Mayor’s proposed budget includes 5% more funding for police - Bethany Raja, City Desk ABQ
Under the mayor’s proposed budget, funding for the Albuquerque Police Department would increase by $13.4 million — 5.2%.
The proposed budget of $271.5 million includes funding for 1,000 sworn police officers and 725 civilian employees. Much of the proposed increase has to do with personnel, including cost of living adjustments, an increased cost of insurance, and adding a couple more positions.
The target number of sworn officers remains at 1,100 — like it was under previous administrations — but an APD spokesperson said that figure “is a goal from the past and is unrealistic.” However, if the department is able to recruit that many more officers, she said there is a plan to pay for them.
“If the department reaches more than 1,000 officers, there is an administrative plan to request additional resources in order to fund the additional officers,” said Rebecca Atkins, the APD spokesperson.
By mid-fiscal year 2024, APD had 856 sworn officers. That is fewer than in fiscal year 2023 and 2022 when there were 877 and 894 officers respectively, according to data provided in the budget.
Atkins said APD is more focused on a comprehensive approach to public safety than reaching the goal of hiring 1,100 officers.
“That includes a multitude of things including civilianizing many areas of the department as well as advancements in technology, which have been a force multiplier for APD,” she said.
City Councilor Dan Champine told City Desk ABQ that he thinks reaching 1,100 officers isn’t an unrealistic expectation, but it might take a while to reach that goal.
“You have an academy class that’s six months long and you put 50 people in the class, so you do two of those, that’s 100 people that are going to graduate in a year and put out on the streets,” he said. “And during that one year at a time, you lose 60 people because of retirement or moving or life, so now your net gain is 40.”
Champine, a former APD police officer, said if the department could continue graduating 100 cadets each year, it could still take a substantial amount of time to go from 875 to 1,100 officers.
RECRUITS AND RETENTION
In the last year, Atkins said the department has seen a record number of recruits and some of the largest cadet classes in a decade.
However, she said 80 officers separated from the department during the last fiscal year: 40 officers resigned, 35 retired, and five were terminated.
The city’s targeted number of recruits for next year is 120, although it has not yet broken 100 in previous years. In fiscal year 2023, there were 85 recruits and in 2022 there were 95. By mid-year of fiscal year 2024, APD had 54 recruits.
Atkins said a plan was put into place in 2022 to ramp up recruiting efforts for the Police Service Aide program because they’re a pipeline to future officers. Police Service Aides are tasked with handling minor traffic crashes, writing reports, managing traffic control and assisting with other administrative duties.
“Just in the last two years, nearly two dozen PSAs have become police officers at APD,” Atkins said. “We also currently have nearly 100 PSAs in the department, which is the highest number in the department’s history.”
Once PSAs are qualified to become officers — usually when they turn 21 — Atkins said they can apply to become sworn officers.
The department has also ramped up its recruiting presence on social media platforms, television and in movie theaters, Atkins said.
“There will always be retirements and separations year to year, but, the growing number of cadets in our academy and PSAs who will become future officers continue to add to the department’s growing numbers,” she said. “We will continue our recruiting efforts…which have been successful in reaching qualified candidates who want to join the department.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
WHEN: The next committee meeting to discuss the FY 2025 operating budget is at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 2.
WHERE: Vincent E. Griego Chambers on the basement level of the Albuquerque Government Center.
HOW: Public commenters must sign up by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
VIRTUAL: The meetings are broadcast on GOV-TV and the City Council’s YouTube channel.
New Mexico chicken farm infected with avian influenza - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
State livestock and agricultural officials announced Tuesday evening a chicken farm in Roosevelt County was infected with avian influenza, following federal confirmation of samples. Every bird at the farm will be killed.
Samples were first taken from the Eastern New Mexico farm on April 10, a press release for the New Mexico Livestock Board stated.
It’s not clear if the infections in New Mexico chickens are related to the six confirmed cases of avian influenza in New Mexico dairies.
“We simply don’t know,” said Shelton Dodson, the spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. He further said the state is collecting and sending samples to federal officials to help trace the virus’ genome.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not published an official reason for the “crossover” of the virus into cattle, but updated their initial findings in a report published April 16.
“Wild migratory birds are believed to be the original source of the virus. However, the investigation to date also includes some cases where the virus spread was associated with cattle movements between herds,” the report stated. “Additionally, we have similar evidence that the virus also spread from dairy cattle premises back into nearby poultry premises through an unknown route.”
It’s unclear if that case of spread from cows to poultry is in New Mexico.
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service declined to make anyone available to comment on Tuesday, but a spokesman said the federal agency would provide an interview to Source New Mexico later in the week.
Dodson said he did not know how many birds were at the Roosevelt County facility, deferring comment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Avian influenza is often deadly to chickens, but all the birds on the premises will be killed, the release stated.
