New Mexico education official seeks $6M budget increase - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report For America
The New Mexico Public Education Department is asking state lawmakers for a $6.7 million budget increase, citing the need to address an ongoing lawsuit that centers on accusations that the state is failing to meet constitutional obligations to provide essential educational opportunities to all students.
State Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus is expected to release an action plan next month that would address parts of the legal challenge. Nearly $5 million of the budget increase would fund compliance with state court orders related to the lawsuit.
Most legislative funding for education, around $3 billion each year, goes directly to school districts. Additional funding comes from the state's large endowment fund, which has grown in recent decades thanks to oil royalties and market investments.
The Public Education Department also oversees the distribution of federal funds, including $1 billion this year in pandemic relief. Steinhaus told members of the Legislative Finance Committee that the biggest need is staff to help with the management of the funds.
His request to boost the agency's budget from $14.5 million to $21 million would include the hiring of at least 33 employees.
"I realize that's a large request," he told legislators, adding he believes it's the "bare minimum."
Legislators asked Steinhaus why the department wants money for more positions when around a quarter of the funded positions in the department are unfilled.
"You have 59 positions that you're funding for that are not filled and now you're wanting 33 more and I just guess my question is why?" said Rep. Candie Sweetser, a Democrat from the state's rural southwest.
Steinhaus said he had the same question when he became education secretary three months ago. He said he has filled staffing roles in the hiring department of his agency and has dozens of interviews being set up.
He insisted that he needs the staff to monitor a growing set of state and federal programs and funds. "And so, I am confident that I can build a team of people with that extra funding that can meet those requirements."
One member of the Legislature questioned the need for a $102,000-per year position listed in the budget as an "equity specialist."
"What's a priority in my district is less administrative overhead and more certified personnel in the classroom," said Rep. Phelps Anderson, of Roswell, a former Republican who became an independent in February.
Richardson adds to diplomatic wins with journalist's release - By Will Weissert And Eric Tucker Associated Press
Bill Richardson's success in helping secure journalist Danny Fenster's release from a Myanmar prison is the latest demonstration of the former New Mexico governor's knack for flying into some of the most closed societies on earth and persuading those in charge to do Washington a favor.
From Iraq to Sudan to North Korea, Richardson has repeatedly proven willing to talk with dictators, military juntas and reclusive strongmen — forging relationships with notorious regimes outside formal diplomatic channels.
"I think there was a certain amount of trust between myself and the commanding general," Richardson told reporters in New York on Tuesday, referring to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's ruler. "I treated him with respect, he treated me with respect."
Richardson's missions have often come with the blessing of Democratic presidents, though their open public endorsement is rarer until after the fact. Striking that balance allows foreign officials to believe they are talking to someone who can be an informal conduit to top U.S. authorities even as the administration says publicly it won't negotiate with rogue states.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Tuesday, "We appreciate efforts by all partners, including Gov. Richardson, who helped secure Danny's release."
Before Richardson intervened, Fenster, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, spent nearly six months in jail and was sentenced last week to 11 years of hard labor.
The former governor was initially criticized by some human rights activists for visiting Myanmar earlier this month, making him the highest-profile American to visit the country since its ruling military junta overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February.
Richardson countered Tuesday by suggesting that though he was attacked for bestowing legitimacy with a photo-op, what he was really doing was laying the groundwork for Fenster's release.
"I plead guilty to photo-ops and getting human beings rescued and improving the lives of human beings," said Richardson, who spent his 74th birthday on Monday flying with Fenster from Myanmar to Doha, Qatar, before traveling on to New York.
Richardson was the Democratic governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. The bilingual son of an American father and Mexican mother, he grew up in Mexico City and pitched for Tufts University's baseball team.
He's also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, energy secretary and congressman who served on the House Intelligence Committee. Some of his most prominent global work began in December 1994, when he was visiting North Korean nuclear sites and word came that an American helicopter pilot had been downed and his co-pilot killed.
The Clinton White House enlisted Richardson's help and, after days of tough negotiations, the then-congressman accompanied the remains of Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon while paving the way for Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall to return home.
The following year, and after a personal appeal from Richardson, Saddam Hussein freed two Americans who had been imprisoned for four months, charged with illegally crossing into Iraq from Kuwait. In 2006, he helped secure the release of Paul Salopek, a then-Chicago Tribune correspondent who was jailed in Sudan.
