APS looks to fill 740 positions at job fair — By Nash Jones, KUNM News
Amid a special education teacher shortage, the state's largest school district is hosting a job fair Tuesday, July 11, in hopes of expanding its ranks. Albuquerque Public Schools says it’s hoping to fill 740 positions both in and outside the classroom — some on the spot.
The district says some of its most crucial vacancies are for special education teachers. That’s despite its recent decision to cut special education services in social studies and science.
The state recently increased teacher pay, which the district is highlighting on its website. Educators just starting out will make $50,000 annually, with the most experienced eligible for $70,000 a year.
The district is also looking to hire educational assistants, who also got a raise this year. The state Legislature more than doubled the starting salary for EAs to $25,000.
Outside the classroom, the district says its top needs are for bus drivers and custodians, but that there will be plenty of other positions up for grabs as well. Its job board includes openings for counselors, coaches and clerical workers among others.
APS says applicants must pre-register for the event and should bring a resume. It recommends applying online beforehand to quicken the hiring process.
The job fair will be held Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the APS Berna Facio Professional Development Center.
How extreme heat takes a toll on the mind and body, according to experts - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The Southwestern U.S. is bracing for another week of blistering temperatures, with forecasters on Monday extending an excessive heat warning through the weekend for Arizona's most populated area, and alerting residents in parts of Nevada and New Mexico to stay indoors.
The metro Phoenix area is on track to tie or to break a record set in the summer of 1974 for the most consecutive days with the high temperature at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Even the morning low temperatures are tying historic records, with the airport logging 91 F to match the warmest low set in 2020.
Along the U.S.-Mexico border, federal agents reported that extreme temperatures over the weekend contributed to 45 people being rescued and another 10 dying.
With so many consecutive days of excessive heat, forecasters, physicians and local health officials throughout the Southwest are recommending that people limit their outdoor exposure and know the warning signs of heat illness.
KNOWING THE SIGNS
From heavy sweating and dizziness to muscle spasms and even vomiting, experts say heat exhaustion and heat stroke are likely to become more common. In coming decades, the U.S. is expected to experience higher temperatures and more intense heat waves.
Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness and happens when the body loses its ability to sweat.
The skin gets hot and red, and the pulse quickens as the person's body temperature climbs to 103 F or higher. Headaches set in, along with nausea, confusion and even fainting.
Jon Femling, an emergency medicine physician and scientist at the University of New Mexico, said the body tries to compensate by pumping blood to the skin as a way to cool off. And the more a person breathes, the more they lose fluids, becoming increasingly dehydrated.
"So one of the first things that happens is, your muscles start to feel tired as your body starts to shunt away," he said. "And then you can start to have organ damage where your kidneys don't work, your spleen, your liver. If things get really bad, then you start to not be perfusing your brain the same way."
Experts say it's important to recognize the signs of heat stroke in others, as people may not realize the danger they're in because of an altered mental state that may involve confusion.
In the case of heat stroke, experts suggest calling 911 and trying to lower the person's body temperature with cool, wet cloths or a cool bath.
With heat exhaustion, the body can become cold and clammy. Other signs include heavy sweating, nausea, muscle cramps, weakness and dizziness. Experts say the best thing to do is to move to a cool place, loosen clothing and sip some water.
Older people, children and those with health conditions can face greater risks when the temperatures are high.
In general, health officials say staying indoors, seeking air-conditioned buildings and drinking more water than usual can stave off heat-related illnesses. Caffeine and alcohol are no-nos. Eating smaller meals more often throughout the day can help.
LEARNING THE LIMITS
Researchers at Arizona State University are trying to better understand the effects of extreme heat on the body and what makes hot weather so deadly.
They're using a special thermal mannequin called ANDI that is outfitted with nearly three dozen different surface areas that are individually controlled with temperature sensors and human-like pores that produce beads of sweat.
"A lot of research that I and my colleagues do is just really focused on understanding how people are responding to higher levels of extreme heat over longer periods of time and then what we can do about it," said Jenni Vanos, an associated professor at ASU's School of Sustainability.
There are 10 thermal mannequins in existence, with most used by athletic clothing companies for testing. ASU's manikin is the first that can be used outdoors thanks to a unique, internal cooling channel.
The university also has developed a new "warm room," or heat chamber where researchers can simulate heat-exposure scenarios from around the globe. Temperatures can reach 140 F inside the room — and wind and solar radiation can be controlled for experiments.
Vanos said measuring short- and long-wave radiation in the environment can also tell researchers how much a surface — or a person — in a specific location of a city would heat up.
"And so under these extreme conditions, what's going to really be able to be modified or changed within the urban environment is shade," she said. "In a place like Phoenix or really any sunny hot area, shade is a really critical factor to be able to reduce that overall heat load of the human body."
FINDING RELIEF
While air conditioners are cranked up and fans are blowing full blast, residents across the region are anxiously awaiting the start of the monsoon season, hoping it will help to keep the heat at bay.
But so far this year, the summer thunderstorms — which usually bring cloud cover, lightning and downpours to the Southwestern desert — are absent due to the ongoing El Niño weather pattern in the region, National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Meltzer said.
"It looks like things are going to be abnormally dry over the next couple of months," Meltzer said, noting that storms that might break the heat depend on wind patterns drawing moist air from the Gulf of California into Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.
"But that doesn't mean we aren't going to get thunderstorm activity," Meltzer said. "It just might be delayed."
