Navajo ads highlight unsolved homicide, missing person cases – Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Federal authorities are taking to the airwaves to call attention to unsolved homicide and missing person cases on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. as several states are starting to funnel more resources and investigators toward solving such cases.
The FBI on Tuesday announced it's running a 60-second radio ad in the Navajo language to call attention to what family members and advocacy groups have described as a crisis that is affecting Indian Country.
Airing twice a day on an AM radio station broadcasting from the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Arizona, the spot features a plea from the mother of Lee Michael Pahe, who was found fatally shot last summer in Naschitti, New Mexico.
“You don’t have to understand Navajo to feel the emotion of the mother who speaks about the loss of her son in this ad,” Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said in a statement. “Violent crime affects everyone the same way, and everyone deserves justice."
The radio spot comes as New Mexico implements legislation adopted earlier this year to ensure more effective coordination among law enforcement agencies when it comes to missing Native Americans or unsolved homicides. State Attorney General Hector Balderas has met with victims regarding obstacles to reporting, investigation and other issues that they have experienced.
From Arizona to Wisconsin, many states are taking action to address the crisis. In Washington, for example, officials there recently created a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system.
On the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, federal authorities hope listeners will come forward if they have any information about Pahe's case or the others the FBI and Navajo Nation law enforcement are investigating.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for his killing.
Pahe's mother, Sharon Lee-Begay, said her son was married and was a father and that she's relying on the compassion of fellow Navajos in hopes of solving the case.
In March 2020, the FBI field offices in Albuquerque and Phoenix began issuing posters in the Navajo language asking for information about more than a dozen unsolved homicide and missing person cases. They began including audio clips in Navajo with the posters starting last February.
Judge clears way for New Mexico GOP redistricting challenge — Associated Press
A state district judge has cleared the way for the Republican Party of New Mexico to challenge a congressional map that divvies up a conservative area of the state into three congressional districts, rejecting a motion by Democrats who sought to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit by the GOP and seven allied plaintiffs holds implications for a congressional swing district in southern New Mexico where Republican Yvette Herrell ousted a first-term Democrat in the 2020 election.
District Judge Fred Van Soelen outlined his decision in two letters issued Tuesday. Despite the plaintiffs making what he described as a strong, well-developed case, the judge denied a preliminary injunction that sought to set aside the map ahead of the June 7 primary and the November general election.
"To require a change this late in the game would bring a level of chaos to the process that is not in the public's or candidates' interest," he wrote in his ruling.
Van Soelen also noted that the map at issue could potentially be used for the next five elections, until the next redistricting process in about 10 years, so the case will continue and the court will hear more arguments at a later date that could affect the elections after 2022.
Steve Pearce, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the case is not about politics but rather fairness.
"We want to ensure that all the voices of New Mexicans are protected and represented by these maps, regardless of their political beliefs," he said in a statement. "The court recognizes that we have strong evidence to support our claim of blatant illegal gerrymandering that rips apart communities of interest and disenfranchises voters across the state."
GOP attorney Christopher Murray had argued on Monday that the congressional map approved in December by the Democratic-led Legislature and signed by the state's Democratic governor is partisan, dilutes the conservative vote and violates state constitutional rights to impartial government.
He had urged the court to throw out the current voting map and implement one of two congressional map proposals endorsed last year by an advisory citizen redistricting committee. The committee's recommendations were not binding.
Attorneys for the Legislature and governor defended the state's new congressional map as properly vetted through the political process and warned the court against intervening and getting mired in a "thicket."
The governor's office and state elections officials said they were pleased with part of the judge's decision, saying the upcoming elections will be allowed to move ahead with the map endorsed by the governor and Democratic lawmakers.
Holly Agajanian, representing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the Republican Party hasn't adequately explained why it would be more fair to implement a map that wasn't endorsed by the Legislature and governor.
The Republican Party cited public comments by top Democratic legislators as evidence of partisan bias in decisions about boundaries of the 2nd District in southern New Mexico.
