Albuquerque approves zoning changes allowing more casitas – By Megan Myscofski, KUNM News
The Albuquerque City Council voted 5-4 on Wednesday in favor of zoning code changes aimed at increasing density and housing supply in the city.
The bill makes it possible to build a casita, or accessory dwelling unit, in areas of the city that have long had single-family zoning. It also changes building height limitations.
Several changes were made to the bill before it was passed, including a provision to also allow duplexes to be built in single-family zones and put reductions in place on required off-street parking.
The bill is part of Mayor Tim Keller’s Housing First plan to address the growing housing crisis. A report this year from the Legislative Finance Committee found that since 2017 rental rates in New Mexico have increased by 70% while wages have only grown by 15%.
'Rust' weapons supervisor charged with dumping drugs on day of Alec Baldwin shooting - By Andrew Dalton AP Entertainment Writer
The weapons supervisor charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of the Alec Baldwin film "Rust" was charged Thursday with evidence tampering for allegedly passing drugs to someone else on the day of the shooting.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed "did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself." the special prosecutors appointed in the case said in a Santa Fe County court filing. They gave no further details.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorney Jason Bowles called the move "retaliatory and vindictive."
"It is shocking that after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge against Ms. Gutierrez Reed, with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it," Bowles said in a statement.
Gutierrez-Reed is the sole remaining defendant in the case after prosecutors in April dropped an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killed her and injured director Joel Souza on Oct. 21, 2021. Prosecutors can still refile charges against Baldwin.
The new charge comes a week after prosecutors alleged in a court filing that Gutierrez-Reed was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of "Rust" and was likely hungover on the day a live bullet was placed into the gun Baldwin used.
Bowles called that allegation "character assassination" from prosecutors with a weak case that the defense has asked a judge to dismiss.
In his own filing Thursday, Bowles revealed that he had been accidentally included on an email to District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies from her lead investigator in the case, who slammed the law enforcement response to the shooting.
"The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional to a degree I still have no words for," Robert Schilling wrote in the email, in which he said he will be stepping down so special prosecutors can use their own investigator. "Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office."
Bowles said in his filing that the email demonstrates the weakness of the case against his client. He said it suggests that the prosecution has been withholding evidence from the defense.
Emails seeking comment from the Sheriff's Office and the special prosecutors were not immediately returned.
New Mexico Supreme Court affirms 4 murder convictions of man in 2017 fatal shootings - Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the murder convictions of a man who is serving four consecutive life prison terms for the 2017 shooting deaths of three family members and a stranger in Rio Arriba County.
Damian Herrera was accused of murdering his mother, brother and stepfather following an argument at the family's home in La Madera, north of Española.
Authorities said Herrera then fled to Abiquiu, where he shot and killed a fourth victim at a gas station.
Herrera was 26 when he was sentenced in January 2022.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday also remanded the case to the First Judicial District Court to vacate either Herrera's conviction for resisting, evading or obstructing an officer or his conviction for assault on a police officer.
The court said the two misdemeanor convictions violated constitutional double jeopardy protections against multiple punishments for the same offense.
Herrera was sentenced to 364 days incarceration for each of those convictions.
The state's high court left in place Herrera's other convictions for aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, attempted disarming of a peace officer, larceny of a firearm, and credit card theft.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for each of the convictions, with the sentences to run consecutively.
PED scoring system finds more than 200 NM schools need support or intervention for better student outcomes - KUNM News, Albuquerque Journal
A scoring system ranking New Mexico’s public schools has found that a quarter of schools in the state––including 40% of Albuquerque’s Public Schools––are in need of some sort of support or intervention to improve student outcomes.
As the Albuquerque Journal reports, the state’s Public Education Department released the school scoring data on Friday.
Taking a closer look at the 852 schools currently in the portal, 218 were marked “underperforming” in one or more areas or they need support and intervention.
Scored out of 100, schools are judged based on progress of English learners, proficiency in science, attendance, improvement in math and reading. High schools were additionally scored for graduation rates.
School officials tell the Journal this gives insight into how the school is doing on critical learning measures.
Once a school has been identified as needing some sort of help, PED steps in to identify specific areas for improvement to develop an action plan that would create a timeline and other ways to measure school progress.
$3.95B not enough to meet all New Mexico disaster victims’ needs, NM delegation says - By Megan Gleason,Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s federal delegation is pushing to urgently get more disaster relief money to all fire victims in the state. The members say there could be as much as $1.54 billion in unmet needs, even after Congress last year approved billions of dollars for disaster victims.