Federal officials have separately confirmed that six dairies in Curry County have cases of avian influenza, called H5N1, since April 1. The most recent confirmed case at a New Mexico Dairy was April 10.
The number of confirmed cases in dairies has grown, with now eight states. As of April 16, those states are Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Idaho, South Dakota, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have listed the human risk of infection from H5N1 as low, but that people who work with animals have higher risks.
A Texas dairy worker contracted avian influenza after working with infected cows, on April 1, the second reported case in the U.S. The most prominent symptom was conjunctivitis, or a reddened eyes.
The New Mexico Department of Health told Source NM that two dairy workers have been tested for HPAI, but both results were negative.
AVIAN INFLUENZA SYMPTOMS IN BIRDS
The New Mexico Livestock Board urges Roosevelt County residents to watch for the following signs in their poultry
- Sudden death without any prior symptoms of illness;
- lack of energy and appetite;
- a drop in egg production or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs;
- swelling of the eyelids, comb, wattles, and shanks;
- purple discoloration of the wattles, comb, and legs;
- gasping for air (difficulty breathing);
- nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing;
- twisting of the head and neck (torticollis);
- stumbling or falling down;
- diarrhea
The New Mexico state veterinarian’s office number is (505) 841-6161. People can also email statevet@nmlbonline.com. A full list of official state vets nationwide can be found here.
390 million seedlings: Mora reforestation center sets sights on restoring NM forests - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
State and federal forestry officials marked the two-year anniversary of the biggest wildfire in New Mexico history by outlining an ambitious plan to transform a small forest research facility in the burn scar into a vital source of drought-resistant tree seedlings for burned forests across the Southwest.
Swaths of forest across the state are still blackened by recent wildfires and those that burned decades ago. Millions of trees were destroyed by high-intensity wildfires in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. Without intervention, researchers said Tuesday, it will take centuries for the forests to return.
State Forester Laura McCarthy said New Mexico needs between 150 and 390 million seedlings to restore forests in burned areas. An additional 26 million seedlings are needed in the burn scar of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, researchers said.
So the vision for the New Mexico Forest Reforestation Center, with the help of state and federal money, is to grow five million tree seedlings a year in Mora to be strategically planted in burn scars on public and private land across the Southwest. At the moment, the center produces just 300,000 seedlings annually.
Xochitl Torres Small, the Las Cruces-raised deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spoke at the small facility for the event Tuesday at the base of fire-scarred mountains in Mora. She said the $11.5 million federal dollars for the center will help it put a dent in the tree deficit accumulated over years of high-intensity fires in a drying Southwest.
She also apologized on behalf of the agency for the wildfire, caused by federal Forest Service crews in two botched prescribed burns that combined almost exactly two years ago. (The USDA oversees the Forest Service.)
“There’s of course symbolism in the fact that we are talking about seedlings in the nursery,” Torres Small told attendees. “When it comes to rebuilding, the hardest part of rebuilding is trust, especially when our relationships have never been perfect when it comes to USDA. And yet, every year we show up to do the work to try to make that relationship better.”
The federal money includes $10 million from the USDA and an additional $1.5 million via Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office. Over the last two legislative sessions, state lawmakers approved $22.5 million for the center, according to the budget legislation.
But it will cost about $100 million to equip the center with new greenhouses and additional technology for testing drought-resistant saplings, researchers said. The researchers come from the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Highlands University and the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
To fill the funding gap, the state is finalizing a request of $69 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Dylan Fuge, EMNRD deputy secretary. FEMA is overseeing a $4 billion fund Congress approved to compensate victims of the federally caused wildfire.
The state’s request for the reforestation center funds will be part of a claim submitted on behalf of all state agencies for losses they endured in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. In an interview with Source New Mexico, Fuge could not say when the claim would be sent, except that he hoped to sign off on his department’s portion within a week.
“New Mexico state government and our partner agencies in the federal government are here to help, and the governor’s administration will continue pushing our federal partners and related state agency agencies to provide the relief funding to impacted communities,” Huge told the audience on behalf of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was scheduled to attend the meeting but canceled Tuesday morning.
STRESS TESTS FOR TREES
If the center receives necessary funding, researchers hope to build 160,000 square feet of greenhouses by 2028. That’s 20 times the 8,000 square feet the center has now. They also hope to invest in research technology to identify the most drought-resistant ponderosa pines and other tree species to give them the best shot of survival in burned, dry forests. Current capacity allows the center to re-plant 1% of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire burn scar, said research director Owen Burney. “That doesn’t include other fires or future fires,” he said. “So we are not in the capacity we need to be in for the backlog.”
But growing the seedlings isn’t enough. The seedlings also have to survive in an increasingly arid, wildfire-prone landscape, and they’ll have to take root in areas of severe burn, with charred soil and little shade. To improve the seedlings’ odds, researchers subject some seedlings to drought conditions and select for re-planting strains that can handle the heat.
