Edgewood police: 3 teen deaths likely from carbon monoxide - Associated Press
Three teenagers have been found dead in a garage in the town of Edgewood and it appears to have been carbon monoxide poisoning, authorities said Monday.
Edgewood police said the bodies were found Sunday and a propane heater was in use in the garage.
According to Chief Roger Jimenez, police were notified of the deaths around 11 a.m. by people who live at the home where the incident occurred.
The names and ages of the three teens were being withheld until their families could be notified.
Because the three victims were juveniles, Jimenez said his department was "treading lightly" about releasing information about the deaths.
Jimenez said the teens were all from different families in the community but didn't provide the address where the deaths occurred.
He said there was no indication of foul play in the deaths and stressed the importance of carbon monoxide detectors in homes and workplaces.
The teens were students in the Moriarty-Edgewood School District and officials said grief counseling will be available to students and families of the victims.
Edgewood is located 33 miles east of Albuquerque.
Albuquerque mayor seeks limits on short-term rentals – Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
The mayor of New Mexico’s largest city is looking to limit the number of short-term vacation rentals in an effort to address the housing shortage.
Jessica Dyer reported for the Albuquerque Journal in a copyrighted story that Mayor Tim Keller wants to cap the number at 1,200 and also limit how many such rentals a person may own. City Councilors Isaac Benton, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Renee Grout are sponsoring the request by the mayor.
The changes would be through amendments to the existing short-term rental ordinance. That took effect in April 2021 and required vacation rentals to get a city permit and follow occupancy and gathering-size limits. They also need a representative available at all times to respond to complaints. This new proposal would require that person to be within 20 miles of Albuquerque.
The effort is part of Keller’s Housing Forward Initiative to add 5,000 more residential units. A city spokesman told the Journal the idea is to protect the housing stock in the city and dissuade corporations and LLCs from buying up property in Albuquerque.
The proposal will go to the council’s Finance and Government Operations Committee.
Aid worker for NM organization killed in Ukraine - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A member of a Santa Fe-based organization has been killed while providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Pete Reed, the director of Global Outreach Doctors’ work in Ukraine, was killed Thursday near the city of Bakhmut. The 33-year-old was a veteran of the Marine Corps originally from New Jersey.
Global Outreach Doctors Director Andrew Lustig says Reed was killed while evacuating civilians in the city under attack by Russian forces, adding that “he selflessly dedicated his life in service to others, especially those affected by disaster and war” and that “he leaves behind an incredible legacy.”
The Santa Fe organization provides medical and rescue aid in countries experiencing war, famine or natural disasters. It has paused its Ukrainian operation in the wake of Reed’s death.
Bush fire reported in Mora County – By Nash Jones, KUNM News
A brush fire has broken out in Mora County southwest of Wagon Mound.
The Mora County Sheriff’s department announced this afternoon that several fire crews and law enforcement are responding to the approximately 1,000-acre fire.
Officials say it remains completely uncontained at this point, and is being fueled by grasses and high winds in the area.
The National Weather Service in Albuquerque is predicting winds in Northeast New Mexico to increase later this evening and last into the early morning, though snow is expected to reach the area overnight as well.
Mora county was hit by the state’s largest-ever wildfire last year, which destroyed the homes and livelihoods of many in the rural northern New Mexico communities. The fire burning today is not threatening any structures and no one is being ordered to evacuate.
New Mexico nuclear museum gets a Soviet missile for display - Associated Press
The National Nuclear Science and History Museum in New Mexico now has a rare addition to its missile collection.
It's a Soviet built SA-2 surface-to-air missile first built in the 1950s and used up through the 1980s by the Russians.
James Stemm, curator of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, told Albuquerque TV station KOB that the missile belongs to the New Mexico Museum of Military History in Rio Rancho and they were looking for a place to display it so more people could see it.
Stemm said the missile is about 40 feet long when the launcher is included.
The missile named "Tina" was used by Russians in defense against the United States years ago.
Stemm said the missile was built to defend the Soviet Union against American B-52 and B-47 bombers, two of which the museum already has on display.
A curator for more than 25 years, Stemm said museums are used to showing all sides of history.