U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, joined by U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, sent a letter on Friday asking Marcia Fudge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to approve an imminent allocation and distribution of financial aid to New Mexico.
The delegation said the $3.95 billion Congress put aside last year isn’t enough to meet the needs of everyone in areas burned and flooded by last year’s historic fire season. The delegation is concerned HUD has already decided not to provide additional funding to disaster victims here because of how much has already been allocated from different sources.
The $3.95 billion is supposed to go to victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history. Victims of the McBride, Nogal and Cerro Pelado Fires won’t get anything from that pot, the New Mexico delegation pointed out in the letter.
They sent HUD a list of questions about how and when New Mexico will get disaster recovery assistance.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was unclear if the agency had responded to the letter. We will update this story if and when HUD responds to Source NM’s questions about it.
For those who are eligible for the $3.95 billion, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in charge of distributing the money through its Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Claims Office.
It’s not clear if FEMA has actually distributed any funds yet, though a Claims Office spokesperson said earlier this month the agency has started paying for flood insurance policies. In response to questions from Source NM, FEMA on June 6 declined to say whether they had paid out any loss claims.
The federal delegation said there has been a “delayed timeline to deliver that funding to communities” and asked HUD if that’s affecting their own disaster grant timeframe.
The letter says the federal grant funds could fulfill, at minimum, $242 million or, at most, $1.54 billion in needs not covered by FEMA, according to data from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“FEMA support alone will not be able to fully address the damages from New Mexico’s worst ever fire season,” they wrote.
The senators and representatives said they fought to make sure New Mexico would be eligible for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery grant funds through HUD. That’s what the delegates want sent to the state.
HUD set aside more than $3 billion in March 2023 to help with recovery for disasters that happened in 2022 or later. Though New Mexico may be eligible, it’s not included on the list of states or territories HUD designated as “most impacted and distressed” areas resulting from qualifying recent disasters that require the grant funds.
After a disaster, these grants can cover housing repairs and construction efforts, infrastructure fixes for roads and water facilities, and workforce activities, such as job training or financial aid for businesses.
Before HUD gives out the money, officials have to figure out how much help victims are getting from FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Small Business Administration and insurance agencies.
The goal is to “supplement and fill remaining gaps” for long-term recovery efforts in presidentially declared disaster areas, according to HUD.
But New Mexico’s delegates are fighting to get that money sent to the state quickly without waiting for FEMA’s $3.95 billion to actually get into the hands of community members.
“The impacted communities cannot wait years while FEMA assistance and the Claims Office awards are finalized before (Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery) funding is allocated,” they wrote.
The delegation urged HUD to work with FEMA “to ensure that funding is distributed in a fair and efficient way.”
Luján’s office told Source New Mexico via email that the federal delegation is concerned HUD believes that the FEMA Claims Office will cover all the unmet disaster needs from last year’s fire season so the grant funding won’t be necessary.
“The goal of this letter was to make it clear that we do not agree with that assessment and urge HUD to assess unmet needs for all 2022 disasters, including the Cerro Pelado and McBride fires,” Luján wrote via spokesperson Adán Serna.
The New Mexico representatives and senators pointed out that the disaster victims are largely low-income families who have been living on that land for generations. These people need help in a timely manner, they said.
THE ESTIMATED UNMET RECOVERY NEEDS
The letter lays out funding still needed to help victims recover:
Between $95 million and $189 million for housing needs;
Between $118 million and $1.28 billion for infrastructure needs;
Between $2.7 million and $27.4 million for economic development needs;
Between $26.7 million and $39 million for planning and capacity building.
If HUD paid for the maximum recovery needs estimated, it would take up half of the $3 billion pot they have for fiscal year 2023.
THE FULL LIST OF QUESTIONS
The letter included the following questions for HUD:
When will HUD notify New Mexico on how much disaster recovery grant funding it will receive in response to the 2022 fires?
Is there any additional information from FEMA, the Small Business Administration, New Mexico, the federal delegation or other sources that HUD needs in order to make a determination?
Has HUD been coordinating directly with FEMA in assessing the impact of the funds FEMA will provide, given the significant administrative costs to standing up the claims office and the delayed timeline to deliver that funding to communities?
Does the timeline in which FEMA will provide support at all affect HUD’s timeline or allocation?
Are the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, McBride Fire, Nogal Fire and Cerro Pelado Fire all being assessed separately for their individual eligibility for the disaster recovery grant funds?
