Panel picks finalists for New Mexico regulatory commission - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
New Mexico's governor will have nine candidates to choose from as she fills a powerful regulatory commission that oversees utility rates and will help chart the state's course toward more renewable energy development.
A nominating committee voted unanimously Friday to forward the finalists' names to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. It wasn't immediately clear how long the governor will take to make her appointments.
The candidates include a top official in the state attorney general's office, a policy expert with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., an associate dean at the University of Florida's law school and an Albuquerque lawyer who has represented several New Mexico tribal communities.
The list of finalists for the Public Regulation Commission is the result of a monthslong selection process.
"Really we're picking people here who are going to look at not just today's problems, but tomorrow's problems and tomorrow's issues and we don't even know what they are," said Bill Brancard, a member of the nominating committee and a bureau chief with the state energy department.
Cydney Beadles, another member of the committee, said it is a pivotal time for utility regulation, noting that grid operations and energy markets are undergoing major transformations across the U.S.
"Utilities need predictable regulation now more than ever, and we, the state, need them as partners to spur economic growth and prosperity," she said. "Consumers need to feel confident that the commissioners know how to ensure the utilities spend no more than they have to during these rapidly changing conditions so that ratepayers pay no more than they have to. The scope of the PRC's duty is the public interest."
A constitutional amendment approved in 2020 changes the PRC from a five-member elected body representing districts around the state to a three-person panel appointed by the governor and confirmed by the New Mexico Senate.
A coalition of nonprofit groups sought to overturn the change, saying Native American communities in particular would be disenfranchised since they would no longer have a say in choosing representation through elections. The state Supreme Court rejected the challenge earlier this week.
Krystal Curley is the executive director of Indigenous Lifeways, one of the plaintiffs in the case. She addressed the nominating commission Friday while holding back tears.
This is "leaving a voice out for the indigenous people on the frontline communities that have faced the impacts of colonization for over 500 years," said Curley, who is Navajo. "For our voice to be eliminated in this way is unjust. It's hard for me to believe in the system."
Many of the recent decisions made by the PRC have had direct consequences for northwestern New Mexico, which is home to a large swath of the Navajo Nation as well as the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Those include the recent closure of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station and projects for replacing the lost capacity with solar and battery storage systems.
None of the recommended candidates for the regulatory panel is from northwestern New Mexico. Five identify themselves as Democrats.
Joseph Little is among those who will be considered by the governor. From the Mescalero Apache Nation in southern New Mexico, Little has worked with tribes on everything from water rights to utility easements.
The others are Cholla Khoury, New Mexico's chief deputy attorney general for civil affairs; Amy Stein, who has worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and California before teaching in Florida; former Public Service Co. of New Mexico resource planner Patrick O'Connell; former Republican state lawmaker Brian Moore; FERC senior policy adviser Gabriel Aguilera; Carolyn Glick, who worked for years at the PRC as general counsel and a hearing examiner; Sandia National Laboratories engineer James Ellison; and Arthur O'Donnell, who has served as a PRC consultant.
Outgoing New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf, chair of the nominating committee, acknowledged some of the criticism surrounding the PRC overhaul but said the measure was hotly debated and vetted over the course of several legislative sessions.
Egolf, who was among the Democrats pushing for the amendment, added that while 70% of San Juan County voters rejected the proposal, support was overwhelming in precincts that included the Navajo Nation.
"It's important that we all keep in mind that we are enacting the will of the people," he said. "This was not something that was done on the sly. This is not something that was done in some sort of like backroom deal."
Ex-deputy who used stun gun on Española teen gets plea deal - Associated Press
A former New Mexico sheriff's deputy who faced charges for using a stun gun on a teen with disabilities has agreed to never work in law enforcement again.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that attorneys for Jeremy Barnes, a fired Rio Arriba County Sheriff's deputy, say he will not seek law enforcement work as part of a plea agreement with the state Attorney General's Office. He will also give up any law enforcement certifications.
Barnes, 37, pleaded no contest to a charge of false imprisonment in Tierra Amarilla. He faces up to 18 months in prison.
