NM Gov asks for more collaboration with Mortgage Finance Authority to tackle homelessness, housing crisis - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attended her first-ever meeting of the Mortgage Finance Authority board Wednesday, where she asked for more collaboration with the authority to address housing shortages and homelessness.
The governor’s visit comes after she made housing one of her priorities during the legislative session that wrapped up last week, one in which lawmakers approved about $200 million in various types of housing investments. She also pushed hard for the Legislature’s approval of an executive “Office of Housing,” a proposal that the MFA lobbied against and that ultimately died in the state Senate.
Lujan Grisham asked the MFA to appoint members to a committee who would work with counterparts from her administration to share data and ideas for addressing the housing shortage. She also proposed the two entities join forces to handle emergency calls from residents facing sudden housing crises.
“We’re circling around each other without clear insight about, ‘How much can we get done?’” the governor told the MFA board.
The state lacks at least 32,000 affordable housing units to meet demand, according to a recent MFA study. There’s been a sharp increase in homelessness across the state over the last few years. And the governor warned that new people moving into the state, including workers for three companies she said would announce openings soon, would exacerbate the housing shortage.
The MFA has been the state’s designated housing agency since 1998. It has a staff of 120 people who oversee more than 40 housing-related programs.
Executive Director Isidoro “Izzy” Hernandez told the board the authority in 2023 provided about $10.3 million to build 285 homes and oversaw $47 million to provide housing vouchers and homelessness services to about 12,000 people.
But the governor told the board that the size of the problem requires far more resources and coordination. She said that 285 homes built in a year is “fantastic,” but that making real headway would require thousands of new homes built annually.
Many of the people MFA helps, particularly those who shuffle in and out of shelters, are inefficiently served, bouncing between agencies, often at great cost to taxpayers, she said.
Board members who spoke said that more coordination could be useful, and chair Angel Reyes said he was open to the governor’s ideas.
“I look forward to whatever it means to follow up with your office and your staff to figure out how we start to make the steps to collaborate together,” he said.
This legislative session, lawmakers spent $125 million on loans for housing projects and infrastructure. They also gave the MFA’s Housing Trust Fund $50 million for the next fiscal year, on top of the roughly $37.5 million it gets each year via severance tax bond payments. Lawmakers also approved about $20 million for “statewide homelessness services.”
Hearing examiner recommends that PRC reject controversial LNG storage facility - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Hearing Examiner Anthony Medeiros recommended that the commissioners deny New Mexico Gas Company’s request to build, own and operate a controversial liquified natural gas storage facility in Rio Rancho.
Medeiros released his decision, which is more than 150 pages long, on Wednesday.
In his recommended decision, Medeiros writes that the facility would not result in a net public benefit and, thus, should not be approved. He further states that New Mexico Gas Company’s justifications for why such a facility is needed “are not clearly demonstrated.”
The proposed facility would be located on a 160-acre parcel in southern Rio Rancho on the northwest side of Bernalillo County and within the Albuquerque metropolitan area. It would take up about 25 of those 160 acres.
The area where it would be located is zoned for future industrial development.
New Mexico Gas Company hoped that the LNG storage facility would replace its current arrangement where it stores gas through a lease agreement at the Keystone Storage Facility in Texas that is owned by Kinder Morgan. The company says that it has concerns with the reliability and performance of the Keystone Storage Facility. In particular, the company pointed to the February 2011 storm that forced the utility to cut off service to more than 20,000 customers in northern New Mexico. New Mexico Gas Company officials say a LNG storage facility would make a repeat of that incident less likely. At the same time, the company did not have to cut off service to customers during a major winter storm in 2021. Instead, the utility purchased additional gas from the day-ahead and same-day markets due to Keystone not being able to provide enough stored gas. That resulted in New Mexico Gas Company spending $107 million more than it normally would have over a six-day period of time.
The company also argues that the amount it pays to store gas at Keystone is increasing and there is some uncertainty about what Kinder Morgan might charge when the contract comes up for renewal once again.