For a study published in December 2022, researchers at the center planted about 2,000 pine, aspen, locust and other seedlings in area of high-severity burns in the scar of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire to measure the effects of things like climate, topography or biology on whether seedlings survived and grew.
The average survival rate after a three-year period was 20%, according to the paper, but researchers said they emerged with a better understanding of the typographical features, stressors and other factors that could help seedlings thrive. That means paying close attention to micro-climates and planting on northern and eastern hillslopes, among other things, researchers said.
Fuge, the EMNRD deputy secretary, said the model scientists developed could increase the survival rate of seedlings from about 25% to between 60% and 90%.
One unique factor that could complicate replanting trees in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, researchers acknowledged, is the widespread aerial reseeding of grasses across public and private forests.
The Forest Service dropped tons of seeds from helicopters to stabilize the soil against post-fire flooding, but lingering grass and rye from that effort could compete with baby trees, researchers said. It’s one of many factors they’ll have to consider when it comes time to plant.
Expanding the number of seedlings and ensuring their survival will require additional funds, but researchers said it is a vital effort to sequester carbon, restore watersheds and return fire-scarred landscapes to thriving forests within a human lifespan.
US court rejects a request by tribes to block $10B energy transmission project in Arizona — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by Native American tribes and environmentalists to stop work on a $10 billion transmission line being built through a remote southeastern Arizona valley that will carry wind-generated electricity from New Mexico to customers as far away as California.
The project — approved in 2015 following a lengthy review — has been touted as the biggest U.S. electricity infrastructure undertaking since the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s.
Two tribes joined with archaeologists and environmentalists in filing a lawsuit in January, accusing the U.S. Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management of refusing for nearly 15 years to recognize "overwhelming evidence of the cultural significance" of the remote San Pedro Valley to Native American tribes including the Tohono O'odham, Hopi, Zuni and San Carlos Apache Tribe.
The suit was filed after Pattern Energy received approval to transmit electricity generated by its SunZia wind farm in central New Mexico through the San Pedro Valley, east of Tucson.
The lawsuit called the valley "one of the most intact, prehistoric and historical ... landscapes in southern Arizona," and asked the court to issue restraining orders or permanent injunctions to halt construction.
In denying the motions, Judge Jennifer Zipps said the plaintiffs were years too late in bringing their claims and that the Bureau of Land Management had fulfilled its obligations to identify historic sites and prepare an inventory of cultural resources.
Tohono O'odham Attorney General Howard Shanker argued during a hearing in March that claims by federal land managers that they could not find any evidence of the valley's significance to area tribes was disingenuous at best. He referenced an academic book about the valley published by the University of Arizona Press and the declaration of a tribal member who once served as a cultural resource officer.
The transmission lines will forever transform "a place of beauty, prayer and solitude for generations of O'odham who want to connect with the spirits of their direct ancestors," Shanker said. "So the irreparable harm is clear."
Government representatives told the judge that the SunZia project is a key renewable energy initiative and that the tribes waited too long to bring their claims. They also argued that tribal representatives accompanied government officials in surveying the area in 2018 to identify and inventory any potential cultural resources.
Pattern Energy lawyers argued that more than 90% of the project had been completed and that there were no inadvertent discoveries of cultural sites in the valley. They told the judge that "through good planning" the sites that were identified have been avoided as crews cleared the ground for roads and pads where the transmission towers will be located.
The judge agreed, saying the record supports the Bureau of Land Management's assertion that the project route avoids direct impacts to cultural resources that were identified by the surveys.
Pattern Energy also argued that stopping work would be catastrophic, with any delay having a cascading effect that would compromise the project and the company's ability to get electricity to customers as promised in 2026.
SunZia expects the transmission line to begin commercial service in 2026, carrying more than 3,500 megawatts of wind power to 3 million people.
The San Pedro Valley represents a 50-mile (80-kilometer) stretch of the planned 550-mile (885-kilometer) conduit to carry electricity from wind farms in central New Mexico through Arizona and on to more populated areas in California. The project is among those that will bolster President Joe Biden's agenda for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Work started last year in New Mexico following years of negotiations that resulted in approval from the Bureau of Land Management. The route in New Mexico was modified after the U.S. Defense Department raised concerns about the effects of high-voltage lines on radar systems and military training operations.
In Arizona, work was halted briefly in November amid pleas by tribes to review environmental approvals for the San Pedro Valley. Construction resumed weeks later in what Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon M. Jose characterized as "a punch to the gut."
During the March hearing, lawyers accused the federal government of stringing the tribes along with insinuations that more work would be done to survey the valley.
Hilary Tompkins, an attorney for Pattern Energy, described the consultation process over the last decade as comprehensive and said the plaintiffs had ample opportunities to raise their concerns.