"As far as I know, the only one in New Mexico," he said of the Soviet missile. "There are a few in other museums back east the Smithsonian has one, the Air Force Museum has one, but they aren't very common in the U.S."
Tribal early education proposal to be heard today - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
A proposal to strengthen tribal self-determination in early childhood education will get its first committee hearing in the New Mexico Legislature today.
House Bill 148 would require the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department to sign agreements with Native nations in the state to run early childhood education and care programs using their own culturally and linguistically relevant standards.
The bill is set to be heard by the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee this morning at 8:30 a.m. in room 305. The meeting will also be webcast on the Legislature’s website.
Supporters say the purpose of the proposal, along with three other bills making their way through the Roundhouse, is to address New Mexico’s longstanding failure to provide adequate education to students who are English-language learners, Indigenous, living with disabilities and in poverty.
Four years after the late District Court Judge Sarah Singleton found those failures to violate the New Mexico Constitution, the state has tried to meet the Yazzie-Martinez judgment by increasing funding for school districts that are most impacted, raising teacher salaries to recruit quality educators and other initiatives.
Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo) said these investments are not enough to address the problems highlighted in the Yazzie-Martinez findings.
“At the end of the day, what is needed the most is the capacity within our own communities to be able to source, support and help our students,” Lente said.
That could include language, culture, or anything that complements public schools, higher education or career training, Lente said. It will be up to each education department in tribal nations to determine how they want to steer education reform.
The initial funding for the early childhood programs Lente is proposing would come from House Bill 140, which would set aside $50 million into a Tribal Education Trust Fund. The state Public Education Department would then distribute at least $2.5 million per year to tribal education departments on the Navajo Nation, Apache and Pueblos in New Mexico.
That bill is set to be heard in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
It unanimously passed the House Education Committee on Jan. 27 and has been endorsed by the Legislative Education Study Committee.
Bill to protect abortion rights and transgender health care in NM takes a step forward - Megan Gleason, Source New Mexico
The first piece of legislation protecting abortion rights to begin making its way through the session was approved by lawmakers Friday after an hourslong debate.
If passed into law, the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act would make it illegal for public entities to discriminate against people seeking such care, or to interfere with their access.
And local governments couldn’t pass their own bans on abortion or gender-affirming care. The cities of Hobbs and Clovis in New Mexico passed ordinances to restrict abortion last year.
Sponsor Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) said politicians — specifically Republicans in more rural, conservative areas — shouldn’t be able to limit people’s ability to get abortions or discriminate against people seeking reproductive health care.
“What is extremely important is that we are not creating a checkerboard of where people can access health care and where they can’t,” she said.
The bill would also apply to all New Mexico agencies and branches of state government, along with school districts and universities.
Ellie Rushforth is an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. She responded to public concerns that this bill would force people to do things they don’t feel morally comfortable with.
“What this bill does not do is create an affirmative duty for anyone to provide health care that they do not already provide or that they do not feel comfortable providing,” she said. “It does not change medical care standards, clinical guidelines, anything of that nature.”
The measure was approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 7-3 vote, split along party lines.
In the strongly Democrat Roundhouse, it’s likely the measure will eventually make its way to the governor’s desk for signature. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the codification of abortion rights in state law one of her top priorities.
N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a rally for reproductive rights at Tiguex Park in Albuquerque following the Supreme Court ruling that ended nearly 50 years of national protections for abortion rights under the U.S. Constitution on Friday, June 24, 2022.
GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE
As with abortion restrictions rolling out around the U.S., state-level governments are also attempting bans on gender-affirming care.
Born and raised in Texas, college student Lama Quiroz moved to New Mexico last year to live in a place that would protect her and allow her to get the health care she needs as a transgender woman.
“As a trans person, as a suicide survivor, as someone who’s experienced the worst-case scenario, I urge you to support this bill,” Quiroz told to the lawmakers during the hearing.
Serrato said gender-related health care treatments save lives. In a 2015 survey of nearly 28,000 transgender people, 40% of them had attempted suicide compared with the general rate of 4.6% in the nation, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.
