New jobs numbers report comes in strong for NM — KUNM news
Unemployment numbers in New Mexico remain below the national average, and our rate is down to 3.5 from 4.1 percent at this time last year.
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions released the jobs numbers update today, with signs of growth in a variety of industries.
Total non-agricultural jobs grew by 2.5 percent, or almost 21 thousand jobs, with the most gains in the private sector, particularly in leisure and hospitality, and private education or health services.
The public sector grew by almost 5,000 jobs, or 2.6 percent, and saw nearly 3,000 new local government jobs, most of which were in education. The state government added 1,500 jobs.
Trade, Transportation, and utilities was the only sector to take a hit, losing 1.3 percent, or 1,900 total jobs, mainly in transportation and warehousing.
Find more information, and view the numbers yourself at the department’s website
Contractors dig deep to build new air shaft at US nuclear waste repository - Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Energy says it's making progress on a new ventilation shaft at the nation's only underground nuclear repository that will allow the facility to ramp up operations as it disposes of tons of waste from decades of research and bomb making.
Contractors have dug more than a third of a mile into the New Mexico desert to build the shaft and are about 250 feet from reaching the final depth.
Ventilation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been an issue since 2014, when a radiation release contaminated parts of the underground facility and forced an expensive, nearly three-year closure. It also delayed the federal government's multibillion-dollar cleanup program and prompted policy changes at national laboratories and defense-related sites across the U.S.
Carved out of an ancient salt formation about half a mile deep, the subterranean landfill located outside of Carlsbad received its first shipment of radioactive waste in 1999. The idea is that the shifting salt will eventually entomb the waste.
Officials said about 13,000 yards of concrete were used to line part of the new utility shaft, while the remainder will be lined with steel mesh and bolts to keep the salt walls in place.
The work involves geological mapping, drilling and blasting before all the material is excavated to make way for the shaft.
Officials said the whole ventilation system is expected to be done by mid-2025 and will triple the air flow.
Environmental groups and nuclear watchdog groups have voiced concerns that the ventilation project could lead to further expansions of the repository.
Federal officials break up Guatemalan family smuggling ring in 3 state operation, 6 arrested — Associated Press
Federal authorities have arrested six people for their alleged roles in a human smuggling ring that brought migrants from Guatemala to the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico said.
Alexander M.M. Uballez, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Francisco B. Burrola, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, Texas, said Thursday the arrests followed the unsealing of a federal grand jury indictment on May 24.
"Today's human smuggling organizations prey on the hope of Latin American migrants, targeting those who are most vulnerable for exploitation," said Uballez. "To combat human smuggling we will dismantle networks, arrest leaders, and seize bank accounts. "
Authorities said the six were members of the Lopez Crime Family, which allegedly has smuggling operations in Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. that use a series of coordinated transports, stash houses and directed electronic money transfers. Authorities said all are Guatemalans and members of the family or associated with it.
The arrests were made in Arizona and California through an operation that included law enforcement agencies in three states.
Homeland Security Investigations in New Mexico led the investigation and the prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ramirez for the District of New Mexico.
If convicted, each faces up to ten years in prison.
Virgin Galactic to send Italian researchers to space, then start regular commercial flights - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Virgin Galactic announced Thursday that monthly commercial flights to the edge of space will begin for ticket-holders in August, following a research flight planned for the end of June.
The space tourism company will be taking up a team of specialists with the Italian Air Force and the National Research Centre of Italy to conduct microgravity research. The window for that research flight will begin June 27 and span the next three days, with timing depending on the weather.
After that, those who have been waiting more than a decade for their ride aboard Virgin Galactic's rocket-powered space plane are expected to get their chance. The company said the first of those flights will begin in early August, with monthly flights following that.
"This next exciting chapter for Virgin Galactic has been driven by innovation, determination and a commitment to delivering an unparalleled and truly transformative customer experience," CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement.
Virgin Galactic has been working for years to send paying passengers on short space trips and in 2021 finally won the federal government's approval. The company completed its final test fight in May.
After reaching an altitude of nearly 50,000 feet, Virgin Galactic's space plane is released from a carrier aircraft and drops for a moment before igniting its rocket motor. The plane shuts off once it reaches space, providing passengers with silence, weightlessness and an aerial view of Earth. The rocket ship then glides back to the runway at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert.
Virgin Galactic has sold about 800 tickets over the past decade, with the initial batch going for $200,000 each. Tickets now cost $450,000 per person.
The company said early fliers have already received their seat assignments.
The highest profile test flight came in July 2021 when Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson beat fellow billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and rocket company Blue Origin into space. Bezos ended up flying nine days later from West Texas, and Blue Origin has since launched several passenger trips.
Republican opts not to seek reelection to the New Mexico Senate - Associated Press
One of just two Albuquerque Republicans left in the New Mexico Legislature will not be seeking reelection next year, setting up what could be a free-for-all in a Republican-leaning district that covers the city's northeast heights.
The decision by state Sen. Mark Moores brings the list of incumbent senators headed for the door to at least three.
Moores, who was first elected in 2012, told the Albuquerque Journal in an interview Wednesday that family considerations led to his decision to forego a reelection campaign. He and his wife recently had a child.
Moores has served three terms in the Senate. He sponsored or jointly sponsored bills allowing college athletes to get paid for endorsements, prohibiting coyote-killing contests and creating a redistricting commission that proposed political boundary lines.
The New Mexico Senate has been dominated by Democrats throughout his tenure, making it difficult for Republicans to secure passage of their bills.
"I'm pretty proud, especially being in the minority, that I've been able to fight for conservative values but also reach across party lines to get things done," he said.
Moores, who served as chairman of the Senate minority caucus, said he pushed the Legislature to be more receptive to open primaries and ethics legislation. He hopes to continue that work in the future.
Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027 - By Ken Ritter Associated Press
A public process started Thursday to reshape the way Colorado River water is distributed, with federal officials promising to collect comments about updating and enacting rules in 2027 to continue providing hydropower, drinking water and irrigation to farms, cities and tribes in seven Western U.S. states and Mexico.
The U.S. Interior Department said it will publish in the Federal Register on Friday a call for replacing guidelines that expire in 2026, including pacts enacted in 2007 for states to share cutbacks in water drawn from a river diminished by drought and climate change, as well as operating plans for the key Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs. An agreement between the United States and Mexico on use of Colorado River water also is set to expire at that time.
The department's U.S. Bureau of Reclamation promised a "robust and transparent public process" beginning with online virtual public meetings July 17, July 18 and July 24. It set an Aug. 15 deadline for receipt of public comments on "specific operational guidelines, strategies and any other issues that should be considered."
The result is expected to guide federal management of the dams that control the flow of the river throughout the Colorado River Basin, from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California.
The 1,450-mile river is a crucial supplier of power and water for more than 40 million people in cities including Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix. However, agriculture uses the most water, including farms in the arid Imperial Valley area of California and Yuma County in Arizona that produce many of the nation's winter vegetables.
"As we look toward the next several years across the Basin, the new set of operating guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead will be developed collaboratively based on the best-available science," Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said in a statement.
"The Basin is currently facing an historic drought, driven by climate change, that is increasing the likelihood of warming temperatures and continued low-runoff conditions, and therefore reduced water availability, across the region," the statement said.
Agreements that date back to 1922 and involve the federal government and the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming promise more water to users than the river holds. Native American tribes along the river argue that they have not been involved in water-use decisions.
"The Bureau of Reclamation is committed to ensuring we have the tools and strategies in place to help guide the next era of the Colorado River Basin, especially in the face of continued drought conditions," bureau Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said.
The announcement is separate from a breakthrough interim agreement announced last month by water administrators from Arizona, Nevada and California to cut their combined use of the dwindling Colorado River in exchange for funding from the U.S. government, and to avoid letting the federal government decide and impose cuts.
Things to know about the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act - By Anita Snow Associated Press
The Supreme Court has preserved a federal law giving preference to Native American families when it comes to adopting Native children in foster care. The court's 7-2 ruling Thursday leaves in place the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which aims to reverse centuries of government-sanctioned efforts to weaken tribal identity by separating Native American children from their families and raising them outside their tribal cultures.
Here are some things to know about the law and the issues around it:
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WHAT WAS PURPOSE OF THE 1978 INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT?
The law requires states to notify tribes when adoption cases involve their members or children eligible for tribal membership, and to try to place them with their extended family, their tribe or other Native American families. It was enacted to address historic injustices: Before the law took effect, between 25% and 35% of Native American children were being taken from their families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care or in institutions. The majority were placed with white families or in boarding schools in attempts to assimilate them. A series of scandals involving the long-closed boarding schools shed light on government-sanctioned efforts to wipe out Native culture by cutting their hair and forbidding them from speaking their languages.
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HOW ARE TRIBAL LEADERS REACTING?
Native American leaders are celebrating the ruling as a huge win. A joint statement by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., Morongo Band of Mission Indians Chairman Charles Martin, Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill and Quinault Indian Nation President Guy Capoeman said they hope it will "lay to rest the political attacks aimed at diminishing tribal sovereignty." Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren called it a victory for "all Indigenous children and all Indigenous Nations in the United States." The Native American Rights Fund said 497 tribal nations, 62 Native organizations, 23 states, 87 members of Congress and 27 child welfare and adoption organizations signed onto Supreme Court briefs supporting the law.
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRIBES AND THE U.S.?
Justice Neal Gorsuch set the ruling in the context of a sweeping history of the relationship between tribal nations and state and federal governments, noting that past Supreme Court rulings at times were confusing or contradictory. "Often, Native American Tribes have come to this Court seeking justice only to leave with bowed heads and empty hands," Gorush said. "But that is not because this Court has no justice to offer them. Our Constitution reserves for the Tribes a place — an enduring place — in the structure of American life. It promises them sovereignty for as long as they wish to keep it. And it secures that promise by divesting States of authority over Indian affairs and by giving the federal government certain significant (but limited and enumerated) powers aimed at building a lasting peace."
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WHAT WAS THE ARGUMENT AGAINST THE ACT?
Three white families and several Republican-led states including Texas claimed the law is based on race in violation of the equal protection clause and puts the interests of tribes ahead of what's best for the children. They also argued that the law gives the federal government excessive power over adoptions and foster placements, which are generally overseen by states, and challenged whether Congress even has the authority to pass laws addressing Native American issues. The lead plaintiffs, Chad and Jennifer Brackeen of Fort Worth, Texas, adopted a Native American child after a lengthy battle with the Navajo Nation, one of the two largest tribes in the U.S. The couple wants to adopt the boy's 5-year-old half-sister, who has lived with them since infancy; the Navajo Nation opposes it. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, with Alito writing that the decision "disserves the rights and interests of these children."
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WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Justice Brett Kavanaugh cautioned in a separate concurring opinion that the court didn't address the merits of whether the law provides an unconstitutional racial preference for Native foster and adoptive parents. "In my view, the equal protection issue is serious," Kavanaugh wrote, and suggested the court should revisit the issue with plaintiffs found to have proper standing in a state court. Attorney Mathew McGill, representing the Brackeens, said he would press just such a claim. McGill runs the gaming practice for the Gibson Dunn law firm and successfully argued Murphy v. NCAA before the Supreme Court, which gave all states the ability to legalize sports betting to the detriment of tribal casinos around the country.