Medeiros breaks with the PRC staff in his recommendation. The staff took the position that the PRC should approve the application.
The various intervening parties in the case unanimously opposed the proposed facility.
While Bernalillo County was not among the intervening parties, the county commission passed a resolution requesting that the PRC reject the proposed facility.
Medeiros wrote that the public opposition to the LNG storage facility “cannot and should not be ignored.”
Opponents say the facility could put nearby residents and schools at risk while also increasing the costs that customers pay in rates.
Additionally, they say that the transition away from fossil fuels will lead to the facility being obsolete before New Mexico Gas Company has finished paying for it and before it reaches the end of its useful life.
The LNG facility would be $100 million more expensive over its 30-year life than a continued lease with Kinder Morgan to store gas at Keystone, according to estimates New Mexico Gas Company presented during the case.
But New Mexico Gas Company says that, by reducing the need to buy higher priced gas during extreme weather events, customers will benefit even in terms of economics.
However, the New Mexico Department of Justice, the new branding for the office of the Attorney General, argued that the facility costs are likely going to be higher than what the company presented.
Medeiros agreed with that assertion and wrote that during its first year of operation the facility would result in a net increase of $24.7 million on customers’ bills, which is substantially greater than the $3.3 million increase that New Mexico Gas Company touted.
Medeiros further notes that the potential earnings benefits of a LNG storage facility to New Mexico Gas Company’s parent company, Emera, Inc., are clearly documented, it is not as clear what the benefits will be for customers.
“While the proposed LNG Facility would undoubtedly be a more profitable venture for NMGC and its shareholders than continuing the Keystone Storage arrangement, the purported benefits to ratepayers reflected in this record are far less tangible or certain,” he wrote.
Medeiros did not address in depth the health and safety concerns regarding locating a LNG facility relatively close to schools and neighborhoods. He explained that, as he had already recommended rejecting the proposed facility, “such findings would be superfluous in any event.”
At the same time, he did note that the concerns are legitimate.
In another PRC case, New Mexico Gas Company is asking to raise customers rates. New Energy Economy filed a motion this week asking the PRC to either reject the rate increase or at least require the utility to send out a new notice to customers regarding the potential rate change. NEE says that New Mexico Gas Company’s notice provided inadequate or misleading information about the impact that the rate increase will have on customers’ bills.
New Mexico airports get a piece of nearly $1 billion in federal grants - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
New Mexico’s congressional delegation announced Thursday that the state will see over $9 million of the nearly $1 billion in airport improvement grants the Biden administration rolled out last week.
The delegation said in a statement that the Albuquerque International Sunport will see the largest chunk of that, at $5.8 million. Meanwhile, the regional airport in Clovis will get a $3.5 million infusion for the design and construction of a new terminal.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said Clovis Mayor Mike Morris earlier this year expressed to her the importance of the airport to military personnel and families stationed at Cannon Air Force Base. She said the expansion will enable the families to spend more time together.
Sen. Martin Heinrich equated airport investments with investing in New Mexico businesses and jobs, saying the modernizing efforts will “improve travelers’ experiences, and drive our state’s economic growth for the future.”
The funds come from the bipartisan infrastructure law and have been awarded to 114 airports in all.
Youth detox, homelessness initiatives pick up new funds - By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
Bernalillo County Commissioners have approved a three year, $3.5 million contract with Serenity Mesa Recovery Center as part of its Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI). The initiative passed at its regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 20. The city of Albuquerque contributed $930,000 of the funds.
Serenity Mesa is a youth detoxification center on Albuquerque’s Southwest Mesa. The sober living facility is designed for adolescents and young adults struggling with addiction. In 2014, county voters approved a new tax to support additional behavioral health services. In 2015, the BHI was formed to allocate the tax revenue toward behavioral health service providers and initiatives.
“The funding will be used to set up a medically supervised detox center within the facility, specifically designed for teens and young adults,” Commission Chair Barbara Baca said in a statement. “There is a void in services for youth ages 14-to-21 suffering from addiction to detox safely under the supervision of medical professionals.”