He will be sentenced Jan. 5.
Barnes was initially also charged with child abuse, aggravated battery and violation of ethical principles of public service. He could have received a sentence of over five years if convicted.
In May 2019, a widely circulated video showed Barnes using a stun gun on a 15-year-old boy several times at Española Valley High School.
In a statement, Attorney General Hector Balderas said "there is no excuse" for why Barnes had to deploy the stun gun at that time. He says it is also proof of the importance of de-escalation and sensitivity training.
The teen later settled a lawsuit with Rio Arriba County and the Española school district for $1.3 million.
New Mexico Governor visits new political landscape in four-day trip - Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is traveling to a convention of Democratic governors in New Orleans on the heels of her reelection victory, with additional engagements in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Lujan Grisham's office announced Friday in a statement the start of a four-day tour that includes the keynote speech at a public health policy convention in Philadelphia.
The convention touches on themes of opportunity for youths, strategies for reducing gun violence and more. Lujan Grisham plans to highlight her administration's efforts to combat poverty, hunger and other societal problems that influence public health.
Lujan Grisham served as chairwoman in 2021 of the Democratic Governors Association that focuses on getting Democrats elected across the country.
Democrats held onto a string of competitive governors' seats in the midterm elections after making the case to voters that Republican challengers posed a threat to abortion rights and democracy in their states, while flipping partisan control in Massachusetts, Maryland and Arizona. California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned for Lujan Grisham in New Mexico in the final weeks before the Nov. 8 election.
Lujan Grisham, a former congresswoman, also plans visit with members of Congress as Republicans prepare to take control of the House majority in January. Democrats in November flipped New Mexico's only Republican congressional seat with the election of Gabe Vasquez in District 2, a majority-Hispanic district that stretches from Albuquerque to the U.S. border with Mexico.
House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders this week with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress.
Congress passes law to crack down on exports of sacred Native American items - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A cherished, century-old Acoma shield was stolen from the pueblo in the 1970s. Decades later, it showed up in a French auction catalog.
Congress this week sent a bill to President Joe Biden’s desk that aims to crack down on the export of Native American patrimony, defined as objects with lasting historical or cultural significance.
The law — known as the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony, or STOP Act — makes it a crime punishable by fines and a year and a day in jail for those who export items like the Acoma shield. The penalty is 10 years for a second offense. The law allows some exceptions, like in cases where a tribe has relinquished possession of something.
It also empowers U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to seize such things and return them to their rightful owners. And it offers support to a coalition of tribes across the country to come up with policies to begin the return of sacred items already outside the United States.
The artifacts that can no longer be exported are defined in the bill as funeral objects, human remains, items used in ceremonies, and items with ongoing historical, cultural or traditional uses to tribes.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-Las Vegas, N.M.) sponsored the act. She said in a statement that the bill is a necessary step in keeping sacred things where they belong.
“The STOP Act will explicitly prohibit the export of tribal cultural items obtained illegally and better enable their return if found overseas,” she said.
In 2016, the FBI in New Mexico learned that the Acoma war shield, more than 100 years old, was up for auction in France. The United States Attorney’s Office in New Mexico then filed a lawsuit, the first of its kind, to get the Eve Auction House to forfeit the item, which was for sale for about $8,000, according to High Country News.
Three years later, a settlement was reached, and the shield was surrendered to the United States embassy in Paris before being returned to the Acoma Pueblo. Acoma law prohibited the pueblo from buying the shield back.
Leger Fernandez referenced the Acoma case in her statement about why the STOP Act passage matters.
“This bill has long enjoyed bicameral, bipartisan support,” Leger Fernandez said.
Of the 57 votes against the bill, 55 were from Republicans. The two Democrats who voted “no” are Kori Bush of Missouri and Ritchie Torres of New York.
NM Health Department issues emergency order over pediatric virus surge — Nash Jones, KUNM News
The New Mexico Department of Health issued a public health emergency order Thursday related to the early surge in pediatric respiratory viruses, which began in October.
The order requires all New Mexico hospitals to participate in a cooperative model of managing resources, including transferring patients, with DOH as a hub to their spokes.