"As construction continues, we remain committed to engaging in an open, good-faith effort to advance the goals of cultural resources protection, environmental stewardship and the clean energy transition," she said Tuesday.
The transmission line also is being challenged before the Arizona Court of Appeals. The court is being asked to consider whether state regulatory officials properly considered the benefits and consequences of the project.
Suspect arrested after allegedly killing a man at a northern New Mexico rest stop, stealing cars — Associated Press
A suspect has been arrested after allegedly killing a man at a northern New Mexico rest area, stealing a vehicle at knifepoint and leading state police on a car chase, authorities said Tuesday.
Police said 21-year-old Dorien Ray was arrested Monday on suspicion of numerous charges including first-degree murder, armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Ray allegedly was driving a car reported stolen from Aurora, Colorado, when he stopped around 7 a.m. at a rest stop in Colfax County south of Raton.
Ray is accused of fatally stabbing a 79-year-old man while the victim's wife was in the bathroom, State Police said.
The Colorado couple was headed to Arizona before Ray drove off in their car.
The woman told police that the vehicle was gone when she came out of the bathroom, and her husband was on the ground covered in blood.
A State Police officer spotted the stolen vehicle on Interstate 25 in San Miguel County, and Ray was arrested after the pursuit ended.
Ray is from McComb, Mississippi, according to a criminal complaint.
Ray did not have an attorney assigned to his case as of Tuesday. But authorities said he should have a public defender at his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Vasquez calls out Republicans for ‘inaction’ on border policy - By Susan Dunlap, New Mexico Political Report
Democratic U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez who represents the 2nd Congressional District along the border, cosponsored a resolution yesterday calling out Republicans for inaction on border policy.
New Mexico Political Report’s Susan Dunlap reports the resolution says border policies have not been updated in nearly 40 years, and that the right to seek asylum is a central pillar in the U.S. immigration system. It also urges cooperation among jurisdictions and says that the U.S. should fully fund resources for immigration.
Vasquez says reform would help local economies by filling gaps in the workforce in fields like nursing, education, infrastructure and farm work. He said moderate Republicans need to be able to negotiate without “fear of retribution by their own party.”
Republicans have criticized Democrats over immigration issues. Vasquez is considered to be one of the most vulnerable Democrats in this year’s elections.
City plans to install 50 pallet homes at former MVD site - By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
The Albuquerque City Council agreed to allocate about a fifth of the opioid settlement funds the city has received toward developing a transitional housing campus for recovery featuring pallet homes.
City Desk ABQ’s Damon Scott reports the $5 million-dollar allocation passed in a 5-to-4 vote at a meeting yesterday.
The campus would include 50 pallet homes to be used for temporary housing and treatment for those experiencing addiction and homelessness.
City officials and advocates say the demand for housing like this is critical. Many in need of such services end up at already-strained overnight shelters that don’t offer addiction treatment.
The city says the $5 million-dollars goes towards the pallet homes, site preparation, and two years of operations.
The city now has the green light to purchase the pallet homes. It will also need to draft a contract for opioid treatment services before residents can move in.
Former transport officer sentenced to 30 years for raping NM detainee and others - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
A former prisoner transport officer for a private company has been sentenced to 30 years for raping multiple women who were detained awaiting trial. One of the survivors was being transported from Santa Fe, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The Office of U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez announced yesterday that Marquet Johnson will also serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Johnson previously admitted to raping a woman who was detained pending trial while transporting her from New Mexico to Colorado in 2019. Johnson worked for Inmate Services Corporation, driving people arrested elsewhere back to the state that issued their warrant.
According to the announcement, while stopped at a New Mexico gas station, Johnson threatened the woman with a “dangerous weapon” while sexually assaulting her in the back of the van after his partner stepped away.
Uballez’s Office says Johnson also admitted to raping two more women detained pending trial in other states while transporting them that same year.
Uballez said in a statement that “criminal defendants have a right to be treated with dignity,” and that a badge will not shield officers from justice who abuse their positions.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office investigated the case.
New Mexico sees drop in immigrants making it an outlier – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
New Mexico is the only state in the country to experience a decrease in its immigrant population over the last decade.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that the number of people born outside the country rose to more than 45 million between 2018 and 2022. That’s nearly 14% of the U.S. population.
In New Mexico, just over 9% of people were born in other countries — down from almost 10% in 2010.
University of New Mexico Associate Professor Loren Collingwood told the Journal it’s more likely the immigrant population has held constant, given the state’s small population and the margin of error. But, he added, the economy here is not as strong as California and Texas.
Chris Erickson, director of the Center for Border Economic Development at New Mexico State University, said the number of undocumented immigrants may have been under-reported. Many undocumented people may not want to talk to census workers. But, he added, the numbers here also reflect an economy with less disposable income compared to the national average.