Politics

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

by

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

Council OKs Fleet Conversion Plan

by

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

The work progressed Tuesday night to make carbon emissions in Los Alamos a thing of the past after Los Alamos County Council approved 6-0 to accept the fleet conversion plan.

The plan lays out how the County will replace its gas-fueled vehicles with electric vehicles (EV) by 2050. Council shared their support for the plan although Councilor David Reagor was absent from the meeting.

Analy Castillo with Stantec, a County-hired contractor, discussed what was involved in the fleet conversion plan.

“The main goal for this is to have Read More

County Updates Comprehensive Plan Preparing For Future

by

From left, Lauren Helm with CZB, the County-hired contractor involved in updating the comprehensive plan, walks Becky Shankland through the process of providing input on the plan during Thursday’s open house in the White Rock Branch Library. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

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

When looking 10 years into the future for Los Alamos County, what does everyone hope to see and how does the County deliver on those hopes?

To help answer those questions, the Los Alamos Community Development Department (CDD) is pulling Read More

The FOIA: Off To A Slow Start, Picked Up Speed, Now Hitting A Brick Wall

by

By THOMAS M. SUSMAN
American Bar Association
Feb. 16, 2026

It was June 1968 when I arrived in Washington, D.C., after a year in New Orleans clerking for Fifth Circuit Judge John Minor Wisdom. A new law requiring more government transparency was just going into effect.

I had accepted a job as a Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Frank Wozencraft in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). While I worked on efforts to advance the confirmation of Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice on the Supreme Court, I was also assigned to work with OLC attorney Warren Belmar, Read More

Rep. Gabe Vasquez Leads Sweeping Energy Bills Relief Act To Lower Utility Bill Prices For Hardworking New Mexicans

by

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez

STATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 18, 2026, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) announced a new bill to cut energy costs, modernize the electric grid, and protect consumers from politically driven decisions that drive up prices. Rep. Vasquez introduced the Energy Bills Relief Act alongside Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), which comes as New Mexicans are feeling the strain of rising electricity costs. 

Under the current Administration, average electricity prices in New Mexico have increased nearly nine percent, and in 2025 alone, at least one utility serving New Mexico enacted Read More

Senators Tobiassen, Brantley Demand Transparency On CYFD Spending—Warn Silence Undermines Public Trust

by

NMSR News:

SANTA FE — Sens. Nicole Tobiassen (R–Albuquerque) and Crystal Brantley (R–Elephant Butte) are calling for immediate transparency and accountability following troubling findings regarding the use of legislative appropriations within the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).

Last week, the Senators formally requested that the Office of the State Auditor and the Office of the Child Advocate provide lawmakers with the complete audit materials and deliver a joint briefing to an appropriate legislative interim committee. The request follows findings Read More

Heinrich And Whitehouse Host Roundtable On Skyrocketing Energy Costs

by

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, host roundtable on skyrocketing energy costs, March 17, 2026. Courtesy photo

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, hosted a Read More

Los Alamos County Clerk’s Office Announces Candidates Qualified For June 2, 2026 Primary Election

by

COUNTY News: 

The Los Alamos County Clerk’s Office has completed the candidate qualification process for the upcoming primary election to be held on Tuesday, June 2.

Candidates seeking placement on the primary election ballot were required to file the appropriate paperwork and meet all statutory requirements established by the State of New Mexico on March 10.

Following review and certification, the following candidates have qualified to appear on the ballot for Los Alamos County voters:

State Representative, District 43

  • Christine Chandler, Democrat

Magistrate Judge

  • Catherine E Taylor,
Read More

National Sunshine Week Runs March 15-21, 2026

by

The Document Divide: Why public record laws are failing average Americans, and what to do about it

By DAVID CUILLIER
Brechner Freedom of Information Project
Feb. 9, 2026

Freedom of information should be freedom of information for all.

It is not.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and celebrate national Sunshine Week March 15-21, we look back at the signing of the law by Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966: “I signed this measure with a deep sense of pride that the United States is an open society in which the people’s right to know is cherished and guarded.” Read More

Bregman: Use Oil & Gas Windfall From Trump’s Illegal War To Send Up To $500 To Every New Mexican

by

Sam Bregman

STATE News:

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Sam Bregman said today that the surge in oil and gas prices and the revenue generated to New Mexico’s state government coffers due to the ongoing Iran conflict presents a rare opportunity to directly help New Mexico families. He is proposing a plan to send reimbursements of up to $500 per family member to New Mexico families earning less than $200,000 per year, using the unexpected revenue windfall.

Global oil prices have surged since the outbreak of Donald Trump’s war in Iran, benefiting major energy-producing states Read More