Officials said current options are limited to outpatient detoxification with prescribed medication, using an emergency room or inpatient psychiatric facility. Under the new contract, officials said clients could be treated in a “safe, comfortable setting” with access to a 90-day inpatient recovery treatment program, adding that there is a higher success rate for those who go through medically supervised withdrawal.
Youth addiction and detoxification is a critical issue in New Mexico and across the country. Overdose deaths for those 10-to-19 years old increased 109% from December 2019 to December 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says fentanyl abuse is an ongoing problem as it is often mixed in with other illicit drugs and presents a painful and difficult withdrawal.
“We look forward to successful outcomes for young people to withdraw safely, reset their lives with recovery services and move forward,” Commissioner Steven Quezada said in a statement.
$3 MILLION TO GATEWAY CENTER
At the same meeting, commissioners approved $3 million for an expansion of the housing navigation center at Albuquerque’s Gateway Center at Gibson Health Hub.
The Gateway Center is the city’s multimillion dollar project designed to address a burgeoning homeless population. The 572,000 square foot facility currently offers 50 overnight beds and 35 seasonal beds, including a variety of social services for those experiencing homelessness. Officials said the county’s funding will go toward the addition of 50 “trauma-informed” overnight beds.
The city has already received $59 million from a variety of sources.
“It is imperative we make headway in our continued efforts to address homelessness, and this new addition provides the groundwork for positive outcomes and fits into our overall behavioral health programs and initiatives,” Commissioner Adriann Barboa said in a statement.
The project entails the reconstruction of a 17,000-square-foot suite located on the building’s second floor, adjacent to the existing housing navigation center. Officials said clients using the beds will have access to case management, peer support and other assistance. The project is due to be completed by the end of the year and is expected to service more than 200 people annually.
Trial of 'Rust' armorer to begin in fatal film rehearsal shooting by Alec Baldwin - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Attorneys prepared to make opening statements Thursday at the first trial related to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film "Rust."
Before Baldwin's case progresses, the movie's weapons supervisor is being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, on a movie ranch outside Santa Fe.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and says she's not directly to blame for Hutchins' death. In court filings, lead defense counsel Jason Bowles has pointed to findings by workplace safety regulators of broad problems that extended beyond the armorer's control.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition onto a film set where it was expressly prohibited. They say the armorer missed multiple opportunities to ensure safety, eventually loading a live round into the gun that killed Hutchins.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a separate case.
Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A more recent analysis of the gun concluded the "trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver."
At the trial of Gutierrez-Reed, jurors from the Santa Fe area were sworn in Wednesday at the end of a daylong selection process that involved questions about exposure to media coverage and social media chatter about the case. Four jurors will initially serve as alternates to a panel of 12.
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 24 at the time of Hutchins' death.
She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Her attorneys say that charge is prosecutors' attempt to smear Gutierrez-Reed's character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, defense attorneys said.
The trial is scheduled to run through March 6, with more than 40 potential witnesses.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on "Rust," doesn't appear on a pretrial witness lists, and could invoke protections against self-incrimination if pressed. His trail date has not been set.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun's hammer — not the trigger — and the weapon fired. He was indicted by a grand jury in January.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys say she's unfairly been scapegoated. They contend live rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based supplier of dummy rounds.
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed is accused in another case of carrying a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe in violation of state law. Her attorneys say that charge has been used to try to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into a false confession about the handling of live ammunition on the "Rust" set.
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training members of the cast who would be handling firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
Live rounds are typically distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the dummy's brass cartridge, indicating there is no explosive inside or by shaking the round to hear the clatter of a BB that is inserted inside. A missing or dimpled primer at the bottom of the cartridge is another trait of dummy rounds.
The company Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to the state following a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols.
Jurors sworn in for trial of 'Rust' armorer in fatal 2021 shooting by Alec Baldwin - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film "Rust."
