Northern New Mexico Plagued By Smoky Air Due To Wildfire – Associated Press
Residents in northern New Mexico are waking up Monday morning to smoky air mostly due to wildfires in California.
An air quality alert from Albuquerque environmental regulators deeming the air's current state as unhealthy remains in effect until noon.
While particulate levels are expected to decline later in the day, the ozone levels could rise.
The City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department advises that people avoid vigorous physical activity outside and stay indoors as much as possible.
Jeff Stonesifer, who oversees air pollution programming for Albuquerque, told KOAT-TV that this is the worst smoke he's seen since the Wallow Fire a decade ago.
He says there's been no rain or thunderstorms to disrupt the path of particulates from the wildfire so they can linger.
Officials say they may extend the alert.
Albuquerque Matches Record Number Of Homicides This Year - Associated Press
With more than four months remaining, Albuquerque has already matched a record number of homicides this year within the city limits.
City police said the homicide total hit 81 early Sunday. That's equivalent to the record set in 2019, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The total dropped to 77 in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the city isn't alone in seeing a tremendous spike in violence in 2021.
Data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association showed that in the first six months of 2021, 45 cities out of the 66 that responded to a survey saw more homicides than in the first six months of 2019.
The percentages range from a 12% increase in Kansas City, Missouri, to a 350% increase in Mesa, Arizona.
Tucson has seen 57 homicides so far this year, compared with 34 at this time last year.
According to Tucson police, the city’s highest number of homicides was 74 in 2009 and the department expects to surpass that total this year.
New Mexico Customers Sound Alarm Over Major Utility Merger – Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico customers are sounding the alarm over a proposed multibillion-dollar merger of the state's largest electric utility provider with a U.S. subsidiary of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, citing a sordid track record of reliability and customer service.
They voiced their concerns during a virtual hearing Monday as state regulators prepare to hear from attorneys and experts representing Public Service Co. of New Mexico, Connecticut-based Avangrid and other groups that have intervened in a case that has the potential to change the way electricity is generated and distributed in the state.
The companies have been running television, radio and newspaper ads in an effort to win more support.
Some politicians, environmental groups and labor union bosses have signed on, but others say regulators need to consider Avangrid and Iberdrola’s histories when it comes to providing reliable service in other states and parts of Latin America where they operate.
Critics also pointed to Avangrid's efforts to rollback provisions of a rooftop solar program in Maine.
"We feel past performance is a better indicator of future performance than ads and promises,” said Paul Gibson, co-founder of the statewide advocacy group Retake Our Democracy.
Gibson and others listed poor rankings for Avangrid's utility in Maine and noted that the company has been hit with millions of dollars in penalties and regulatory enforcement actions.
Even a member of Maine's legislature has warned New Mexico regulators about approving the merger.
Spanish officials also announced in June that Iberdrola executives would be investigated over alleged bribery, breach of privacy and fraud. The company has maintained that the executives did nothing wrong.
A hearing examiner for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission had blasted Avangrid and Iberdrola earlier this year for failing to disclose information about the problems elsewhere.
Avangrid has dismissed the criticisms, saying PNM will remain a New Mexico-based utility with "strong ties and responsiveness to the communities and people it serves."
Supporters, including statewide business groups, say Avangrid and Iberdrola could drive more renewable energy development in the state.
Experts have suggested that New Mexico could serve as a platform for producing power that could be exported to larger markets, but critics worry the state's customers would be reduced to a secondary consideration for Avangrid and Iberdrola as they look to expand their renewable energy holdings.
When asked how it would work to ensure that New Mexico customers are protected, Attorney General Hector Balderas' office said in a statement Monday that it “will enforce the law and demand improved customer service.” Balderas, a Democrat, has come under fire for his connections to one of the New Mexico-based attorneys hired by Iberdrola and for dropping his opposition to the deal.
