Thousands of New Mexicans will have driver's licenses reinstated under new law - Associated Press
Thousands of New Mexicans will have their driver's licenses reinstated under a new law that prevents the state Motor Vehicle Division from suspending the licenses of people who fail to appear in court, or don't pay speeding tickets or other fines.
State officials confirmed Wednesday about 308,000 licenses that are currently suspended will be affected, and MVD staff are being trained on the new requirements.
"There is a fair amount of system reconfiguration that needs to be done, but we expect to be able to have those suspensions removed by September," said Charlie Moore, a spokesman for the Taxation and Revenue Department, which oversees the MVD.
The underlying citations that led to the suspensions will still be reflected on driver records, Moore said.
State court officials say the new law that takes effect next week may lead more people to skip out on court hearings or ignore fines, but advocates see it as a positive change.
Monica Ault, state director with the advocacy group Fines & Fees Justice Center, told Albuquerque television station KRQE that suspensions can have a big impact on New Mexicans who rely on driving to get to work or school.
"What these types of license suspensions do is they force an impossible choice: You stop driving and you lose access to work and basic necessities. Or you keep driving, you risk more fines and fees, arrest, and even incarceration," Ault said.
Research by the center shows that license revocations seem to impact rural New Mexicans more. A survey of 511 residents revealed that those from rural and semi-rural areas were 31% more likely to have their license suspended due to court issues than those from urban areas.
Ault said part of the challenge is that rural residents might not always know they've been ordered to come to court because their physical address on their license is often different from their mailing address and they don't receive a notice.
Lawmakers rewrote the rules related to license suspensions earlier this year. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill March 15.
Barry Massey, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said more drivers respond to the court when they are notified of the potential license suspension than the notice that a bench warrant has been issued.
"Bench warrants tend to drive people away from the courts," he said. "Now, when a person fails to appear in court, the only option the court has is to issue a bench warrant."
Ault argues New Mexico's courts still have other tools to ensure compliance. She noted the new law doesn't eliminate any debt from unpaid fines, so Ault said that could act as an incentive to comply and pay.
School building agency has only one application for Pre-K - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
State lawmakers learned public school buildings in New Mexico have just one pending application for improvements to pre-Kindergarten buildings.
New Mexico lawmakers who sit on the Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force oversee the work of the Public School Capital Outlay Council. In late May, they heard the testimony during an interim legislative committee in Santa Fe.
The council manages public funding and signs off on improvements to public school buildings in the 89 school districts in the state, along with The New Mexico School for the Deaf and The New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
The council has 273 active projects, and has funded 15 projects so far in the current fiscal year, according to a presentation on May 26 presented to lawmakers from the group watching how local school districts spend money.
There are 22 pending applications submitted by local New Mexico school districts for help funding projects, including 13 for new buildings or renovations, five for building systems, three for teacher housing, and one for Pre-Kindergarten, according to the presentation.
State workers at the Public School Facilities Authority actually carry out the projects approved by the council. They distribute public funds, help local school district officials manage projects, and collect and organize data on public school buildings.
So long as a school district has a pre-K program, any school facility is eligible to get money from the council, according to the presentation.
After the last legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 505, which set aside $65 million for maintenance and repair of public schools, along with $35 million for school security infrastructure.
She also signed Senate Bill 131, which reduces the amount of money that school districts have to contribute to a given project called a “local match.”
That new law, which goes into effect in July, cuts in half the amount of money districts must throw in for all pre-Kindergarten projects.
Public Schools Facility Authority executive director Martica Casias said a lot of district officials are waiting until July 1 to apply so they can receive those benefits.
New Mexico Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), an SB 131 co-sponsor, asked if that explains why only one Pre-Kindergarten application is pending.
“We think that some of it’s waiting for July 1, but we’ve also not had a high demand,” Casias responded.
Cabinet Secretary for Early Childhood Education Elizabeth Greginsky will present to the council about the needs she sees across the state, Casias said.
The New Mexico Early Childhood Education Department “is about to have millions of dollars, so I think we’re ready to expand, but I’m a little concerned that nobody’s asking for these classrooms, and I don’t quite understand why they’re not,” Stewart said.