Democrats hold two of New Mexico's three congressional seats, command majorities in the state House and Senate and hold every statewide elected office.
New Mexico fines film company over Alec Baldwin shooting — Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of "Rust" where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.
New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.
"What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards," Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.
At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.
Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.
The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.
"The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. "Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries."
Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.
"While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.
Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation "exonerates Mr. Baldwin."
An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.
The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.
At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins' family against Baldwin and the movie's other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a "callous" disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.
James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.
Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.
Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer "was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively."
Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.
Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.
Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.
"This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something," he said.
Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.
New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.
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This story has been updated to correct the state workplace safety fine to $136,793 instead of $139,793.
Southwest wildfires force evacuations, tighten resources — Felecia Fonesca, Associated Press
An Arizona wildfire more than tripled in size as relentless winds pushed the flames through neighborhoods on the outskirts of a college and tourist town, keeping hundreds of residents away from their homes and destroying more than two dozen structures.
The blaze continued its run Wednesday through dry grass and scattered Ponderosa pines around homes into volcanic cinder fields, where roots underground can combust and send small rocks flying into the air, fire officials said. Persistent spring winds and 50-mph (80-kph) gusts hindered firefighters.
"This is a heads-up for everywhere else in the state," said fire information officer Dick Fleishman. "If you have dry grass up next to your house, it's time to get that cleaned up."
Fire managers are contending with tight resources as wildfires burn around the Southwest. The U.S. has 16 top-level national fire management teams, and four of those are dedicated to blazes in Arizona and New Mexico — something Fleishman said is rare this early in the wildfire season.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of the wildfires north of Flagstaff and south of Prescott in Arizona.
In New Mexico, the Mora County Sheriff's Office issued mandatory evacuations for more residents as winds fueled a blaze that has burned more than 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) since Sunday. Meanwhile, another fire was sparked Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.
Red flag warnings were on tap across New Mexico on Wednesday and through the rest of the week. Winds were expected to be lighter Wednesday in Arizona but will strengthen Thursday and Friday, said Mark Stubblefield of the National Weather Service.
In Colorado, new wildfires prompted evacuations in Monte Vista, a city of about 4,150 people in the southern part of the state, as well as near Longmont. Flames and billowing smoke could be seen on a street surrounded by buildings as fire crews responded, according to video from a reporter for the Alamosa Citizen.
The number of acres burned in the U.S. so far this year is about 30% above the 10-year average — a figure that has gone up from 20% just earlier this month as the fire danger shifted from the southern U.S. to the Southwest, where above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation have combined with spring winds to elevate the chances for more catastrophic fires.
On the outskirts of Flagstaff where tourists and locals revel in hiking and horseback riding trails, camping spots, and the vast expanse of cinder fields for off-road vehicle use, flames soared as high as 100 feet (30 meters). Popular national monuments including Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki were closed because of the wildfire.
"It's just a unique community and we're fortunate to live here," said Jon Stoner, who evacuated his home Tuesday. "We feel very lucky with the views we have and the surrounding forest."
Some residents' homes were burned to the ground, though Coconino County hasn't said exactly how many. Officials said Tuesday evening that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated, and about 250 structures remained threatened.
One man who reportedly was trapped in his home by the flames was able to get out, Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Jon Paxton said Wednesday.
Firefighters were expected to move through neighborhoods Wednesday to cool down any smoldering spots and assess what's most at risk. Paxton said no injuries or deaths have been reported.
The wildfire's size has surpassed another that burned in the same area in 2010. Resident Kathy Vollmer said her husband stayed behind then, spraying down the house they've lived in since 1999 to protect it. But this time was different, she said, describing a wall of fire in her backyard.
The couple grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind.
"We just hope they are going to be OK," she said.
U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation, remained closed.
The fire started Sunday afternoon northeast of Flagstaff and its cause is under investigation. The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres (40 hectares) Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) by evening. It was estimated at more than 30 square miles (77 square kilometers) Wednesday afternoon.
Fire crews have yet to corral any part of it.
The surrounding mountains were shrouded in smoke as ash rained down from the sky. Residents reported hearing propane tanks bursting amid the flames.