Balderas has argued that recent concessions by the companies will result in more economic benefits for Indigenous communities and workers. On Monday, he said the state can't afford to miss “a historic opportunity to modernize our energy infrastructure for both production and distribution.”
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has voiced her support, saying the merger would help New Mexico meet its mandate for having carbon-free electricity generation in the next two decades.
Nora Meyers Sackett, the governor's spokeswoman, said in an email Monday that anything that contributes to generating renewable energy to combat climate change and establishing meaningful economic opportunities in affected communities is welcome.
However, she added that anything that would harm New Mexicans now or in the future or result in residents being anything less than a first priority would be problematic.
“The governor’s expectation is that the PRC, as an independent body, will rigorously and thoroughly vet the proposal as to the prospective benefits and/or drawbacks New Mexicans could expect," she said. “Like all interested New Mexicans, she will continue to follow the course of the application as well as constructive professional and public feedback.”
The hearing will wrap up later this month, but it could be early fall before regulators make a final decision.
Prosecutors Offer Plea Deal To Cowboys For Trump Founder – Associated Press
Federal prosecutors have offered a confidential plea agreement to Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin that might resolve misdemeanor criminal charges against him linked to the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, according to discussions at a Monday court hearing in Washington.
The county commissioner from New Mexico still denies federal charges that he knowingly entering barricaded areas of the Capitol grounds with the intent of disrupting government as Congress considered the 2020 Electoral College results.
Griffin reached an outside terrace of the Capitol without entering the building and used a bullhorn to try to lead a tumultuous crowd in prayer. He was arrested after his return to Washington to oppose President Joe Biden's inauguration.
Griffin's case inched toward trial in U.S. District Court in Washington as federal prosecutors have introduced vast troves of evidence about the Capitol siege from security cameras, police lapel recordings and social media posts.
The charges against Griffin carry a maximum prison sentence of one year and implications for Griffin's future in public office.
As a first-term commissioner in southern New Mexico's Otero County, Griffin faces a petition drive to to recall him from office with a special election and a probe by state prosecutors of allegations that Griffin used his public office in coordination with Cowboys for Trump for personal financial gain.
Griffin forged a group of rodeo acquaintances in 2019 into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump that staged horseback parades to spread President Donald Trump's conservative message about gun rights, immigration controls and abortion restrictions.
Universities Lead Vaccine Push For Young New Mexicans – Associated Press
Universities and colleges across New Mexico appear to be getting COVID-19 shots to young people at higher rates than the general public.
With and without vaccine mandates, leaders of colleges and universities say they’re on track to increasing vaccination rates on the state's campuses to levels far higher than their surrounding communities.
The state’s largest public universities announced vaccine mandates last week, requiring virtually all students and staff to be vaccinated by the end of September, a few weeks into the fall semester.
The University of New Mexico system, the state's largest, said it’s already vaccinated 48% of students, higher than the state average for the 18-24 age group, which is 42%.
People traveling to campus who opt out through medical or religious exemptions must undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
In the state’s rural, conservative southeast, one Christian college says it’s having success vaccinating students without a mandate.
“I suspect we’ll probably be 80% to 90% vaccinated by the time the term starts,” said University of the Southwest Dean Ryan Tipton.
That’s an ambitious goal in Lea County, where the college is located and where the adult vaccination rate stands at 43%.
About half of the campus’ approximately 375 students were vaccinated by the end of the spring term, after being driven to clinics in groups of 20, Tipton said.
He said athletes were the first to line up for vaccines because of the perk of competing without wearing masks. Students who share dorm rooms are also required to be vaccinated, meaning they must do so if they do not want to pay for more expensive single dorm rooms.
Many incoming freshmen are reporting that they have already been vaccinated, Tipton said.
Larger universities are turning to mandates, as they try to vaccinate students by the thousands.
“We are about to put 20,000 people in a blender and some of them are not going to be vaccinated without this policy,” University of New Mexico regent William Payne recently said. He joined a unanimous vote by the university system's board of regents approving vaccination mandate.