Before Baldwin's case progresses, the armorer on the set is being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Sixteen jurors — including four alternates — were sworn in for trial Wednesday, capping a daylong selection process conducted largely out of public and media view in deference to the privacy of jurors.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she's not directly to blame for Halyna Hutchins' death. Baldwin also has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a separate case.
Jurors were chosen from a pool of 70 residents from the Santa Fe area that included non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who provides for six children. Prosecutors asked potential jurors about their exposure to intensive media coverage and social media chatter about the case.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a live round into the gun that killed Hutchins after unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto a set where it was expressly prohibited. They contend the armorer missed multiple opportunities to ensure safety on the movie set.
Defense attorneys have said they have evidence that will show otherwise.
The evidence and testimony has implications for Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins during an October 2021 rehearsal outside Santa Fe when the cinematographer was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Here are some things to know about the Gutierrez-Reed trial:
CHARGES
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 24 at the time of Hutchins' death. "Rust" was her second assignment as an armorer in a feature film.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Her attorneys say that charge is prosecutors' attempt to smear Gutierrez-Reed's character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, defense attorneys said.
More than 40 people are listed as witnesses for the trial set to run through March 6.
AMMUNITION
Authorities found six rounds of ammunition on the movie set in locations that included a box, a gun belt and a bandolier worn by Baldwin. Baldwin has said he assumed the gun only had rounds that couldn't be fired.
Special prosecutors have argued in court filings that Hutchins died because of a series of negligent acts by Gutierrez-Reed. They say she should have noticed live rounds and intervened long before the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys say she's unfairly been scapegoated. They contend live rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based supplier of dummy rounds. They also pointed to a broader atmosphere of safety failures uncovered during an investigation by state workplace safety inspectors that go beyond Gutierrez-Reed.
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed is accused in another case of carrying a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe in violation of state law. Her attorneys say that charge has been used to try to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into a false confession about the handling of live ammunition on the "Rust" set.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training members of the cast who would be handling firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
Live rounds are typically distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the dummy's brass cartridge, indicating there is no explosive inside or by shaking the round to hear the clatter of a BB that is inserted inside. A missing or dimpled primer at the bottom of the cartridge is another trait of dummy rounds.
The company Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to the state following a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols. The report included testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before Hutchins was shot.
Prosecutors urged a judge to keep regulators' conclusions out of the trial because those might be used to argue that "Rust" management was responsible for safety failures, not Gutierrez-Reed.
The judge in the case sided last week with Gutierrez-Reed. The report says the production company did not develop a process for ensuring live rounds were kept away from the set and that it failed to give the armorer enough time to thoroughly inventory ammunition.
BALDWIN
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on "Rust," was indicted in January on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun's hammer — not the trigger — and the weapon fired.
The charge against Baldwin provides two alternative standards for prosecution, one based on the negligent use of a firearm and another tied to negligence without due caution or "circumspection," also defined as "total disregard or indifference for the safety of others."
Legal experts say the latter standard could broaden the investigation beyond Baldwin's handling of the gun. Alex Spiro, a defense attorney for Baldwin, says that's unlikely to be allowed in court.
"There's a theory that, by being the producer, he also has criminal liability," Spiro said Tuesday before a judge in a scheduling hearing. "We don't think that will withstand scrutiny."
Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A more recent analysis of the gun concluded the "trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver."
Industry-wide guidance that applied to "Rust" says to "treat all firearms as if they are loaded."
A trial date hasn't been set for Baldwin.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was 24 at the time of the shooting, not 25.
Lawyer wants Archdioceses of Santa Fe to publish the full list of perpetrators – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Lawyers representing a woman who says she was abused by a priest in 1957 say the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is reneging on a promise to publicly post the names of such clergy.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the woman says she was abused by the Rev. Richard Spellman and that under a bankruptcy settlement agreement the archdiocese must disclose the names of alleged abusers.
Attorneys for the archdiocese dispute that assertion.