Richardson has been involved in other high-profile prisoner releases more recently, including the 2014 freeing of U.S. Marine reservist Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who had been imprisoned for crossing into Mexico with loaded guns.
"I have chosen to reach out to him on every single case I have worked on," said Jonathan Franks, a consultant who has collaborated with Richardson multiple times on efforts to free wrongful detainees. "Part of that is he is willing to do stuff that the government either can't or won't."
Franks described Richardson as invaluable in representing the interests of Navy veteran Michael White, who was ultimately released by Iran last year in a deal trumpeted by the Trump administration — including by regularly checking in with White's mother and by passing along messages and requests about his welfare.
In Fenster's case, Richardson said he'd been in "constant constant constant constant" contact with the State Department, which initially urged him not to bring up the jailed journalist because "efforts were being made on other fronts." Richardson said he respected that at first, but later raised Fenster's release as a way to help make progress on separate humanitarian matters.
"I made the pitch on behalf of their people — humanitarian issues, vaccines," Richardson said. "I said, 'Let's find ways to help the people and maybe I can help with the U.N. agencies, with member countries, donor countries.'"
Richardson briefly ran for president in 2008, becoming the first Hispanic candidate with a legitimate shot at the White House. He produced political ads recalling his 1995 visit to Baghdad and work to help free the two Americans, one of whom was from Iowa, whose caucus kicks off presidential primary voting. In a contest dominated by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, however, Richardson's presidential campaign didn't resonate with voters.
Richardson's informal diplomatic efforts haven't always panned out either.
In 1995, he left Burma frustrated after its military junta refused to allow him to visit detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2011, Richardson traveled to Cuba to try to see a jailed American contractor. He was denied access to Alan Gross, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bringing unauthorized communications equipment onto the island, and left saying he felt the Cuban government wasn't serious about trying to improve relations with the U.S.
Gross was released three years later on humanitarian grounds.
Still, that Richardson can focus exclusively on the release of a captive American, rather than broader geopolitical considerations, is a particular benefit, Franks noted, especially in places where the U.S. has frayed or nonexistent diplomatic ties.
"If the goal is to bring the American home no matter what, and to do so sort of unencumbered by politics or bureaucracy or any of the other things that kind of fall along with the government," he said, "sometimes it's just easier, I guess, for some of these folks to chat with him than it is to chat with US government."
New Mexico utility executives tout merger to state lawmakers - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
New Mexico utility officials on Tuesday touted millions of dollars in economic development benefits and customer savings if state regulators approve a multibillion-dollar merger with a subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola.
Two executives with Public Service Co. of New Mexico testified before a panel of legislators, hoping to win more favor for the contested proposal as regulators prepare to weigh whether the deal is in the best interest of the public. Among other things, they said the merger would result in 150 new jobs, greater purchasing power for the utility and a better credit rating for financing $4 billion in investments that will be needed over the next few years.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the panel raised questions about reliability and customer service issues in other states where the subsidiary — Connecticut-based Avangrid — operates electric utilities.
In recommending that the merger be rejected as proposed, a hearing examiner with the state Public Regulation Commission recently found that the potential downsides of the deal outweigh the benefits and that regulators would have to include provisions to protect customers and ensure reliability.
Don Tarry, PNM's senior vice president and chief financial officer, told lawmakers Tuesday that the companies would agree to those provisions outlined by the hearing examiner, including penalties if the utility misses benchmarks for providing electricity to customers.
He said reliability is at the core of PNM's mission, and the utility has to balance that with mandates for environmental protection and how the price tag ultimately affects customers.
"We're very aware we're not a wealthy state, and so there's got to be a balance as you transition," he said, referring to the goal of being emissions-free over the next two decades.
Sayuri Yamada, PNM's executive director of government and public affairs, said the utility is constantly modeling what sources of electricity it will be able to tap to meet state mandates, remain reliable and limit the cost for customers. She noted that the utility is working on a proposal now to replace the electricity that will be lost if regulators approve the transfer of PNM's share in the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant to a Navajo energy company.
"It's not a straight line," she said. "People think from here to zero carbon is from A to B, but I think there's lots of different pathways we're going to have to take a look at. This is all new for all of us. It's something that all the states and all the utilities are challenged with."
Sen. Bill Tallman, an Albuquerque Democrat, said he wasn't buying the executives' promises and pointed to the more than $1 million PNM has poured into television, radio and newspaper advertisements touting the merger. He said he grows more suspicious with each ad he sees.