“I think it’s important that as we look at protecting everyone, even in these counties where some of these things are being discussed, it is important that they feel and know that they can access health care in New Mexico completely within their rights so they can thrive in their lives,” she said.
Dr. Molly McClain is a physician at the University of New Mexico Hospital and spoke as an expert on the measure. She said this bill sends an important message to gender-expansive people that their access to medical care, and their lives in general, are valued and protected.
“I hear every day about how much resiliency is required simply to exist as a gender-expansive person today in our world,” McClain said. “And it’s purely social and economic exclusion that leads to the poor and avoidable health outcomes that gender-expansive people experience.”
THE DEBATE
Opponents lined up to speak against the bill, both at the Roundhouse and online. Ethel Maharg, director of the Right to Life Committee of New Mexico, said the bill combines separate points about abortion access and transgender rights.
Nurse practitioner and midwife Jennifer Robinson, among the many public supporters, countered that it’s about health care access for all people.
The committee’s three Republican representatives — Stefani Lord (Sandia Park), Jenifer Jones (Deming) and Harlan Vincent (Ruidoso Downs) — were the only lawmakers to participate in any discussion. They went back and forth on how the language was worded and proposed many hypothetical scenarios, though Serrato said the lack of details in the theoretical made it difficult to determine exactly how each situation would play out under the bill.
Many of the measure’s opponents in the public comment didn’t fully understand the scope and limitations of the bill, and Lord said people don’t get it because of the way it was written. “This is super, super vague,” she said.
Jones agreed. “I have some very serious concerns about your bill,” she said. “It seems that it’s overly broad.”
Lord questioned where in the bill there are exemptions for providers who wouldn’t want to perform services like abortion. Rushforth said whatever already exists in statute, like religious exemptions, isn’t spelled out in this legislation because the measure wouldn’t override those laws.
With time running out for the discussion, chair Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque) said hammering out all of the legal details will really be up to the House Judiciary Committee, where the measure heads next.
FEAR OF LOSING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, TEACHERS
Under the bill, the state’s attorney general or district attorneys could file suit against those who break the law by creating barriers or discriminating against anyone seeking reproductive or gender-affirming medical care. Violations could also result in civil cases with monetary awards.
Lord said she’s worried this could invite lawsuits against teachers and providers, causing them to leave the state amid severe worker shortages in both fields.
“It is problematic for me because I’m worried about doctors. I want to protect our doctors,” Lord said. “I want to protect our teachers so they don’t get involved with this.”
Even in a broader sense, she said, she doesn’t want anyone working in the public sector to get pulled into legal battles over this “badly worded” bill and pay tens of thousands of dollars in penalty and attorney fees.
“I understand equality, totally understand equality, but what I don’t understand is the penalty,” she said.
But McClain, a provider herself, said the focus really needs to be on gender-expansive youth.
“While I appreciate people being concerned about doctors like me staying in the state, and teachers,” she said, “I think we also have to remember how important it is to protect vulnerable children. And gender-expansive children are among the most vulnerable in the world, not just in our country.”
New Mexico legislators may block local abortion ordinances - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
A standoff over abortion in politically conservative regions of New Mexico escalated Friday as Democratic state legislators advanced a bill that would prohibit local governments from interfering with women's access to reproductive health care.
The initiative from state House Democrats responds to abortion restrictions recently adopted in two counties and three cities in eastern New Mexico where sentiments against the procedure run deep — and amid efforts by states across the nation to restrict abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
A legislative panel endorsed the bill on a party-line, 7-3 vote with opposition from Republican lawmakers who said they were bombarded with emails, phone calls and petitions from constituents in opposition. Additional hearings are planned before the House and Senate potentially votes on the bill, which is supported by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Anti-abortion ordinances, adopted over the past several months by officials in the cities of Hobbs, Clovis, Eunice, and Lea and Roosevelt counties, reference an obscure U.S. anti-obscenity law that prohibits shipping of medication or other materials intended to aid abortions.
State Attorney General Raúl Torrez says local governments have overstepped their authority to regulate health care access, with local laws that violate state constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Last month, Torrez petitioned the state Supreme Court to intervene. The court has yet to respond.