New Mexico State University, centered in Las Cruces, followed suit.
St. Johns College, a small private college in Santa Fe, will also require all returning students to be vaccinated, with exceptions for specific health conditions and sincerely held religious beliefs, said a college spokesperson, Mike O’Connor.
Highlands University, in Las Vegas, New Mexico has not yet announced a plan. Officials at the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology met to discuss COVID-19 measures Monday.
New Mexico Congresswoman Renews Request For Border Help – Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell has renewed her call for Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to deploy the New Mexico National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border.
As the lone Republican member of the state’s congressional delegation, Herrell has been a supporter of the border wall and immigration reform. In her latest request, she cited an increase in COVID-19 infections amid high levels of summer border crossings.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently renewed emergency powers that allow federal authorities to expel families at the border on the grounds it prevents the spread of the coronavirus.
“The situation is dire, and the Biden administration continues to ignore the crisis they have created,” Herrell wrote. “States must step up to the plate and do what the Biden administration will not and supplement the existing federal resources at the border. Instead of placing unscientific mandates and restrictions on New Mexicans, we ask you to work to blunt the surge at our border that shows no end in sight.”
The letter was also signed by Republican colleagues from Texas, Arizona, Florida and Virginia.
Herrell made her first request in April in response to large increases of traffic at the border. At the time, she said Border Patrol agents were overworked and under-supplied.
The congresswoman, whose district covers all of southern New Mexico, is asking Lujan Grisham to join her for a visit to Luna and Hidalgo counties to see “how this situation is affecting our farmers, ranchers, and ordinary citizens.”
Nora Meyers Sackett, the governor’s spokeswoman, suggested that Herrell's concerns were partisan and based on disinformation. She also said the state National Guard has been engaged in pandemic-related missions — from staffing testing sites and helping at vaccine clinics to delivering food, water and personal protective equipment.
The governor’s office did not respond to Herrell’s request for a joint visit to the border, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
Lujan Grisham visited the border soon after taking office. But Herrell said in her letter that she is disheartened that the governor hasn't visited more recently.
New Mexico Officials Urge Employers To Require Vaccinations - Associated Press
New Mexico's Democratic governor and dozens of other elected officials are urging the state's business community to require that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or alternatively undergo regular testing.
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Those steps are necessary to stop the current increased spread of the coronavirus as infections increase, according to the letter released Friday and sent to employers and business groups.
The 28 signers include Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham., U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez and Melanie Stansbury but not U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, the congressional delegation's sole Republican member.
University of New Mexico law professor Josh Kastenberg said union agreements, religious beliefs and medical conditions could limit what employers do in regard to their employees but refusing service to unvaccinated customers would pose no legal issue.
Ex-mayor Convicted In Corruption Case Ordered To Apologize - Associated Press
A former northern New Mexico mayor has been ordered to apologize to Las Vegas city officials and contractors as part of her sentence in a corruption case.
District Judge Abigail Aragon on Friday ordered ex-Mayor Tonita Gurule-Giron to publicly apologize and write letters of apology to city employees and contractors impacted by her interfering in city contracts to benefit her boyfriend.
Aragon also sentenced Gurule-Giron to 18 months probation and ordered her to complete 40 hours of community service and pay $1,000 in restitution.
Gurule-Giron served as Las Vegas’ mayor from 2016 until her resignation in January 2020, after charges were filed in December 2019 following lengthy investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.
Albuquerque Matches Record Number Of Homicides This Year - Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal
With more than four months remaining, Albuquerque has already matched a record number of homicides this year within the city limits.
City police said the homicide total hit 81 early Sunday. That's equivalent to the record set in 2019, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The total dropped to 77 in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the city isn't alone in seeing a tremendous spike in violence in 2021.
Data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association showed that in the first six months of 2021, 45 cities out of the 66 that responded to a survey saw more homicides than in the first six months of 2019.