Tallman also reiterated the concerns of other critics who have suggested that Avangrid and Iberdrola want to acquire PNM as a way to gain a foothold in New Mexico to develop its wind and solar resources and sell that power to larger markets in the West.
Tarry responded that if the merger adds to New Mexico's tax base, boosts renewables and benefits the West, he's supportive. If the merger is approved, Tarry would serve as the utility's new CEO and president.
Navajo Nation reports 17 more COVID-19 cases, but no deaths - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Monday reported 17 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, but no deaths.
The latest numbers pushed the tribe's total to 38,352 cases since the pandemic started.
The number of known deaths remains at 1,514.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has urged residents of the vast reservation to be careful when traveling to neighboring cities and states where safety measures aren't always as strict.
The tribe has maintained a mask mandate through most of the pandemic.
The reservation covers 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and extends into parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
New Mexico agency investigating killing of bear near Taos -Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
New Mexico authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a bear with arrows along a road near Taos.
Game and Fish Department spokesman James Pitman told the Albuquerque Journal that the killing occurred Oct. 29.
Pitman said bear hunting was in season then but that it's illegal to shoot an animal on the edge of a public road.
Pitman said the department identified a suspect but not yet filed a case report.
No information was available on the bear's gender or size.
Film crew union narrowly approves contract with producers - By Andrew Dalton Ap Entertainment Writer
Film industry crew members have narrowly voted to approve a pair of contracts with Hollywood producers after a standoff that came within days of a strike that would have halted productions across the U.S., union leaders said Monday.
The agreements passed 56% to 44% among delegates from the 36 local unions of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees in the voting system that resembles the U.S. Electoral College.
But in the popular vote, 50.3% said yes and 49.7% no to the two contracts combined of the 45,000 members who cast a ballot in voting held from Friday through Sunday. And the larger of the two contracts, which primarily covers film and TV production on the West Coast, actually lost the popular vote by a narrow margin.
The razor-thin totals stood in contrast to the last vote from union members, in which 98% approved giving union leaders the authority to call a strike.
"We were very fired up, that really gassed up the membership, we were ready to strike," said Brandy Tannahill, who works as a grip setting up lighting equipment on sets.
A victorious "no" vote would have reopened negotiations and brought back the possibility of a work stoppage.
There was relief among many members when the three-year deal was reached with producers on Oct. 16, two days before a strike deadline.
But many others were disillusioned with the details, saying the contracts didn't go far enough to address issues like long workdays that may lack breaks or lunch, and the debilitating fatigue it causes.
Veteran stagehand Jason Fitzgerald said in an email after the results were announced that he was "Disappointed. Disgusted. Sold out by leadership. Not surprised."
Tannahill said that membership was "left in the dark" immediately after the agreement was reached.
"It was very frustrating to see the strike was called off without us seeing any of the tentative agreements in the contract," she said.
A late series of unsanctioned, grass-roots town halls organized by Tannahill and other members and other unofficial communications on what was in the contracts and how a strike and further negotiations would work shifted the momentum, though not in time to change the outcome.
"I think if we had to redo this election, it would be an overwhelming no," Tannahill said.
The vote also took place in the shadow of the shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the New Mexico set of the film "Rust."
Alec Baldwin, the film's star-producer who fired the gun, called it a "one-in-a-trillion event," but many felt like the incident was emblematic of the industry's corner-cutting and critical flaws.
According to the union, core safety and economic issues are addressed in the proposed agreements covering workers on film and TV productions.
"Our goal was to achieve fair contracts that work for IATSE members in television and film — that address quality-of-life issues and conditions on the job like rest and meal breaks," IATSE International President Matthew Loeb said in a statement. "We met our objectives for this round of bargaining and built a strong foundation for future agreements."
The agreements include across-the-board wage increases and increased compensation paid by streaming services, who had long been allowed lower pay rates, union leaders said.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios and other production entities, said in a statement that "throughout the negotiations, IATSE leadership advocated changes to improved quality of life" and the "agreements meaningfully reflect the industry's endorsement of those priorities and keep everyone working."
IATSE represents about 150,000 behind-the-scenes workers, including stagehands, cinematographers, costumers and others employed in all forms of entertainment, from movies and TV to theater, concerts, trade shows and broadcasting.