"It was very surreal," said Ali Taranto, who helped a woman next door evacuate.
Neighbors offered their homes to evacuees and their backyards to animals that included sheep, goats and horses. A shelter was set up at a local middle school where a community meeting was planned Wednesday evening.
Elsewhere in Arizona, a wildfire burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) of brush and timber in the forest about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott. Several small communities that included summer homes and hunting cabins were evacuated.
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Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
After wildfires, scorched trees could disrupt water supplies — Brittany Peterson, Associated Press
As wildfires intensify across New Mexico and the rest of the West, researchers are studying how scorched trees could lead to a faster snowmelt and end up disrupting water supplies.
Without a tree canopy, snow is exposed to more sunlight.
Specks of carbon from burnt trees also darken snow and make it absorb more light, speeding the melting process.
Snow melting into rivers earlier than normal could leave less water flowing in the summer when it's most needed.
Researchers say the long-term effects of charred forests on snow could fuel the cycle of drought and wildfires, further disrupting how communities plan for supply water supplies in the West.
TWIN BRIDGES, Calif. (AP) — In a California forest torched by wildfire last summer, researcher Anne Nolin examines a handful of the season's remaining snow, now darkened by black specks from the burned trees above.
Spring heat waves had already melted much of the year's limited snowfall across California and parts of the West when Nolin visited in early April. But she and her colleague are studying another factor that might've made the snow vanish faster in the central Sierra Nevada — the scorched trees, which no longer provide much shade and are shedding flecks of carbon.
The darkened snow is "primed to absorb all that sunlight" and melt faster, said Nolin, who researches snow at the University of Nevada, Reno.
As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how the dual effect might disrupt water supplies. Communities often rely on melting snow in the spring to replenish reservoirs during dryer months. If snow melts earlier than normal, that would likely leave less water flowing in the summer when it's most needed, Nolin said.
Multiple studies indicate that snow in a burned forest disappears up to several weeks sooner than snow in a healthy forest because of the lack of a shade canopy and carbon shedding from trees that intensifies the absorption of sunlight.
Water forecasting factors in variables including snow density, soil moisture and air temperature. Although dark accumulation on snow isn't widely measured, Tim Bardsley, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said it is a contributing factor to the timing of snowmelt and is worth considering incorporating into supply forecasting.
Dust, ash and soot similarly affect snow by causing it to absorb more light in what's known as the "albedo effect." But California officials are increasingly worried about carbon, which absorbs even more.
"It was like, OK, we really need to understand this. This is the new norm," said David Rizzardo of the California Department of Water Resources.
In some fire-damaged areas, state officials are beginning to map snow from planes with cameras that measure albedo and have plans to upgrade remote sensing stations as well.
Already, a warming climate is leading to earlier snowmelt and leaving places more vulnerable to wildfire, said Noah Molotch, who researches water and snow cycles at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A burned area "exacerbates the impact of drought" by leading to even dryer conditions in hotter months, he said.
Nolin and graduate student Arielle Koshkin hiked into the El Dorado National Forest for one of their final measuring trips earlier this month when the region typically has the most snow accumulation. Little remained when they arrived in part because of unusually hot temperatures this spring and a long streak of cloudless days.
Late-season storms have since blanketed the carbon-coated snow with several inches of fresh powder, which Nolin said could help slow the melt.
Meanwhile, the Caldor Fire that burned the area and more than 200,000 acres last year has left nearby communities scrambling over more immediate water worries.
About 40 miles southwest from where Nolin surveyed the snow, the town of Grizzly Flats is working to fix a water pipeline damaged in the fire. The pipeline diverts snowmelt into a reservoir but burned trees keep falling and puncturing it.
It's not yet clear exactly how the charred trees might disrupt their future water supply. So far this year, water managers said runoff from snowmelt appears normal. But officials don't know for sure since the gauges in the stream melted in the fire.
Jodi Lauther, general manager of the local water agency, said she's concerned about the fire's lasting effects. For now, she said, "we are in survival mode."