The archdiocese paid $121 million to about 400 survivors of sex abuse. Its attorneys have stated the organization is required to list the names on its website of all known past and present clergy who have been determined by the archbishop, in consultation with an independent review board, to be credibly accused of the crime.
Since 2017, the archdiocese has voluntarily published a list of those credibly accused. It considered Spellman for inclusion, but the independent review board recommended against it.
One of the attorneys representing the woman who accused Spellman has filed a motion asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Mexico to intervene.
An attorney for the archdiocese did not return Journal calls seeking comment for this story.
Former District Attorney Marco Serna wants his old job back - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
Marco Serna announced Wednesday that he’s running to reclaim his former post as First Judicial District Attorney. Serna left the office to run unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020. It’s currently held by Mary Carmack-Altwies. The two will run against each other in the Democratic primary in June.
In his announcement, Serna criticized the DA for what he called her administration’s “selective approach” to DWI prosecution. He vowed to prosecute all cases “to the fullest extent of the law."
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Carmack-Altwies has praised a policy where prosecutors dismiss DWI cases in an effort to get more time to obtain evidence for a conviction. She says a 45-day deadline to gather facts could lead cases to fail in court.
Serna was also criticized when he held the office. District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer accused him of making factually and legally untrue comments about the First Judicial District’s plan to resume in-person proceedings in 2020.
In anticipation of running, Serna resigned from his position at the New Mexico District Attorney Association.
State budget includes $200,000 for new task force on missing and murdered Indigenous people - By Bella Davis, New Mexico In Depth
Lujan Grisham has until March 6th to take action on bills the Legislature passed, including the budget.
The state budget awaiting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s signature contains $200,000 for Attorney General Raúl Torrez to create a new task force concentrated on a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
The money adds weight to the Legislature’s non-binding request that he take such action. Senate Joint Memorial 2 (SJM 2) passed on the last day of the 30-day legislative session.
The task force’s fate now falls to Lujan Grisham and Torrez, in that sequence.
The governor could eliminate the $200,000 appropriation using her line-item authority, which would leave Torrez to decide to form the task force anyway, without funding, or ignore the state Legislature’s request.
Torrez’s office did not respond to New Mexico In Depth’s request to comment on his plans.
The dollars are included in a special section of the budget that was added in the final days of the session. That section contains allocations by individual lawmakers. Which lawmakers provided $200,000 for the proposed task force is unknown, but will be published on the legislative website 30 days after Feb. 15, the day the session ended.
Sponsors introduced SJM 2 — which, unlike a bill, doesn’t have the force of law — in response to Lujan Grisham’s decision last year to disband an earlier task force dedicated to finding solutions to the crisis, “leaving questions unanswered,” the legislation reads.
The governor’s staff argue the previous group met its objectives and the state is now executing its numerous recommendations. Some task force members and affected families, meanwhile, believe they still had much work to do.
Lawmakers, including two who served as policy advisors to the group, agreed.
“There’s still a place and a role for those stakeholders to participate,” Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, one of the sponsors, said in an interview in January. “You have to have buy-in, not just the state coming in and saying ‘we know best.’ “
The Senate and House both passed the memorial unanimously.
The memorial advises the task force be made up of no more than 40 members, including tribal representatives, survivors and families, and law enforcement, who could provide legislative proposals and update a 115-page plan the defunct group delivered in 2022.
Lujan Grisham has until March 6 to take action on bills the Legislature passed, including the state budget.
New technologies let classrooms hop away from dissecting frogs - By Algernon D’Ammassa, Las Cruces Bulletin
Lauren Apodaca’s classroom at Vista Middle School in Las Cruces was buzzing with conversation as students working in groups focused on the internal anatomy of frogs on the table before them, turning over heart, liver and other internal organs with forceps.
If you have memories of dissecting frogs or other animal specimens in science class, you probably remember the smell of formaldehyde and other chemicals used to preserve the specimens. That distinct odor was absent from this classroom. The frogs on the tables and their innards were all produced in the classroom on a 3D printer.
