New Mexico governor signs state House redistricting measure - Associated Press
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed legislation to redraw election boundaries for seats in the New Mexico House of Representatives.
The Democrat signed the measure Wednesday, calling it a "sound map that is representative and respectful of New Mexico's varied communities of interest."
Republicans disagree. They have argued that the maps approved by the Democrat-led Legislature are partisan and far from fair representation. They contend that the voices of rural residents, conservative Democrats and independents will be marginalized.
The legislation was approved during a special session earlier this month in which lawmakers also carved new districts for the state Senate and New Mexico's three congressional districts.
The session marked the first time in 30 years that Democrats controlled both legislative chambers and the governor's office during the redistricting process. Past plans have repeatedly ended up in court, and Republicans have indicated they are considering legal action.
The House map is expected to give Democrats an edge in about 45 of 70 seats; they already hold a 45-24 advantage, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The new districts drew fierce criticism from Republicans because of its effect on veteran GOP lawmaker Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert of Corrales. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that she was pushed into a new and heavily Democratic district, lessening her chances of winning her next election.
Powdrell-Culbert, one of the Legislature's few Black lawmakers, said after the special session that redistricting will affect New Mexico for years to come. She urged her colleagues to address the conflict.
Navajo council votes to send big checks to tribal members - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation's tribal council has voted to send $2,000 checks to each qualified adult and $600 for each child using $557 million in federal coronavirus relief funds.
The council's vote to send the checks to about 350,000 tribal members still needs approval by Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez to take effect. Nez has approved previous rounds of relief checks using money from federal coronavirus relief funds. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Thursday.
Wednesday's 18-2 vote during a special session of the tribe's lawmaking body will tap some of the approximately $2.1 billion the tribe is receiving from President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan Act. The payments will be automatically sent to tribal members living on or off the reservation who applied for relief funds under a previous round of hardship assistance payments.
"It has been over 8 months since President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act and our Navajo people should not suffer another day without knowing how their government will assist them as they suffer from grief, mental health and financial hardship," Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty said in a statement.
An estimated 250,000 adults will each receive $2,000 payments and parents or guardians of 95,000 tribal members under age 18 with receive $600 for each child.
"A second allocation of hardship assistance payments ... will allow our relatives to purchase essential winter supplies like gasoline, firewood, and food now," Crotty said.
Earlier this month, a Council committee met to consider how to spend $1.2 billion in virus relief funds. They discussed spending the money on a large number of infrastructure projects and on $207 million in payments Nez had agreed to provide.
Nez will have 10 days after formally receiving the legislation to veto or sign it.
Storm damage prompts emergency declaration for Taos County - Associated Press
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency in Taos County after a recent snow squall and heavy winds blew down swaths of trees, damaged homes and knocked out power to some areas in the northern New Mexico county.
The emergency declaration provides up to $750,000 for the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to support recovery efforts organized by local officials. Communities also could be eligible for other state assistance.
At the time, forecasters had reported a few inches of snow in Taos and wind gusts of more than 60 mph. According to the National Weather Service, winds peaked at 103 mph (165 kmh) in Taos Ski Valley.
Another storm is on its way, and officials in the town of Taos announced Wednesday that they were cancelling a New Year's Eve event on the plaza due to the weather warnings.
"If we experience anywhere near the same conditions as our last storm or those being predicted, town personnel normally involved in building the New Year's Eve event will be needed in a public safety capacity," the town posted on its Facebook page.
The emergency declaration signed by the governor also frees up the New Mexico National Guard to support state agencies as they respond to the recent storm damage.
Woman arrested on arson charge in fire at Islamic Center - Associated Press
Albuquerque police have arrested a woman sought on a warrant charging her with arson in a Nov. 29 fire at the Islamic Center of New Mexico.
The arrest warrant for Isela Camarena was issued Monday and she was arrested and booked into jail Wednesday.
According to court records, she's charged with arson involving damage over $2,500.
Local media reported that security video showed a woman setting a trash can's contents on fire, then pouring the burning trash on the ground and spread the burning material.
According to court documents, that person's actions threatened to set the building on fire.
Court records don't list a defense attorney for Camarena who could comment on the allegation against her.
New Mexico storm expected to cause severe driving conditions - Associated Press
Forecasters say a winter storm that will hit New Mexico on Friday and Saturday is expected to produce severe driving conditions due to high winds and drifting snow with heavy snow accumulations in the mountains.
"Widespread and significant impacts to holiday travel are expected," the weather service said in a statement Thursday.
While temperatures Friday will be low enough for valleys to get rainfall, "drastically colder air will arrive after midnight and allow any rain to change over to snow through Saturday morning," the weather service said.
Over the weekend, strong winds will combine with bitterly cold temperatures Saturday and Sunday to produce what the forecasters described as "dangerously cold wind chills."
Rural New Mexico school buys Starlink internet for students — Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press / Report for America
A school district in northwestern New Mexico is providing high-speed internet to students' families, most of whom are Indigenous, in a $1.2 million deal that leapfrogs piecemeal efforts by state and tribal officials.
Cuba Independent Schools superintendent Karen Sanchez-Griego said staff began installing Starlink's $500 receivers at students' homes in November and hope to connect all 450 families by the end of the school year.
Traditional fiber optic cables haven't been installed around Cuba because of the area's sparse population, lack of money, and crisscrossing red tape from tribal, federal, and state agencies that have to approve digging.
