Carrie Jung

The deadline has been extended for public comments on a controversial new uranium mine in New Mexico. The extension is in response to requests from multiple parties who say mining operations could threaten the Mount Taylor area, a site considered holy by many Native Americans in the southwest.

Deputy Secretary of the US Department of the Interior, David Hayes, announced his resignation today.

Hayes will be leaving the department at the end of June after serving in the position for the Obama Administration for more than 4 years.

Jared King is the communications director for the Navajo Nation’s Washington office. He says, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly thanked Deputy Secretary Hayes for his leadership and insight. Adding that Hayes was a friend to the Navajo Nation.

Engineers at Sandia National Labs have developed a new fertilizer that can not be used as a chemical component in an explosive. The new fertilizer could have the potential to save lives while serving as a highly effective plant food.

Amonium Nitrate, is a compound found in most fertilizers. It’s an agricultural staple, but it’s also a commonly used ingredient in many improvised explosive devices from Oklahoma City to Afghanistan.  

Representative Steve Pearce is reintroducing a bill that would allow the Mescalero Apache tribe in Southern New Mexico to lease their unused excess water. If passed, the legislation could give surrounding communities access to some much needed water resources.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act would allow the tribe to lease their water rights for up to 99 years. Tribal President Frederick Chino says that would allow the tribe to better manage their water and allow them to work with neighboring communities on water usage. 

Governor Susanna Martinez signed the Fair Pay for Women Act into law yesterday. The legislation is similar to the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and was designed to make it easier for women in New Mexico to file and win wage discrimination lawsuits.

Unlike civil rights laws, the Fair Pay for Women Act does not require proof of intent to
discriminate. A woman only has to show that an employer paid her less than a man in the same
job.

Automatic Federal budget cuts that kicked in on Friday could have a significant effect on New Mexico’s small and rural airports.

The air traffic control towers at Santa Fe, Hobbs and Roswell airports are 3 of the more than 230 towers nationwide at risk of being shut down if federal budgets cuts stay in place.

Jim Montman is the airport manager at the Santa Fe municipal airport. He says, while a lack of control towers won’t shut the airport down, it could affect airfield safety, especially when dealing with dense air traffic.

A new report shows that 2011 revenue from Native American casinos in New Mexico are steadily recovering from the recession. KUNM's Carrie Jung has more.

Despite a sluggish economy, gaming revenue at New Mexico's Indian Gaming facilities is on the rise according to Casino City's latest Indian Gaming Industry Report.

The study shows that revenue grew by more than 2% in 2011, up from just 0.4% in 2010.

Dr. Alan Meister, the author of the report, says, after two straight years of growth, New Mexico's gaming revenue has now exceeded pre recession levels.

The threat of sequestration has New Mexico's national labs making preparations for budget cuts.

The Albuquerque Comic Con will be in full swing this weekend, giving comic book and sci fi fans a chance to meet and greet their favorite authors, on screen characters, and artists. With the festivities only a day away, KUNM's Carrie Jung caught up with comic book writer and producer, Christian Beranek, to learn more about the industry, and how things have changed since Christian bought her first Batman comic as a child.

New Mexico is on track to experience its driest two year period on record. Any precipitation is a good thing in the Southwest, but winter snow accumulation is especially important. Until recently the snow pack has been almost non-existent and if the trend continues, the resulting economic impacts could ripple throughout the state.


Last Saturday, my husband, Jon, and I loaded our car with ski gear and drove north to Vadito, New Mexico. Our destination...the Sipapu Ski Resort.



This afternoon I called up Alexa Schirtzinger, editor of the Santa Fe Reporter, to speak to her about Mixed Martial Arts. An article called "Blood Sport" appeared in the publication today exploring how this popular new sport has evolved over the years...especially in New Mexico.

An abundance of food is a common theme on a day like Thanksgiving. But in New Mexico, many families are experiencing the opposite problem. About 1 in 6 households here don't know where their next meal will come from, holiday or not. KUNM's Carrie Jung brings us a closer look at who's hungry in New Mexico, with a visit to New Mexico’s largest food bank.

Last Friday the Roadrunner Food Bank was bustling as volunteers and staff members were busy prepping for one of their busiest weeks of the year...Thanksgiving.

 

Opposition to end a coyote hunting contest being held by a Los Lunas gun shop is growing.

According to a report from The Albuquerque Journal, more than 28,000 people have signed a petition to end the competition being held by Gunhawk Firearms. Those against it say killing animals for the purpose of a body count is cruel and that it’s a risk to public safety.

