necessary Destruction of (END) Illicit Chinese Tobacco Act was signed into law.
The provision grants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clear authority to destroy adulterated, misbranded, or counterfeit tobacco products — such as unauthorized e-cigarettes produced in the People’s Republic of China and intercepted upon attempted import into the country. It was enacted as part of the Fiscal Year Read More
Los Alamos County And DestinationiQ To Host Tourism Town Hall Wednesday Dec. 10
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County invites community members to attend a Tourism Town Hall at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, at SALA Event Center, 2551 Central Ave.
The event will be co-hosted by the County and its tourism marketing partner, DestinationiQ.
The Tourism Town Hall invites residents and business owners to connect with DestinationiQ and get an inside look at what’s next for tourism in Los Alamos County. The event will showcase new strategies to strengthen the local visitor economy and highlight how DestinationiQ will support these efforts through research, collaboration, and community Read More
Aging Budget Strengthens Safety, Support For NM Seniors
Aging Secretary Emily Kaltenbach
ALTSD News:
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department (ALTSD) is requesting $8.2 million in general funds, representing an 11 percent general fund increase from the previous year.
“New Mexico’s older adults need a strong, responsive support network,” Aging Secretary Emily Kaltenbach. “Each year, we see more aging seniors aging in need — this budget strengthens frontline services families rely on, invests in protection for our most vulnerable, and positions us to be prepared for the future.”
The FY27 budget request focuses on the Read More
Luján Delivers $202 Million For Vital New Mexico Projects
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) announced more than $202 million in federal funding secured for New Mexico in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill and Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Bill.
In both appropriations bills that were signed into law, Sen. Luján successfully secured $202,188,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for 13 critical Read More
Denish: Hope And Aspiration
By DIANE DENISH
Corner to Corner
diane@dianedenish.com
Most people I talk to have never heard of a small museum in Dallas called the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. I didn’t recognize the name either when a friend I was planning to visit mentioned it. “You know,” she said, “the Texas Book Depository?” Of course—the building forever linked to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The building, completed in 1903 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire, has always served as a warehouse or storage facility. In 1963, the Texas School Book Depository Company leased space there Read More
Defense Technology Company Castelion Chooses New Mexico As Home For ‘Project Ranger’ Hypersonic Manufacturing Campus
Castelion Co-founder/CFO Andrew Kreitz
STATE News:
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ALBUQUERQUE — Castelion, a defense technology company, announced that it has officially selected Sandoval County as the site for Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre solid rocket motor manufacturing campus.
The campus is projected to create more than 300 high-paying jobs and generate more than $650 million in economic output over the next decade. The company plans to invest more than $100 million over the first four years of Project Ranger’s development, with more capital to follow. Read More
Los Alamos County Council Regular Session Nov. 18
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County Council will hold a Regular Session at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Council Chambers at the Municipal Building at 1000 Central Ave.
During the meeting, Council will issue a proclamation designating Dec. 2, 2025, as Giving Tuesday in Los Alamos County.
The meeting is open to the public.
The agenda for this meeting has been posted and can be found here. Read More
Robinson: Fire Hazard Mounts As FEMA, Forest Service Shrink
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2025 New Mexico News Services
A woman from Mora County told me recently: “We always said we were land rich and cash poor. Since the fire, we don’t even have the land.” Besides fire and flood damage to family property, a road washed out, and nobody has rebuilt it.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-NM, joined by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, have chided FEMA’s New Mexico Joint Recovery Office for its sluggish payout of claims for damages caused by the massive Calf Canyon-Hermit’s Peak blaze three years ago. In their recent letter they said the claims Read More
County Lodgers’ Tax Advisory Board To Meet Nov. 18
Acting Governor Howie Morales Appoints Sandy Ray Jones To Sierra County Commission
Acting Governor Howie C. Morales
STATE News:
SANTA FE — Acting Governor Howie C. Morales on Friday announced the appointment of Sandy Ray Jones to the Sierra County Commission for District 2.
Jones will fill the remainder of the term previously held by Travis Day.
Jones, of Williamsburg, founded and operated Sandy Jones Construction for 40 years, completing large-scale civil construction projects including highways, road paving and infrastructure developments across New Mexico. He served as chairman of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from 2010 to 2014, where he oversaw Read More
Op-Ed: Energy And Health – Building A Stronger Future For New Mexico
By Sen. Pete Campos
District 8
Colfax, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, San Miguel & Taos
New Mexico stands at a pivotal moment. As we work toward a healthier future for every resident, we must recognize the essential role that our energy sector—particularly oil and gas—plays in making that vision possible.