New Mexico education officials were ordered by a court in April to provide high-speed internet to students in Cuba and other areas but haven't done so.
Wi-Fi hotspots from the state didn't work well in remote areas far from cellphone towers. Education officials are planning on purchasing Starlink units for around 1,000 families around the state but haven't specified a timeline for doing it.
"Our kids can't wait," said Sanchez-Griego, adding that the investment is funded by federal relief money that will eventually run out paying for $100 monthly internet fees. "Our hope is that the state will come through."
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Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitter.
New Mexico sees drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations—Associated Press
Fewer people are being hospitalized now in New Mexico due to COVID-19 infections, according to state data.
The New Mexico Department of Health reported Tuesday there were just over 460 coronavirus patients in hospitals around the state. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the number marks a drop of more than one-third since Dec. 9, when the state hit an 11-month peak that topped 700 patients.
State health officials and executives with some of New Mexico's largest health care providers have acknowledged that the majority of patients keeping hospitals busy over recent months have been those with medical emergencies and other illnesses unrelated to COVID-19.
Even before the pandemic, the state also had a very low availability of hospital beds and struggled with recruiting nurses.
New Mexico now also ranks in the bottom half of states when it comes to COVID-19 cases per capita over the last week.
The state also reported 22 additional deaths Tuesday. More than half of them were among people 70 and older and just seven of them happened in the last 30 days. The remainder happened earlier, but death certificates weren’t processed until recently.
Health officials have reported 5,796 coronavirus-related deaths in New Mexico since the pandemic began.
New Mexico advocates renew push for juvenile justice bill — Associated Press
It seemed likely that Michael Brown, 44, would die in prison.
He was tried as an adult in 1995 and convicted by a jury on first-degree murder and other charges in the stabbing death of his grandparents. He was 16 but sentenced as a violent youthful offender to life plus 41 years, ensuring he would spend at least 71 years in prison.
Then, in November, a state district judge amended Brown's sentence making him eligible for parole in February 2024 after he has served 30 years in prison.
"Michael went to prison around the time that I was born," Brown's attorney, Denali Wilson, 28, told the Albuquerque Journal. "That's the way we're handling these cases in New Mexico, and that can't be the way we respond to harm caused by children."
Wilson and other advocates for youthful offenders are pushing for legislation that would abolish life without parole for juveniles sentenced as adults.
The proposed "Second Chance" bill would make juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. If parole is denied, the request would be reconsidered by the parole board every two years.
Wilson, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, estimates that Brown is one of 75 people in New Mexico serving long adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as children.
The proposal is similar to Senate Bill 247, which the chamber passed 28-11 in March 2021. The legislative session ended before the House could consider the bill.
The bill's co-sponsor, Democrat Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez of Albuquerque, has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to include the measure in her call for the 2022 regular session.
The governor's office said no decision have been made about whether to include it on the agenda.
The New Mexico Attorney General's Office voiced opposition earlier this year to some portions of the bill, citing an outcry from crime victims. Jerri Mares, a spokeswoman for the office, said victims and their families should be included in any discussions about the bill.
Sedillo Lopez said a state law is needed to provide consistency to the way state judges handle serious crimes committed by juveniles.
She also said the bill is not a "get out of jail free card" for criminal offenders. The decision to release would rest with a parole board.
The measure also would also provide young offenders with incentive to change, demonstrate good behavior in prison, and reform their lives, she said, noting that she believes "children have an enormous capacity for change."
Albuquerque chief pleas for hit-and-run driver to surrender — Associated Press
Albuquerque's police chief wants a hit-and-run driver who is accused of striking a man and his young son earlier this month to surrender.
The little boy, Pronoy Bhattacharya, was killed.
Chief Harold Medina released a video on Wednesday saying Sergio Almanza "chose to drink, he chose to drive, he chose to speed down Albuquerque streets, run a red light and strike a 7-year-old."
He urged Almanza to turn himself in, saying police had reviewed his social media and know he too has young children and would want justice if one of them were injured.
Almanza was allegedly driving an off-road vehicle on Des. 12 when he ran a red light and struck the boy and his father. He then fled the scene.
New Mexico utility adds electric vehicles to fleet — Associated Press
New Mexico's largest electric provider received a few more electric vehicles this week and reiterated its commitment Wednesday to building its fleet over the coming years.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico announced that it now has 38 electric vehicles with three more on order. Spokeswoman Shannon Jackson said the utility would have more but supply issues with vehicle manufacturers have been a limiting factor.
About 8% of PNM's fleet is now electric, and the utility has plans to grow that by 5% each year. The current goal is a minimum 10% of all new units to be electric for 2022 and at least half the fleet to be electric by 2030.
Nearly three dozen PNM vehicles are being wrapped with clean energy messages and images of solar panels and wind turbines. The utility said the new look is aimed at demonstrating PNM's vision for a carbon-free future by 2040.
Under New Mexico's Energy Transition Act, investor-owned utilities like PNM have until 2045 to be 100% carbon-free. Electric cooperatives have five years more to meet the state mandate.
PNM also recently joined the National Electric Highway Coalition, which plans to build fast-charging ports along major U.S. travel corridors.
The utility currently has 34 charging stations installed to charge its electric vehicle fleet on PNM property throughout the state. Overall, New Mexico has 167 public charging stations with nearly 400 charge ports, PNM said.