Read the letter in its entirety online at Sourcenm.com.
PRC delays community solar energy reserve meant for low-income New Mexicans - By Megan Gleason,Source New Mexico
Despite New Mexico having the highest number of Hispanic or Latino communities of any state in the U.S., it took over a year for officials to translate transparency documents for the state’s community solar program into Spanish.
That contributed to a recently enacted two-month delay on a requirement that’s supposed to save half of the program’s renewable energy for low-income communities.
That means solar energy supposed to be set aside for New Mexicans with low incomes doesn’t have to be reserved for a couple months later than originally planned.
Lawmakers authorized the community solar program with savings for low-income households in mind.
By law, at least 30% of New Mexicans who choose to opt into community solar have to be low-income residents, meaning they make an annual household income equal to or less than 80% of the area’s median income or are part of a state-facilitated low-income program, like Medicaid or SNAP.
The solar facility operators chosen to help run the program last month all committed to serving even more electricity to those communities, setting aside at least 50% of the energy generated for low-income participants, according to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
Previously, by June 2024, at least 30% of the solar companies’ customer bases had to be low-income New Mexicans. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission last week decided to postpone that mandate until August 1, 2024.
That means if a community solar program gets up and running, delivering electricity to New Mexicans before August 2024, companies aren’t required to save a portion of the energy for low-income communities until the new summer deadline.
The likelihood of that happening depends on if solar companies build their small-scale energy farms before that date. PRC spokesperson Patrick Rodriguez said it generally takes a year or two to construct the facility depending on the project’s complexity.
That means farms could potentially get started up as soon as May 2024.
WHY WAS IT PUSHED BACK?
Commissioners said companies who will run the community solar facilities and get New Mexicans to be part of the program need more time to understand and communicate how they’re required to be transparent with the public.
A two-page form lays out transparency details, like program costs, electricity rate discounts on utility bills, contract terms and grievance procedures. The PRC approved that form over a year ago and amended it in January 2023, but it didn’t get translated into Spanish until this month.
The companies who need to share that information with interested New Mexicans still don’t have the Spanish version, something important to share with the hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans who speak Spanish.
The solar companies won’t get those forms until InClime, the independent party who chose the facility operators, holds workshops to explain the documents. Rodrigez said InClime’s workshops are scheduled for July though invitations haven’t been sent out as of Tuesday.
The PRC commissioners decided the new August 2024 date would give the energy operators trying to enroll New Mexicans into the program a year to do so after the workshops take place next month.
This decision upends some of the rules previous commissioners laid out in March 2022 when figuring out how the community solar program should work. Those regulators were the ones who ordered the form to be available in English and Spanish, as well as Native languages when appropriate.
Rodriguez said there aren’t plans currently to make the transparency form available in any Native languages. But, he said, that has to happen if New Mexicans who want to be part of the program speak those languages.
The former commissioners didn’t include any deadline for when the Spanish translation had to be done.
Maine House advances proposal to let federal laws apply to tribes in the state - Associated Press
The Maine House approved a bill Wednesday that would let Native Americans in Maine benefit from federal laws despite a state land claims settlement.
The bill received bipartisan support, and the 100-47 vote would be enough to overcome a possible veto from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. The Senate takes up the bill next.
Tribes in the state are governed by the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980, which stipulates they're bound by state law, treating tribal reservations much like municipalities and generally barring federal laws that undermine state law. That sets them apart from the other 570 federally recognized tribes.
That settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi'kmaq, put the tribes in Maine on a different path from others elsewhere in the country.
"Let's take a small step, placing the Wabanaki tribes on the same footing as the other 570 federally recognized tribes across the country," said Republican Rep. Mark Babin, R-Fort Fairfield, speaking in support of the bill.
The bill stops short of full sovereignty sought by the tribes. But it takes a step in that direction by letting most federal laws benefiting other tribes apply to Wabanaki tribes in Maine. Certain federal laws, like those governing casinos, are specifically carved out of the proposal.
Rep. Aaron Dana, who is the Passamaquoddy tribal representative, cited a specific example to show how the current system is failing: After pipes froze at a health clinic during a cold snap, his tribe was not able to seek direct aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency like others could have done in the same situation.
"The immediate and the critical impact this could have for the Wabanaki is why I say this could be the single most important bill in recent history," Dana said.
Critics expressed concerns the law could cause conflicts and lawsuits. The governor's chief legal counsel urged the tribes to work with the administration instead of adopting a bill that could create new problems.