Oil and gas revenues are not just numbers on a ledger; they are the backbone of our state budget. In Fiscal Year 2024, these revenues contributed nearly half of the General Fund and supported over $1.2 billion in health programs, including Medicaid, which is matched three-to-one by federal Read More
NMED And NMDOH Report Increased Levels Of Metals In Mora County’s Groundwater
NMDOH News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) are urging Mora County residents to test their private wells after high levels of metals were found in the county’s groundwater.
Three metals — antimony, arsenic and uranium — exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safe drinking water limits. The independent geologic study focused on Mora County also found elevated levels of manganese over EPA guidelines.
Seven other metals — barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, thallium and vanadium — were also found Read More
Public Education Department Announces Nineteen New Mexico Schools Show Major Academic Improvement
NMPED News:
SANTA FE — Nineteen New Mexico schools have dramatically improved student achievement, with two reaching the state’s highest performance tier after previously ranking among the lowest-performing schools in the state.
The encouraging findings are contained in the New Mexico Public Education Department’s (NMPPED) new school designations for the 2024–25 school year, highlighting schools that have exited Comprehensive Support & Improvement (CSI) designation—the state’s category for schools identified as lowest-performing.
“These 19 schools prove that with Read More
Republicans Implement Audit Of New Mexico SNAP Program, Make Recommendations To Eliminate Waste, Fraud & Abuse
Republican Legislators News:
SANTA FE — This week, Republican legislators were successful in their attempt to incorporate an in-depth audit of New Mexico’s administration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
This was accomplished by amending House Bill 1 in the 2nd special legislative session to include the funding and directives to the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse of the program.
Furthermore, House and Senate Republican Leadership issued guidance and recommendations to strengthen LFC’s audit in the form of Read More
Los Alamos County Council To Consider Ordinance For Up To $40 Million In GRT Revenue Bonds
County Administrative Services Director Helen Perraglio
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Council will hold a public hearing on Ordinance No. 750 as part of its Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 1000 Central Ave.
The ordinance, if adopted, would authorize the issuance of up to $40 million in Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) Improvement Revenue Bonds to help fund the Community Broadband Network and other public facility improvements.
The bonds would be repaid entirely from existing gross receipts tax revenues already distributed to the County. No new tax would be Read More
New Mexico Environment Department Announces That Chromium Plume From Los Alamos National Laboratory Migrates Onto Pueblo De San Ildefonso Land
NMED News:
A toxic chromium plume from Los Alamos National Laboratory has spread beyond lab boundaries onto Pueblo de San Ildefonso land for the first time, with contamination levels exceeding state groundwater standards, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) announced today.
Recent groundwater sampling conducted by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) found hexavalent chromium, a toxic and carcinogenic substance, at levels ranging from 53 to 72.9 micrograms per liter (ug/l), depending on the depth sampled. The ground water Read More
NM Higher Education Dept.: Student Debt Relief Granted To Nearly 400 Teachers Working In New Mexico Classrooms
New Mexico Higher Education Department News:
SANTA FE – Nearly 400 teachers will be receiving student loan forgiveness this year through the state’s Teacher Loan Repayment Program, part of New Mexico’s ongoing effort to build and strengthen the teacher pipeline.
The agency awarded funding to 387 new teachers, adding to the 529 teachers who were already receiving benefits through the loan forgiveness program. The program launched in 2013 as an effort to draw more teachers to New Mexico’s classrooms.
The program offers licensed New Mexico teachers up to $6,000 a year in student loan repayment Read More
Senator Heinrich Secures Over $207 Million For New Mexico
NATIONAL News:
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, announced that the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs (VA), Legislative Branch, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Bills passed into law include $207.5 million Heinrich secured for New Mexico, including Congressionally Directed Spending for 19 local projects.
“I’ve spent months fighting to secure funding for critical investments Read More
Gessing: Shutdown Highlights New Mexico Dependence
By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Among other things, the recent federal shutdown highlighted just how dependent New Mexico is on the federal government. According to the website Virtual Capitalist New Mexico is the most dependent state in the nation on federal dollars.
There are some good reasons for this. Our state has three major Air Force bases plus White Sands testing range. We also have two major national nuclear labs, Los Alamos and Sandia.
Forty one percent of our state is managed by the federal government and a significant portion of that includes tribal lands.
But, Read More
County Has Plan For Improving Athletic Ball Fields
These images show how the North Mesa and White Rock athletic fields look now versus how an artificial turf feasibility study proposes they could look in the future. Click here for more detailed images. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Turf that is neatly trimmed, perfectly leveled and colored a single shade of green could be in the future for several athletic fields on North Mesa and in Overlook Park. Not because of some breakthrough in sod botany but because Los Alamos County installs artificial turf.
If the County follows through on this project, Read More
