Politics

CYFD Ends Overnight Office Stays For Children

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CYFD Acting Secretary Valerie Sandoval

STATE News:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday that the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) has officially ended the practice of placing children overnight in CYFD offices, eliminating a burden on children in CYFD custody and the staff who have cared for them.

Children and youth previously staying in CYFD offices have been placed in safe and appropriate settings following CYFD’s creation of a new system to ensure safe placements for all children in its care now and into the future.

“Every child in New Mexico deserves a safe Read More

Ricky Serna Appointed NM Deputy State Treasurer

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Newly appointed Deputy State Treasurer Ricky Serna

From the Office of the State Treasurer:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office (STO) has announced the appointment of Ricky Serna as Deputy State Treasurer. Treasurer Laura Montoya appointed Serna to succeed Deputy Janice Y. Barela who is retiring after 25 years of service.

Serna brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles as Acting Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Workforce Solutions, Acting Director for the State Personnel Office, and co-leadership for the Higher Education Department during the COVID-19 Read More

Community Advocates Applaud Cleanup Of Abandoned Mining Materials On The Gila National Forest

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The Gila National Forest Challenge Venture Mill Site. Courtesy/USDA Forest Service

WILDEARTH GUARDIANS News:

SILVER CITY — The U.S. Forest Service announced on Thursday that it will begin the cleanup of mining materials at the abandoned Challenge Venture Mill near Mogollon, approximately eight miles northeast of Glenwood, N.M.

Conservation and community advocates applauded the cleanup, which is a result of years of advocacy from local community members and WildEarth Guardians. The Challenge Venture mill site, a 40-plus-year-old mining facility that was shut down by the EPA in 1985, Read More

New Mexico Courts Face Increasing Requests For Interpreting Services

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Post file photo

COURT News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico’s Judiciary is expanding its network of interpreters to help address a growing need for language access services for jurors and people in court cases who have a limited proficiency in English or are deaf or hard of hearing. 

Interpreting services were provided in 87 languages in New Mexico courts in the 2025 fiscal year. People requested about 50,300 hours of interpreting in FY25 — more than double from the 2021 fiscal year. The five most frequently requested languages were Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL), Navajo, Arabic and Vietnamese. Read More

Heinrich, ENR Democrats Secure Key Commitments From BLM Nominee Steve Pearce

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Ranking Member Heinrich (D-N.M.) questions former Congressman Steve Pearce on his stances on public lands during a hearing to consider his nomination to lead BLM, Feb. 25, 2026. Courtesy photo

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C — During a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to consider pending Trump administration nominees, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the Committee’s Ranking Member, and Committee Democrats secured key commitments from former Congressman Steve Pearce, President Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management. In his answers to the Democratic Read More

Op-Ed: Española Is At A Crossroads … Do We Continue Down The Path Of Decline … Or Try Something New?

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By Samuel LeDoux
Española City Councilor

Española is at a crossroads: do we continue down the path of decline where instability, controversy, and incompetence dominate city hall, or do we try something new?

Over the last four years, John Ramon Vigil has made the City of Española his own personal telenovela, with constant headlines about his personal problems, staff turnover, and rising crime and homelessness rates. During his term as Mayor, the city has stumbled into millions of dollars in debt, and we haven’t been able to often pass more than 4-5 ordinances a year.

I’m supporting Read More

Heinrich, Murray, And Hernández Criticize DOE For Illegally Cancelling Puerto Rico Energy Projects

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen.  Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Sen.  Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo Hernández (D-Puerto Rico), sent a letter alongside 17 lawmakers to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) slamming the agency for illegally cancelling energy projects designated under the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Read More

From Ballot To Campus: $12M In Voter‑Backed Upgrades Break Ground At UNM‑LA

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Construction nears completion at the UNM-LA front entry. Funding comes from statewide and local general obligation bonds passed by voters in the county in Nov. 2024. Courtesy photo

By MARLENE WILDEN
Los Alamos Daily Post
marlene@ladailypost.com

University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) is undergoing the most visible transformation in its recent history, a $12 million campus upgrade that Chancellor Mike Holtzclaw calls both practical and symbolic.

At its core, the effort fixes roofs, replaces windows and repairs aging structures. It also prepares the campus for workforce-focused Read More

Bregman Campaign: New Poll Shows Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Shifting As Voters Seek Answers, Debate

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Gubernatorial candidate Sam Bregman

From the Sam Bregman For Governor Campaign:

ALBUQUERQUE — A new poll conducted by the Sam Bregman for Governor campaign shows significant movement in the Democratic primary, with frontrunner Deb Haaland’s support slipping below a majority threshold and voters signaling they want answers to questions surrounding her past campaign association with convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein since it was revealed that Haaland flew in a jet chartered by Epstein and her 2014 campaign took over $30,000 in contributions from Epstein and his associates.

The Read More

Gessing: Medical Malpractice Success A Win, But More Needed

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By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation

The passage of medical malpractice reform is the most important public policy success in New Mexico in more than a decade. It took support from New Mexicans of every political stripe and a bi-partisan coalition in the Legislature to achieve this success, but at long last the State’s malpractice-driven doctor shortage may be over.

In addition to the medical malpractice bill, the Legislature entered New Mexico into the national doctor compact and enacted a $10K tax credit for physicians. Combined, this may be enough to start turning the tide. Read More