The equipment was purchased through the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Animalearn, which promotes humane science education as a division of the American Anti-Vivisection Society. Apodaca, who is in their seventh year of teaching, recently earned honorable mention as a nominee for Animalearn’s 2023 Humane Science Educator of the Year award.
The honor came with a $750 cash grant used to purchase the printer that spawns specimen frogs that are much harder to spoil with a careless incision and do not require harsh chemicals to store them.
“I do love the idea of preserving animals,” Apodaca said in an interview, including a fondness for holding on to animal bones. “But there’s something about the dissecting that was not for me.”
When Apodaca was a student growing up in southern Florida, dissecting real animals was no longer a requirement, and Apodaca said they don’t feel as though they missed out on much: There are ample teaching methodologies and products available to present alternatives.
New Mexico has been a “dissection choice” state since 2005, when the Public Education Department ruled that classrooms engaging in dissections “shall provide virtual dissection techniques as alternative activities for any student who is opposed to real dissections for ethical, moral, cultural or religious reasons.”
While artificial specimens are nothing new, the alternatives are increasingly sophisticated, particularly in mobile technology.
At one table in the classroom, students worked not with a plastic frog but a black cube with codes embedded on it. Viewed through a camera on a mobile electronic device, what appeared on screen was a detailed illustration of a frog with interactive displays of its anatomy.
Apodaca said the technologies are inexpensive and allow their students to meet all of the instructional goals and content standards without the liabilities of handling animals, preservatives shown to be harmful to health or the stresses of performing surgery on a dead creature.
Instead, Apodaca’s students watched as the printer produced their frogs.
“At first, when I told them about the award and how I wasn’t really wanting to do dissection, they were a little disappointed,” Apodaca said. “But then you see it 3D printed and they’re like, ‘Wow, you made this out of nothing, this is actually really impressive.’ They aren’t too disappointed with the alternative.”
Apodaca has plans to produce plastic models for other lessons as well, such as cells and their anatomies, possibly other microscopic objects, to make elusive bodies more tangible.
Besides the risks to human health, Animalearn objects to real animal dissections on ethical grounds. They say animals harvested for science classrooms are often obtained taken from natural habitats and acquired cheaply to market for profit, which means they may be sourced from dealers or slaughterhouses that do not engage in humane practices.
The ethical concerns extend to damaged ecosystems as well as the dangers presented by preservatives, from classroom exposure to the disposal of the specimens.
Since its founding in 1990, Animalearn has advocated for alternative teaching methods and materials, and promoted its own “science bank,” a free lending program that makes models, software and virtual technologies available for loan to classrooms.
“To see the technology that’s available for today’s students, it’s pretty amazing,” Animalearn’s director, Nicole Green, said in an interview.
One product manufactured by the SynDaver company, the SynFrog, offers model frogs made entirely from a proprietary material it calls SynTissue designed to imitate the appearance and sensation of handling organic tissue, with fully removable anatomical parts. The models retail for up to $268 apiece through the company’s website.
“It’s giving that typical learning experience that you would if a student was dissecting a real frog, without harming any frogs,” Green said.
For its annual educator awards, Animalearn begins searching and calling for nominations each November, according to Green. The awards have been issued for approximately 20 years.
“All of our awardees stand out as role models not just for their students but also for their peers in the field of science education and we hope this recognition will encourage more science teachers to embrace compassionate science practices in their classrooms,” she said.
Green said the number of educators who remain passionate about using real animal specimens is dwindling as alternatives improve, especially over the last decade: “Because technology has so rapidly advanced, I think there are just so many tools that teachers can take from the toolbox now and utilize in their classrooms. Students can learn just as well using some of these technologies as with specimens.”
A man tried to open an emergency exit on an American Airlines flight. Other passengers subdued him - Associated Press
An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in New Mexico after a disruptive passenger allegedly tried to open an emergency exit door, authorities said.
