U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures Sentencing Of El Salvadorian Woman For Assaulting Border Patrol Agent
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — A Salvadoran national was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for biting a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
According to the complaint, May 29, 2024, a Border Patrol agent encountered a group of five individuals, including Erika Jasmin Lobato-Melendez, 27, walking along the border wall. When the agent attempted to take the group into custody, Lobato-Melendez became obstinate, refusing to enter the agent’s vehicle and grabbing onto the border wall.
When agents tried to physically separate Lobato-Melendez from the fence, she bit down hard on the agent’s forearm, Read More
Governor-Backed Site Readiness Bills Will Attract Business
EDD News:
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico lawmakers are backing a pair of bills that will make New Mexico more competitive when attracting larger industrial and commercial investments.
The Strategic Economic Development Site Readiness Act, SB 169, and the Utility Pre-Deployment Act, SB170 NMFA Definitions, Funds & Rates, will have their first hearing in the Senate Tax Committee at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18 Introduced by Sen. Michael Padilla, other sponsors on the bill include Reps. Meredith A. Dixon, Joshua N. Hernandez, Joy Garratt, and Sen. Craig W. Brandt. Read More
House Advances Expanded Tax Credits For New Mexicans
NMDP News:
SANTA FE — Feb. 17, the House Taxation and Revenue Committee heard House Bill 14, which would expand tax cuts for more working people across New Mexico. HB 14 will now be considered by the Committee for inclusion in an omnibus tax package.
HB 14 is sponsored by Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo) and House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque). The legislation would increase refundable credits for qualifying taxpayers and expand eligibility for those credits, including to single filers without children. It would effectively eliminate state income taxes for New Mexican families Read More
New Mexico Lawmakers Consider Ending Revolving Door Of Top Education Leaders With New Board System
Executive Director Stan Rounds
New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders
By ESTEBAN CANDELARIA
Santa Fe New Mexican
Eight people have occupied the position of top public education chief in New Mexico since 2003 — more if you count those who held the job on an interim basis.
Most of them have come under Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has had five people serve full time as Cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Public Education Department so far.
To address the often-referenced revolving door in the top leadership of the state’s public education system, lawmakers have introduced Senate Joint Read More
Congressional Dems Highlight Trump Fears, Praise Mental Health Work In Roundhouse
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández greets Thomas H. Begay, a Navajo Code Talker who served in World War II, after addressing a joint session of the New Mexico Legislature on the House floor of the Capitol on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
By CORMAC DODD
The Santa Fe New Mexican
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández did not mince words Monday on the New Mexico House floor when raising concerns about the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term.
“I’m going to say it, guys: We are at the door of a constitutional crisis, when profiteering billionaires who are not elected,” Read More
Legislative Roundup: 33 Days Remaining In Session
By Santa Fe New Mexican Staff:
Anti-donation overhaul moves ahead: The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee on Monday advanced a joint resolution that would ask New Mexico voters to approve a state constitutional amendment to repeal and replace the anti-donation clause.
House Joint Resolution 11 was sent forward to the House Judiciary Committee with no recommendation on approval after an initial vote to pass the bill and then a vote to table it both failed.
The committee ran out of time to discuss an accompanying measure, House Bill 290, which would create a new program Read More
Hundreds Hold Presidents Day Protest Outside Roundhouse: ‘Our Democracy Is At Stake’
Hundreds of protesters filled the areas in front of the Old Santa Fe Trail entrance of the Roundhouse around noon Monday to rail against policy directives set by the Trump administration as well as billionaire Elon Musk’s new role in the federal government at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Photo by Matt Dahlseid/The New Mexican
By CORMAC DODD and ESTEBAN CANDELARIA
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Penny Yardman Gonzales held aloft a stick with a mask meant to depict President Donald Trump with devil horns, something she said she wore in 2017 as a Halloween costume during his Read More
Ringside Seat: Public Bank And Legislative Applicant Deserve Scrutiny
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Forget the fine print. Normal-size type is tough enough for Peter Smith, a self-described expert witness on the bill to create a state public bank.
Smith submitted a piece to The New Mexican scolding me for a column in which I said $110 million would be taken from the general fund to open the bank. A mere $50 million would be appropriated, Smith wrote.
His claim is false. Proof is in the bill he helped pitch during a legislative committee hearing.
The financial analysis states: “House Bill 130 creates the public bank of New Mexico and appropriates $110 million Read More
Los Alamos Basketball Falls To Española Sundevils 42-53
Andrew Manzanares takes a short jump shot in the first quarter surrounded by Sundevil defenders. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Rocco Del Mauro breaks through the full-court press as he brings the ball down court. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
SPORTS News:
The Los Alamos High School Varsity Basketball Team traveled Saturday afternoon to Española to play a conference game against the Sundevils in the Edward Medina Gymnasium.
The Toppers played a hard fought game, but the Sundevils full court press kept the Toppers off balance the entire game.
The Toppers were only down 7 points Read More
School-Based Health Centers Making A Difference Statewide
NMDOH News:
SANTA FE — Children in New Mexico public schools can focus more on lessons after a recent expansion of School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) has provided care that helps keep them in the classroom.
February is National School-Based Health Care Awareness month and an opportunity to celebrate successes and raise awareness about how SBHCs improve access to health care services for children and adolescents and make a difference in their lives today and in the future.
The New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Office of School & Adolescent Health Office funds 59 of the more than Read More
