OP/ED

Op-Ed: Anti-Predatory Lending Law Working As Intended, But Threats Are Looming

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By KATIE GUTIERREZ
Tax, Budget, and Economic Reform Director
Think New Mexico

Despite the success of the anti-predatory lending law in keeping credit accessible to low-income New Mexicans at dramatically lower interest rates, threats to the law are looming.

In 2022, Think New Mexico worked with Representative Susan Herrera, Senator Bill Soules, and members of the Fair Lending Coalition to win passage of legislation reducing the maximum annual interest rates of small loans from 175% to 36%. The law is worded to prevent charges over 36% for any small loans made in the state—including interest Read More

Op-Ed: Veterans Are Leading The Way In Healing—Again

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By ROB LEWIS
National Communications Director
Disabled American Veterans

By any honest measure, veterans have long been unintended pioneers in the advancement of medicine.

The unique realities of war and military service have forced innovation that later benefits civilians for generations. Modern triage systems emerged from battlefields where medical personnel had to decide, in seconds, who could be saved. Medevac transportation by helicopter increased survival rates in conflicts like Vietnam and later became a staple of civilian emergency medicine. Advances in trauma surgery, Read More

Op-Ed: We Are Not Fighting A King. We Are Fighting An Empire.

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By EMMA ABATA
Los Alamos

Why will you show up by the hundreds to protest one man, but not genocide?

I am not asking to shame you or make you defensive. I am asking because I used to be you. I voted blue no matter who. I loved Obama. I believed that if we could just get the right Democrats into office, we could protect abortion rights, defend trans lives, fight climate change, and stand for justice. I believed the story.

Then I watched a livestreamed genocide unfold on my phone, in real time, funded by my tax dollars, backed by the very Democrats I helped elect. I watched children carry their parents’ remains Read More

Currier: New Mexico Energy—Proud to Be Here, Ready to Be Seen

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By MISSI CURRIER
President & CEO
New Mexico Oil and Gas Association

I grew up in Carlsbad, New Mexico. I went away for college, but I came back as quickly as I could. Coming home was always the goal, and I’m proud to be back. I love this state. I love its people, its landscape, and its stubborn independence. The oil and gas industry I represent is made up of people just like me: New Mexicans who were born here, who raised families here, who chose to build their lives and their livelihoods here.

So, I’ll confess that reading about Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows entertaining the idea of expanding Read More

Op-Ed: New Mexico Is Open For Doctors — And That’s Good News For All Of Us

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By ANNIE JUNG
Executive Director
New Mexico Medical Society

If you have ever waited six weeks to see a specialist, driven an hour each way to find a doctor who takes your insurance, or been told your community clinic is closing, you already understand the stakes of physician recruitment and retention. It is not an abstract policy debate. It is your health, and your family’s health, on the line. New Mexico has faced a physician shortage for years — and this session, our state took the most significant action in a generation to fix it.

A Landmark Fix to Medical Malpractice: HB 99

No single issue has driven Read More

New Mexico State Sen. Cindy Nava Appointed Vice Chair Of NHCSL Housing Task Force For 2026-2027 Term

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Sen. Cindy Nava

STATE News:

SANTA FE — Sen. Cindy Nava (D- Bernalillo) has been appointed Vice Chair of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators’ (NHCSL) Housing Task Force for the 2026-2027 term.

The appointment was made by NHCSL Vice President for Public Policy Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk of Maryland and approved by NHCSL President, Rep. Juan Candelaria of Connecticut.

Sen. Nava brings exceptional credentials to this national leadership role. Before her election to the New Mexico State Senate in 2024, she served as Senior Policy Advisor and Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary Read More

Op-Ed: Pass The Rest Of The Health Care Worker Compacts This Year

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By FRED NATHAN
Executive Director
Think New Mexico

It was a big bipartisan win for New Mexicans when the legislature and governor enacted Senate Bill 1 to bring New Mexico into the interstate licensure compact for doctors. According to the New Mexico Medical Board, joining this compact will result in an increase of 10-15% in the number of doctors applying to practice in New Mexico annually.

Unfortunately, eight other compacts needed to address shortages of psychologists, counselors, EMTs, physician’s assistants, speech therapists and audiologists, physical therapists, occupational Read More

Op-Ed: Let’s Turn Local Government On Its Head

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By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock

I appreciate very much James Wernicke’s always thoughtful writing on local government and would like to offer here some additional and very brief comments on this subject. I do so as someone who spent 40 years working with governments in a large number of countries on how they could enhance economic development and the health and education of their people. I also do so as a lifelong member of the political party of most of our County Councilors, which might surprise some people who read what I say below.

Although we may argue about the role of government, a county government Read More

Sen. Jaramillo: Española’s Culture Deserves Recognition

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By Sen. Leo Jaramillo
New Mexico Dist. 5
Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval & Santa Fe

As a proud native son of the Española Valley and a member of the New Mexico State Senate, I was deeply disappointed to see the veto of $500,000 that would have funded Phase 2 of the feasibility study for a Lowrider Museum in Española. This follows last year’s veto of legislation recognizing our community as the “Lowrider Capital of the World”.

That license plate bill received bipartisan support, and when I rose to defend it on the Senate floor, my colleagues responded with a standing ovation. Lawmakers from across Read More

Zamora: Disaster Relief Was Meant For Fire Victims, Not FEMA Insiders

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By Rep. MARTIN ZAMORA
District 63
Candidate for Congressional District 03

When Congress created the Hermits Peak–Calf Canyon Fire compensation fund, the mission was simple: help New Mexico families rebuild after one of the worst disasters in state history. Homes were destroyed, land was lost, and entire livelihoods vanished overnight. The fund was meant to be a promise that victims would not be abandoned by their government.

Today, that promise is in jeopardy, and the people responsible for oversight have failed the folks they were charged with helping.

Investigative reporting has revealed Read More