But supporters of the program disagree, saying it’s their right to hold the contest, and that it will help control the predatory coyote population.

The New Mexico Community Foundation delivered their first annual Chispa Awards last week, honoring 12 nonprofits from around the state. The awards were a complete surprise to the recipients. None of the organizations knew they had been chosen until the folks from the NMCF showed up at their door armed with a fancy plaque and a check for $7000. KUNM’s Carrie Jung was lucky enough to tag along for two of these surprise awards, and has this report.

2012 Chispa Award Recipients

Bootheel Youth Association

The Dust Bowl was a critical moment in American history…a human caused ecological disaster that destroyed the farmland of the great plains and turned prairies into deserts. A new documentary by Ken Burns set to air later this month on PBS aims to chronicle the  complexities of the event and the resulting human drama. Co producer Julie Dunfey joined KUNM’s Carrie Jung in the studio today to talk a little more about the film…and why we can expect something new from this Ken Burns production.  

For more than 13 years, Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, a Democrat, has been representing Texas’s 20th district in Washington D.C. During his tenure he’s held a seat on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and he’s the outgoing chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Richard and Elaine Evans moved from Michigan to New Mexico for one...ok maybe two reasons. Aside from their grandchildren:

It was the flying that brought us to New Mexico. You have beautiful skies, and you can fly almost everyday. Richard and I had both flown, for years, small airplanes. And it's just been our passion.

Our Voices Behind the Vote Series continues with Jessica and Danny Montaño of Los Lunas  who use their political disagreements to stay informed this election season...

When the 3rd period bell rings at Los Lunas High School...about 30 students make their way across campus to room B10 for Ms. Jessica Montaño's senior English class.

Ok this is the deal....we're going to take this step by step today.

If it’s a school day, chances are you’ll find crossing guard Tony Orosco manning his post on the corner of Lomas and Edith, keeping a keen eye out for school zone speeders. Armed with a small stop sign, a day-glow orange vest and one very loud whistle. Tony does his best to remind drivers to slow down when passing Longfellow Elementary School.

Tony and his fellow crossing guards are an essential part of a safe commute for many young students here, because this section of Lomas is 6 lanes wide and that 15 mile an hour speed limit is not always observed.

After more than two weeks, the Fox Mountain Pack alpha female wolf is still on the loose, foiling The Fish and Wildlife Service’s best efforts to trap and move her to an Arizona Sanctuary. For wolf advocates this is good news, because it's another day she can spend raising her pups. But for ranchers, it means a habitual livestock killer is still an active threat to their cattle. The Mexican Gray Wolf reintroduction program has been controversial since its inception, but a new coexistence plan seeks to fix that...through compromise.

The land of enchantment is rich in many natural resources. Water, however, isn't one of them. And while higher prices have a way of persuading people to consume less, would raising water rates cause New Mexicans to turn off their spigots? 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species.

The decision was announced today in Washington, DC by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

All this week we're considering the Endangered Species Act and its affect on the wildlife, and people, of New Mexico.

The Mexican Gray Wolf is a species that, perhaps more than any other, has highlighted the political obstacles involved in recovery, or in this case, reintroduction.

So far in our series, we’ve looked at some of the difficulties in recovering a species. But one of the emerging strengths of the Endangered Species Act is in its ability to spark compromise before a species ever makes it onto the list. And in the case of the Lesser Prairie Chicken and Dunes Sagebrush lizard, just the threat of a listing has been enough to make for some unlikely allies in Southeastern New Mexico.

No matter where you go in New Mexico, chances are there's a herd of cows nearby, grazing. And while good bit of that grazing is occurring on privately owned land, much of it is also taking place on federally or state owned land. Here Caren Cowan talks to the idea of why she thinks ranchers should not be shut out of public lands.

When you talk to Michael Robinson, there's no doubt, he's passionate about wolf recovery. Because he had so much to tell us, we've decided to share two more clips of his interview with you. In the first one, Michael tells us the story of the Mule Pack and their struggle to survive after being released from the captive breeding program in March of 2000. In the second clip, Michael delves in to the subject of politics and how he thinks they've swayed the folks at the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Just like many of his fellow environmentalists, John Horning believes more Mexican Gray Wolves should be released from the captive breeding program, AND that they should be released directly into New Mexico. In this clip, Horning tells us why he thinks politics may be getting in the way of that agenda.