The state’s three largest hospital systems said last month that they’d voluntarily begun collaborating in this way as they began operating at-or-above capacity.
In a statement, the health department said requiring hospitals to collaborate is necessary because the surge in RSV, COVID, flu and other viruses has now created an “unsustainable strain on healthcare providers.”
New Mexico has one of the lowest hospital capacities in the nation, which led several hospitals to activate crisis standards of care during a COVID surge last fall. A department spokesperson says the state is now approaching that level of capacity in its pediatric units.
Contributing to the surge is that New Mexico is seeing the highest rates of flu in the country this week, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, along with neighboring Texas.
State health experts urged people to avoid those with symptoms, stay home if sick, get vaccinated for flu and COVID, and only take a child to the ER if they have severe symptoms like trouble breathing.
Officers detain demonstrators during protest on UNM campus against conspiracy theorist Charlie Kirk — By Maddie Pukite, Daily Lobo
State Police in riot gear showed up at the Student Union Building on the University of New Mexico campus during a peaceful protest and detained three protesters of color on Wednesday night.
The protest was held in response to Turning Point USA’s UNM chapter hosting a speaking event on campus with Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of the national conservative group.
Kirk, in a now deleted tweet, said the organization was “honored” to send “busloads of patriots to DC to fight for the president” on Jan. 6 and is known for spreading false claims of 2020 election fraud and misinformation about COVID, among other far-right, extremist views. He’s also known for stoking racism, and for homophobic and transphobic hate speech.
At UNM, a crowd started gathering outside the Student Union Building around 5 p.m. intending to drown Kirk out with sound — blasting music, banging pots and pans, drumming on buckets and chanting. UNM Police and hired security looked on. Two hours later, when Kirk was scheduled to speak, fewer than 100 protesters remained with some on the ramp near the building.
That’s when State Police officers ran up in riot gear, formed a line, and began physically pushing demonstrators back.
“I really thought that if we were just standing there, that maybe they’d stop. I didn’t have any weapons. None of us did,” said community activist Lisa Christopherson. “And none of us were hitting, punching them or anything. Really just standing there.”
UNM Law student Diego Guerrerortiz saw Christopherson being tackled and pointed at her, he said.
“As soon as I raised my hand and pointed at her, I got hit in the gut from behind and then tackled,” Guerrerortiz said. They kicked him while he was on the ground, “and then threw me in some cuffs,” he said. The riot police detained Christopherson, Guerrerortiz and UNM Dental Hygiene adviser Georgia Moos, accusing them of disorderly conduct.
Guerrerortiz said he was also informed by two UNMPD detectives that he would face administrative action from the university.
“I don’t feel safe with how UNM uses police, let alone who they let on campus to talk,” Guerrerortiz said. “But for me, I’m more concerned about the police presence and how they use that as a weapon. That’s just crazy coming from the university.”
Christopherson fears her ribs were broken by the officers who detained her, she said, and has symptoms of a concussion. She was taken to the ER by paramedics after being detained by police. Because the hospitals were full and the wait was so long, she was not able to be seen by doctors and said she would head to a waiting room during the day on Thursday instead.
The Kirk event follows two other events held by Turning Point on campus this semester. Both were similarly met with protesters and a police presence. The first event, featuring Tomi Lahren, also denied students of color entry.
The UNMPD officers were sent to the event as security, according to Cinnamon Blair, university spokesperson. Blair said UNM does not fund State Police presence on campus, but the agency is a part of event management planning and the Emergency Response Team.
“ERT is deployed to ensure the safety and security of the university community and the campus, and engaged yesterday evening in response to the actions of multiple individuals failing to disperse from the event entrance ramp when requested,” Blair said in a statement.
Christopherson said she was never given any direct instructions to clear the ramp before being detained.
The protest was organized by students and local activists from the Southwest Solidarity Network, including Julie Bettencourt and Zach Smith. Their goal for the evening was to drown out Kirk’s speech outside the building, and have a continued presence against the organization and speakers to “let them know that we won’t allow that. That we’re going to be against it. And we’re going to come out every time. And we’re going to make some noise,” Smith said. “We’re not going to be silent.”