The new bill, sponsored by Rep. Linda Serrato of Santa Fe and other Democrats, would prohibit local governments from interfering with access to reproductive care — including abortion, birth control, and prevention of or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
"It's really important ... to make it abundantly clear to everyone that in New Mexico you can access health care and we respect your ability to do so," Serrato said.
The bill would also ban local restrictions on gender-affirming care, which typically can include puberty-blocking medication, hormone therapy or surgeries. That provision is a counterpoint to proposed bans on gender-affirming care for minors or young adults in more than two dozen states.
"We've seen so many, to be frank, politically motivated attacks on these two types of health care," Serrato told The Associated Press. "We wanted to make sure that people were not scared of accessing their health care."
On Friday, Serrato told a House panel that providing gender-affirming health care can save lives by lowering suicide rates and addressing depression as youths come of age and grapple with questions of gender. Republican state Rep. Harlan Vincent, of Ruidoso Downs, countered that a portion of youths have regrets after seeking gender-affirming health care.
Jodi Hendricks, executive director of the conservative group New Mexico Family Action Movement, described abortion and gender-affirming care as "elective procedures" and urged legislators to leave room for conscience decisions and support the autonomy of local government.
"We do not believe that local governments and bodies should lose the right to determine what's best with their communities," she said.
In 2021, New Mexico's Democrat-led Legislature passed a measure to repeal a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures, ensuring access to abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.
But that ruling last June also energized local government efforts to restrict abortion.
Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb has said constituents in his community overwhelmingly support the city's abortion-restricting ordinance, citing hours of public testimony to the city council.
The ordinances adopted in New Mexico bear hallmarks of a national effort to ban abortion one city at a time led by Mark Lee Dickson, founder of the Texas-based Sanctuary Cities of the Unborn organization. He has traveled extensively in New Mexico to talk to local government boards and faith-based groups.
"The approach in New Mexico ended up being compliance with these federal statutes," Dickson told the AP. "They're not explicit abortion bans ... but they have the same result. We call them de facto abortion bans."
Dickson said he envisions the ordinances in New Mexico holding up to scrutiny in federal court and helping cities such as Hobbs keep at bay abortion providers and pharmacy chain distributors of abortion pills, amid legal battles over state restrictions on abortion medications.
"I almost want to show up and say (to state legislators), 'I double dog dare you to pass it,'" said Dickson, who believes local abortion ordinances are reinforced by federal law and can't be overturned by the Legislature.
Roosevelt County's ordinance gives private citizens the power to sue anyone suspected of violations of local regulation of abortion, allowing damages of up to $100,000 per infraction.
Under the state bill, interference with reproductive and gender-affirming health care could result in civil penalties of up to $5,000, damage awards and compensation for legal expenses.
Minnesota on Tuesday became the first state Legislature this year to codify abortion rights into law, ensuring that the state's existing protections remain in place no matter who sits on future courts.
New Mexico governor names new Indian Affairs secretary - Associated Press
A former governor of a New Mexico pueblo has been chosen to be the state's next secretary of Indian Affairs.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the appointment Friday of James R. Mountain to lead the department.
She highlighted his history as a leader in Pueblo de San Ildefonso and a vast expertise in state and tribal relations.
Mountain said in a statement that it was an honor take on the post and hoped to build "strong government-to-government relationships that truly respect the sovereignty of New Mexico's Nations, Tribes and Pueblos."
He also aims to maintain traditional values of the state's indigenous people but also work on enhancing everyone's quality of life.
Mountain served as governor 2006-2007 and 2015-2017. He oversaw the completion of the Aamodt Water Settlement, the pueblo's water rights and the Indian Land Claims Settlement in 2006.
He has run his own state-tribal affairs consulting firm since 2018.
Albuquerque police tweets slammed by some as intimidation - Associated Press
The Albuquerque Police Department is making no apologies for official tweets that have been criticized by some, including city officials, as inappropriate.
The department's Twitter account has been questioned over biting responses such as "Calling out your b.s. is public service" and "You only complain and never offer solutions," KOAT-TV reported Thursday.
Most of the tweets were in response to Doug Peterson, whose company is considered the largest landlord in the city. He recently took to Twitter to complain about crime and homelessness in downtown.