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USDA secretary in Mississippi to discuss rural initiative — Associated Press
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Mississippi on Wednesday to announce a program meant to help rural communities get federal funding to create jobs, build infrastructure and improve their economies.
Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice traveled to the Mississippi Delta cities of Clarksdale and Greenwood to discuss the USDA-led Rural Partners Network with community leaders.
The initiative, which is part of President Joe Biden's push to improve infrastructure, will help groups in rural communities navigate federal programs and access resources and funding to strengthen their economies long-term, the USDA said in a news release.
Federal staff will be hired and placed in more than 25 rural communities in multiple U.S. states, Tribal Nations and territories, the USDA said. Staff will identify challenges preventing rural communities from getting federal support, the USDA said.
The initiative is set to first launch in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and New Mexico. It is expected to expand later to Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Tribal communities in Alaska, the USDA said.
"The Rural Partners Network will help communities get funding for investments that create long-lasting benefits for their communities, especially those that have been overlooked in the past," Vilsack said in a statement.
US nuclear agency opens massive office complex in New Mexico – Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Officials with the U.S. agency undergoing a multibillion-dollar modernization effort that includes the production of plutonium cores for the nation's nuclear arsenal celebrated the opening of a massive office complex in New Mexico on Tuesday.
Jill Hruby, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, joined other officials and members of the state's congressional delegation for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Years in the making, the new complex on the edge of Albuquerque will replace a collection of two dozen military barracks and other buildings, some of which date back to the government's top secret Manhattan Project during World War II. Officials said some of the old buildings were compromised by asbestos and lead paint and were well past their lifespans.
The new building boasts enough space to cover more than five football fields and will end up saving the agency an estimated $40 million in deferred maintenance, officials said. It includes a data center for rows of servers, conference rooms and secure spaces.
Construction was supposed to wrap up last year, but officials said pandemic-related labor and material shortages resulted in delays.
The construction project was among those started in recent years as the National Nuclear Security Administration works to replace old infrastructure and ramp up the production of plutonium cores at sites in New Mexico and South Carolina. While the Biden administration has called for boosting the agency's budget for the next fiscal year, nuclear watchdog groups have raised concerns about a lack of transparency when it comes to spending.
Most of the administration's $21.4 billion budget request would go toward the maintenance and refurbishment of nuclear weapons and to scientific, engineering and manufacturing capabilities to enable production and certification of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.
In budget documents, the U.S. Energy Department, which oversees the nuclear security agency, stated that a key priority is rebuilding the capability and capacity to produce warhead components.
One of the sites where the plutonium cores will be manufactured is Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Hruby did not visit the northern New Mexico installation during her latest trip to the state.
VP Harris to officiate New Mexico governor's May wedding – Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is getting married, and Vice President Kamala Harris has been picked to officiate.
The first-term Democratic governor made the announcement through her personal spokesman Tuesday, saying a small ceremony will be held May 21 in Washington, D.C. No other details about the upcoming ceremony were released.
Lujan Grisham, who is running for reelection, will be tying the knot with her fiancé Manny Cordova. The couple has been together about 10 years, and Cordova was at her side during an inaugural Mass in Santa Fe before her public swearing in ceremony on Jan. 1, 2019.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our wedding in front of family and close friends,” Lujan Grisham and Cordova said in a joint statement. “Like so many New Mexicans, we’ve postponed family celebrations over the past two years during this pandemic. We feel fortunate to be with our loved ones in celebration of our marriage.”
The couple was initially planning to get married in 2021 but had not set a date, said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for Lujan Grisham.
Both Lujan Grisham, 62, and Cordova, 66, were previously married and have adult children and grandchildren. Lujan Grisham was married to her first husband, Gregory Grisham, for more than 20 years until his death in 2004.
The son of ranchers, Cordova grew up in a rural community south of Albuquerque. He owns an auto repair shop in Santa Fe.
Leopold said Lujan Grisham and Cordova also plan to celebrate their marriage in an event for family and friends in northern New Mexico in late May.