During the protest, students in Turning Point observed the crowd from inside the SUB filming with their smartphones. Kirk himself made an appearance outside waving down at protesters from the balcony on the top floor. One Turning Point member, Kalen D’Almeida, filmed protesters while standing alongside police until being asked by them to leave several minutes later.
Jay Littles, a protester there that night, said it’s hypocritical for the police to only detain those protesting.
“We are here. We got the right to peacefully protest. Yet, we are here being arrested on our own campus, which is by definition an open campus where we are allowed to speak our minds,” Littles said. That policy is why the Turning Point chapter was allowed to invite the speaker in the first place, he added.
Littles pointed out that the university advertises itself as a diverse campus but still allows events like this, which make him feel more unsafe on campus.
“That’s one of their talking points of getting us to come here. But they only use that in name,” he said. “They don’t really care about the population of the school.”
Turning Point’s UNM group did not respond to a request for comment before this article was published.
New Mexico expands its help with filling out court forms — Associated Press
New Mexico's judiciary is expanding public access to court-scribe services that ensure people with limited literacy or disabilities can still fill out crucial court forms.
Under the program, trained court employees or volunteers read court forms aloud and write down answers for people who would otherwise have difficulties. Pilot efforts were conducted in Bernalillo, Roosevelt and Curry counties previously.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon on Thursday announced the program will be extended across the state.
Experts say court forms can be a barrier to people who representing themselves, most often in routine civil litigation matters.
"This program provides help to anyone, whether the barrier to justice is language, literacy or 'legalese' understanding," said Portales-based district court Judge Donna Mowrer in a news release. "This program helps not only the litigant get access to the court, but helps the court understand the issues from the litigant's point of view."
Recent Census Bureau statistics show that nearly one-third of New Mexico residents speak a language other than English at home and that about one in 10 residents acknowledge limited proficiency in English.
Colorado expert hired as New Mexico education adviser — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has hired an expert from Colorado to serve as her education policy adviser as the state struggles to reverse a long-term trend in which the majority of public school students fall short of reading and math standards.
The governor's office announced Scott Groginsky's appointment on Thursday, saying he will be focused on improving outcomes for K-12 students and continuing work to bolster access to higher education.
New Mexico for decades has ranked near the bottom when it comes to educational outcomes. Statewide student assessment results released earlier this fall showed only 25% of students tested were proficient or better in math and about one third were proficient or better when it came to science and reading and writing.
Officials in New Mexico and nationally have blamed the coronavirus pandemic for losing ground in the classroom. Lujan Grisham's administration halted in-person learning in March 2020 and it would be many months before state education officials would ask districts to return to full-time in-person classes.
Lujan Grisham, who begins her second term in January, said Groginsky's experience with evidence-based education policies will be invaluable.
"The governor is clear that improving the educational system at all levels is a critical step in lifting up all New Mexico children and families," Groginsky said in a statement.
Groginsky previously served as the special adviser for early childhood to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and was the lead early childhood staffer for Democratic members of the U.S. House education and labor committee. He also worked for the National Head Start Association and the U.S. Department of Education.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a spokesperson for the Governor confirmed that he is also the spouse of Early Childhood Education and Care Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky.
Many educators around New Mexico have acknowledged that the release of spring assessment scores was a wake-up call and there will be more pressure during the legislative session that begins in January to make improvements.
Lawmakers and the Lujan Grisham administration also remain on the hook for ensuring New Mexico is providing an adequate education to Native American students, English learners and those who come from low-income families or have disabilities. In 2018, a state district found that students had unequal access to qualified teachers, quality school buildings, and other lessons that engage them tailored to their cultural background and needs.
The Legislature has increased recurring appropriations for public schools by more than $1 billion since the ruling. While some progress has been made, legislative analysts in a briefing made public in September outlined numerous recommendations for making sure the investments pay off.
The briefing stated that given the learning loss associated with the pandemic, New Mexico faces a heightened need to ensure resources are directed toward evidence-based programs to help students catch up.