Police Chief Harold Medina said the department will "push back" on social media when it comes to people spreading misinformation and cyberbullying.
He told the broadcaster that although some of the tweets might not be in line with the city's policy, others "bluntly point out differences."
"And I'm okay with that," he said.
Two city councilors who also are former police officers want the tweets toned down.
"The department thinks that harassing and intimidating people is community policing; they're on the wrong path," City Councilor Louie Sanchez said.
Peterson, the landlord, says he wasn't trying to attack the police, just the policies of the mayor and police chief.
"I have supported APD, and I still support APD very much," he said.
One tweet that generated controversy came in July after the death of a 15-year-old boy caught in a SWAT standoff in a home that later caught fire. Some used Twitter to blame the police for the boy's "murder." In response, the department account tweeted: "didn't know a fire could murder someone."
In that case, Medina said he told department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos to take a different tone. But Medina continues to stand behind tweets that respond to seeming inaccuracies.
Mayor Tim Keller also echoed that sentiment.
"APD has its own social media policy," his office said in a statement. "We support their efforts to pushback on misinformation on social media."
The embattled department is in the middle of revamping its use-of-force policies under approval of the U.S. Department of Justice. Officers will begin training on the new policies over the next quarter, according to authorities.
The goal of city leaders is to see a decrease in officer-involved shootings. There were 18 shootings by Albuquerque police officers last year and 10 of them were fatal. That number caused Department of Justice attorneys and community stakeholders to raise concerns at a federal court hearing in December.
New Mexico nuclear museum gets a Soviet missile for display - Associated Press
The National Nuclear Science and History in New Mexico now has a rare addition to its missile collection.
It's a Soviet built SA-2 surface-to-air missile from the first built in the 1950s and used up through the 1980s by the Russians.
James Stemm, curator of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, told Albuquerque TV station KOB that the missile belongs to the New Mexico Museum of Military History in Rio Rancho and they were looking for a place to display it so more people could see it.
Stemm said the missile is about 40 feet long when the launcher is included.
The missile named "Tina" was used by Russians in defense against the United States years ago.
Stemm said the missile was built to defend the Soviet Union against American B-52 and B-47 bombers, two of which the museum already has on display.
A curator for more than 25 years, Stemm said museums are used to show all sides of history.
"As far as I know, the only one in New Mexico," he said of the Soviet missile. "There are a few in other museums back east the Smithsonian has one, the Air Force Museum has one, but they aren't very common in the U.S."
Eye drops recalled after US drug-resistant bacteria outbreak -By Mike Stobbe Ap Medical Writer
U.S. health officials said Thursday a company is recalling its over-the-counter eye drops that have been linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week sent a health alert to doctors, saying the outbreak included at least 55 people in 12 states. One died and at least five others had permanent vision loss.
The infections, including some found in blood, urine and lungs, were linked to EzriCare Artificial Tears. Many said they had used the product, which is a lubricant used to treat irritation and dryness.
The eye drops are sold under the name EzriCare and is made in India by Global Pharma Healthcare. The Food and Drug Administration said the company recalled unexpired lots of EzriCare Artificial Tears and another product, Delsam Pharma's Artificial Tears.
The FDA recommended the recall based on manufacturing problems including lack of testing and proper controls on packaging. The agency also blocked import into the United States.
The infections were caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Investigators detected the outbreak strain in open EzriCare bottles.
EzriCare, the company that markets the eye drops in the U.S., said it has stopped distributing the eye drops. It also has a notice on its website urging consumers to stop using the product.
Infections were diagnosed in patients in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. A person in Washington died with a blood infection.
The outbreak is considered particularly worrisome because the bacteria driving it are resistant to standard antibiotics.
Investigators found the bacteria were not susceptible to any antibiotics routinely tested at public health laboratories. However, a newer antibiotic named cefiderocol did seem to work.
How could eye drops cause infections in the blood or lungs? The eye connects to the nasal cavity through the tear ducts. Bacteria can move from the nasal cavity into the lungs. Also, bacteria in these parts of the body can seed infections at other sites such as in the blood or wounds, CDC officials said.