“We want to go all in on Pre-K but if school districts are not going to apply for these, that’s a big loss in my book,” Stewart said. “Perhaps July 1 we’ll see a difference but I think this is something we need to keep an eye on.”
The council awarded five Pre-Kindergarten projects last year, with three in Farmington and two in Las Cruces, Casias said.
Dr. Karen Sanchez-Griego, superintendent at Cuba Independent School District and a voting member of the Task Force, said she thinks there has been miscommunication and confusion among superintendents about whether the Pre-Kindergarten money can be used for construction or operations.
“A lot of us have started applying — I think I just signed an application last week, and I know that a lot of my colleagues are signing applications for the new pre-K,” Sanchez-Griego said. “I think you’ll probably get a lot of applications here in the new term.”
For the rest of the summer, the Task Force’s work plan shows they will, among other things, monitor sources of public funds for these projects and the overall progress “of bringing all public school facilities up to the statewide adequacy standards” laid out in state law.
'The Righteous,' an opera set among American Southwest church communities, to premiere in 2024 - Associated Press
The Santa Fe Opera will present the world premiere of "The Righteous" by composer Gregory Spears with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith on July 13 next year.
The opera, set among church communities in the American Southwest, stars baritone Michael Mayes as a preacher who becomes governor during a period stretching from the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 to the Gulf War in the 1990s, the company announced Wednesday. The cast includes countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritones Greer Grimsley and Nicholas Newton, sopranos Amber Wagner and Elena Villalón, and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano.
Spears and Smith collaborated on "Castor and Patience," which premiered at the Cincinnati Opera last July. Smith won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for poetry and was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2017-19.
Jordan de Souza conducts a production directed by Kevin Newbury, which will be given six performances through Aug. 13, 2024.
Santa Fe's 2024 season includes a new Louisa Muller production of Verdi's "La Traviata" opening June 28, starring soprano Mané Galoyan and conducted by Corrado Rovaris; a new Stephen Barlow staging of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" opening June 29, starring bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and conducted by Harry Bicket; a staging of Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" first seen at Britain's Garsington Opera in 2021 and starring Rachel Willis-Sørensen; and a revival of Stephen Lawless' 2009 production of Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love).
DOE Grants 14 million to improve NM infrastructure – KUNM News
14 million dollars is heading to New Mexico to upgrade electrical infrastructure to better withstand extreme weather.
The state Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department announced the grant yesterday, saying the Department of Energy will eventually distribute 2.3 billion dollars over the next five years for projects that will boost the national electrical grids overall reliability.
The Navajo Nation is also receiving 1.8 million dollars, and along with one other tribe and three other states receiving funds, $50 million in total is being distributed in this first round of payments.
The grant is a part of a larger program working to deliver on the Biden administration’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity across the nation by 2035
Severed fiberoptics leave Taos without cellphones or internet – Taos News, KUNM
Workers cut through not one, but three fiber optic cables on Monday night, disrupting cell phone and internet service throughout Taos County and parts of Santa Fe for more than a day now.
The Taos News reports the disruption is affecting Verizon Wireless, Century Link, and Xfinity customers, as well as local radio stations and the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County’s websites, among others.
In an update on Tuesday evening Kit Carson Electric CEO Luis Reyes said workers had repaired one of three lines and they we’re hoping work would be completed by 8am Wednesday morning.
Crews were using a boring machine when they sliced through the lines. They were trying to place electrical wiring.
Albuquerque city council considers weakening mayor’s role — Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Albuquerque City Councilors took up a proposal Monday night that would restructure the city’s government, substantially altering the role of the mayor.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the proposal from Councilors Renee Grout and Louie Sanchez would move the state’s largest city from a “strong mayor” to a “weak mayor” form of governance — as they have in Rio Rancho. It would mean much of the mayor’s administrative duties would go instead to a city manager appointed by the council.
Members voted 5-to-4 to amend the proposal, giving the “weak” mayor a vote on the Council. Originally, the mayor would have only been able to break ties.
Its sponsors say the change would lead to a more stable, efficient and transparent municipal government.
A spokesperson for Mayor Keller says that restructuring the government this way would limit checks and balances by giving too much power to the Council and an unelected administrator.
The Council plans to take the city charter back up in two weeks. If six of its nine members approve it, it’ll be placed on the ballot for Albuquerque voters to weigh in.