Politics

Rep. Gabe Vasquez Calls On Regulator To Close Sports Gambling Loophole

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Rep. Gabe Vasquez during House Agriculture Committee meeting. Courtesy photo

U.S. HOUSE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On April 16, 2026, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) pressed Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig during a House Agriculture Committee hearing, calling out prediction markets as functionally indistinguishable from sports betting and urging the CFTC to focus on its core mission. 

“Let’s make this clear: the CFTC was not created or intended to regulate sports gambling. States and Tribes have systems for licensing, integrity monitoring, responsible Read More

Council OKs $17.9M Construction Bid For Fire Station No. 4

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Los Alamos Fire Station No. 4 is set to become a brand-new building. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

With Los Alamos County Council’s approval of Spartan Construction of New Mexico’s $17.9 million bid; the replacement of Fire Station No. 4 is assured.

Council unanimously approved the bid during its regular meeting April 7. The start date for construction was not determined as of the council meeting, but Project Manager Sobia Sayeda said it is estimated that the project will be completed in November 2027.

The new station will be built next door to Read More

Luján Statement On Voting To Block Arms Sales To Israel

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after voting for two resolutions, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, blocking arms sales to Israel:

“Equipping the Netanyahu government with hundreds of millions of dollars in additional weapons will only enable the destruction of communities, undermine the prospects for a peaceful two-state solution, and further escalate the illegal war with Iran. 

“The Netanyahu government has repeatedly rejected pathways to peace and continues to drive deepening humanitarian suffering in the Read More

Heinrich Announces Quiana Salazar-King As State Director

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced Quiana Salazar-King, Esq. is serving as his new State Director.

“I’m pleased to welcome Quiana Salazar-King as our new State Director,” Heinrich said. “From working at the New Mexico State Legislature to the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, Quiana has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for our communities. She is exceptionally prepared to tackle the work ahead and I look forward to what we will accomplish together in the coming years.”

“I am grateful to join Senator Heinrich’s incredible team and have Read More

Heinrich Delivers Remarks Urging Colleagues To Protect Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness From Mining

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U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivers floor speech on congressional Republicans’ efforts to open up mining on Boundary Waters, April 15, 2026. 

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The evening of April 15, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to oppose a measure that would allow copper-nickel sulfide mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), Read More

Op-Ed: The Constitutional Promise … Why The Right To Counsel And A Day In Court Define Our Justice System

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By CYNTHIA FRY
Retired Judge
New Mexico Court of Appeals

Deb Haaland’s campaign for Governor has chosen a troubling line of attack, often used against lawyers, criticizing Sam Bregman for representing people accused of crimes. It may be convenient politics, but it is fundamentally at odds with our Constitution and with the very principles that define our justice system. Our system accepts that both the government and the accused have attorneys. They battle it out in a courtroom and a jury decides guilt or innocence. This system protects all of us from government abuse.

At the core of this system Read More

Free Film Screening Asks: What Does It Take To Tell The Truth From Inside A Genocide?

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By KELLY MEYERS
Los Alamos

Los Alamos and surrounding community members are invited to a free screening of “Unmaking Of,” a documentary film that takes viewers behind the camera into the brutal reality of making journalism and art under siege, at 7 p.m., next Tuesday, April 21, at SALA.

The film follows filmmakers working inside Gaza during an active genocide, documenting not just what they see, but what it costs to see it, to record it, and to share it with a world that has largely been shielded from the full weight of what is happening. “Unmaking Of” is less a conventional documentary and more an Read More

Senate Republicans Identify Key Topics For Interim Consideration By Health & Human Services Committee

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NMSR News:

SANTA FE — The Republican members of the Legislative Health & Human Services (LHHS) Committee are recommending that the committee include several topics in its annual work plan.

Among these topics are long-needed reforms to the state’s troubled Children, Youth, & Families Department (CYFD), which was the subject of a scathing report highlighting “systemic failures” and which is also being investigated for alleged misuse of funds. Republicans also have raised concerns that the agency’s child placement decisions run afoul of the “best interest of the child.”

“Mahatma Read More

Ryti: FY2027 Budget Hearing And Other Engagement Opportunities

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By RANDALL RYTI
Chair
Los Alamos County Council 

The annual budget hearings are scheduled for April 27, 28, and 29. The proposed FY2027 budget for Los Alamos County reflects a necessary shift in fiscal strategy—one that acknowledges a new economic reality after several years of unusually strong revenue growth.

At its core, this budget is about stabilization. Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), which accounts for roughly three-quarters of the County’s General Fund revenue, has proven to be volatile. After peaking in the post-pandemic period, revenues declined sharply—down nearly 18% in FY2025, Read More

New Mexico Governor Signs Record $1.5B For Higher Ed

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From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed a record $1.5 billion higher education budget for fiscal year 2027, a 15.4 percent budget increase over last year and the largest investment in higher education in state history.
The budget sustains and expands the state’s nation-leading tuition-free college programs, accelerates workforce development and training initiatives, supports basic student needs and makes major investments in campus infrastructure.
“Higher education has become an engine for growth in New Mexico,” Higher Education Secretary
Read More