Albuquerque International Sunport officials said Flight 1219 to Chicago returned to the airport shortly after takeoff Tuesday afternoon "due to a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer."
Albuquerque TV station KOAT interviewed several passengers including Emma Ritz, who said the man tried to open an emergency door while the jetliner was airborne.
"He was sitting at the emergency exit and he cracked open the window that was protecting the handle," Ritz said. "He ripped down the handle where it exposed some of the emergency exit and all the wind came rushing down."
KOAT reported that six other passengers on the plane wrestled the man down and restrained him in the aisle until the flight ended by duct-taping his feet and putting on flex cuffs.
"The guy was screaming 'I want to get out' when he was restrained," Ritz told KOAT.
The plane landed safely at Sunport, where passengers said local law enforcement took the man away.
Neither the FBI nor Albuquerque police have released any information yet about the man who caused the disturbance. A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that the agency is investigating.
"I'm just curious what was going on with him, why he needed to get out of the plane," Ritz said.
Court lifts US coal sales moratorium in a setback for Dems and environmentalists - By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday struck down a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands in a move that could open the door to future coal sales from vast, publicly owned reserves of the fuel that's a major source of climate-changing greenhouse gases.
The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a setback for environmentalists and Democratic officials who worked for years to curtail the federal coal leasing program.
Yet it's uncertain how much demand there will be from the mining industry for new leases: Coal production from federal lands dropped sharply over the past decade after many electric utilities switched to less polluting sources of power generation such as natural gas and renewables.
More than 260 million tons of coal, or almost half of the nation's total, was mined by private companies from leases on federal land in 2022, the most recent figures available. That compares to more than 400 million tons of coal mined from federal lands in 2014.
Most of the mining occurs in Western states including Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
The leasing moratorium — originally enacted in 2016 under former President Barack Obama — didn't halt mining. Rather, it prohibited federal lease sales that are often crucial for companies seeking to expand their operations.
The moratorium was rescinded under the administration of former President Donald Trump, then revived by a federal district judge in Montana, who in 2022 ordered government officials to conduct a new environmental review before they could hold coal sales on federal lands. The order came in lawsuits filed by environmental groups; Democratic officials in California, New York, New Mexico and Washington state; and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, which has fought for decades against coal mining near its southeastern Montana reservation.
But Wednesday's appeals court ruling said the matter was moot when the 2022 order was issued, because Interior Department officials under President Joe Biden already had revoked Trump's effort to end the moratorium. The panel of judges noted that a "de facto moratorium" appears to be in place now, since lease sales have diminished.
The ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, said the Biden administration should move leases forward "instead of looking for new excuses."
"Today's court decision ending the Obama administration's nationwide ban on coal leasing is good news for Wyoming and all Americans," he said.
The National Mining Association said the ruling could allow stalled mining projects to advance. Among them is the proposed expansion of southwestern Wyoming's Black Butte coal mine, which has been approved by state officials and is awaiting federal approval, according to the industry group.
A Northern Cheyenne official and environmentalists called for the Biden administration to respond with immediate steps to end new leasing, and to address coal's ongoing harms to the climate and public health.
"We need the Biden administration to step up and live up to its promises to protect our climate, conduct a long overdue review of the federal coal leasing program, and make thoughtful plans for the future of public lands," said Northern Cheyenne Tribal Administrator William Walksalong.
The federal coal program is run by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management. Bureau spokesperson Brian Hires said the agency had no immediate comment on Wednesday's ruling. Federal officials last year started an environmental review as required by the 2022 court order but bureau records indicate that work remains unfinished.
Coal combustion for electricity remains one of the top sources of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, even after many coal-fired power plants shut down over the past decade because of concerns over pollution and changing economic conditions. Electric power generation accounts for about one quarter of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and most of that comes from burning coal, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Royalties and other payments from companies for coal mined on federal lands brought in more than $500 million last year, according to government data. The industry supports thousands of jobs and has been fiercely defended by Republicans in Congress and officials in coal-producing states.