Meltzer worked in Phoenix before transferring last winter to Las Vegas. He noted that while temperatures rose last month in the Phoenix area, June stayed abnormally cool in southern Nevada.
The official daytime temperature at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas remained below 100 F for a record 294 days before temperatures reached 102 F on June 30. The previous record of 290 days, from 1964 to 1965, had stood for 58 years.
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Associated Press writers Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Walter Berry in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Behavioral health and wellness programs launched for BIE tribal schools - Shondiin Silversmith, Az Mirror via Source New Mexico
Tribal schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education will receive additional funding to increase access to behavioral health and wellness support programs.
“The Interior Department is committed to creating positive, safe and culturally-relevant learning environments,” Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland said in the funding announcement on June 29.
The programs will provide virtual counseling and on-site crisis services for students and staff at tribal schools, the department stated.
“I am proud of the hard work by the Bureau of Indian Education to ensure that Indigenous youth have the support they need in a culturally-relevant and supportive environment for their physical, mental and emotional well-being,” Haaland said.
There are 183 Bureau-funded elementary and secondary schools. Of those, 55 are BIE-Operated and 128 are tribally controlled, according to the BIE.
“Our schools play an important role in the lives of students, faculty and staff, and tribal communities,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a press release.
The behavioral health and wellness program established by the BIE provides Indigenous-focused, evidence-based and trauma-informed support services, according to the Department of Interior, and the services are developed to meet the mental, cultural, spiritual, emotional and social needs of Indigenous communities served by the BIE.
“By providing these resources, we will help our students and BIE team succeed inside the classroom,” Newland said. “Even more importantly, we will help promote the mental and physical well-being of entire communities.”
The services will include tele-behavioral health counseling that will focus on short-term, solution-focused, and culturally sensitive virtual counseling for the students and staff.
“Mental wellness is a key component of every student’s success,” BIE Director Tony Dearman said in a written statement. “We will focus these resources on the unique issues that face our Indigenous students with a clear emphasis on suicide prevention, crisis services and behavioral health through an Indigenous lens.
The programs will also establish a BIE-specific 24/7 crisis hotline, provide on-site crisis support, and the clinical team will primarily be staffed with Indigenous clinicians who have experience working with Indigenous communities.
According to the Department of Interior, virtual and onsite crisis support will be able to provide a comprehensive and systemic approach to assisting individuals or groups with critical incidents or traumatic events.
Through the virtual services provided at the BIE-funded tribal schools, the Department of Interior stated that it would be able to provide the students and staff with a way to overcome challenges such as limited onsite providers, minimal transportation options, long wait times, and limited scheduling options for caregivers.
“We believe this will have a significantly positive impact throughout Indian Country by supporting future leaders, reducing generational trauma and promoting healthier lives,” Dearman said.
September trial set for former New Mexico priest charged with sexual coercion of a minor - Associated Press
A federal trial has been set for September for a former Catholic priest with a lengthy career at parishes across New Mexico who is charged with coercion and enticement of a minor through text messages to engage in sexual activity.
Daniel Balizan, a former pastor at a Santa Fe church, will stand trial on Sept. 11, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Balizan was arrested in late June and is under house arrest until the trial. The federal charges could carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum life sentence.
A redacted copy of an indictment accuses the 61-year-old Balizan of knowingly attempting to coerce an unnamed minor into sexual activity in August and September 2012 in Santa Fe County.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe said in a statement that it received abuse allegations against Balizan in 2022 and promptly reported the information to authorities, leading to Balizan's removal from service.
Last year, the diocese settled nearly 400 claims made by people who say they were abused by Roman Catholic clergy with a $121.5 million agreement. About 74 priests have been deemed "credibly accused" of sexually assaulting children while assigned to parishes and schools by the archdiocese.
Texas prepares to deploy Rio Grande buoys in governor's latest effort to curb border crossings - By Valerie Gonzalez And Acacia Coronado Associated Press
Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.
But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott's unprecedented challenge to the federal government's authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.
Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday morning.
Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.
Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they're connected with will cover 1,000 feet (305 meter) of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.
The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor's policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.
Earlier iterations of Abbott's border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.
"We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border," Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.
But the state hasn't said what tests or studies have been done to determine risks posed to people who try to get around the barrier or environmental impacts.
Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.
Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time in the river.
"That's more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime," Turcios said.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: "Anytime they get in that water, it's a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water."
Less than a week ago — around the Fourth of July holiday — four people, including an infant, drowned near Eagle Pass as they attempted to cross the river.
The federal International Boundary and Water Commission, whose jurisdiction includes boundary demarcation and overseeing U.S.-Mexico treaties, said it didn't get a heads up from Texas about the proposed floating barrier.
"We are studying what Texas is publicly proposing to determine whether and how this impacts our mission to carry out treaties between the US and Mexico regarding border delineation, flood control, and water distribution, which includes the Rio Grande," Frank Fisher, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement.
On Friday morning, environmental advocates from Eagle Pass and Laredo, another Texas border city about 115 miles (185 kilometers) downriver, held a demonstration by the border that included a prayer for the river ahead of the barrier deployment.
Jessie Fuentes, who owns a canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he's worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He's seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.
"I know it's a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn't belong in the river," Fuentes said.
Adriana Martinez, a professor at Southern Illinois University who grew up in Eagle Pass, studies the shapes of rivers and how they move sediment and create landforms. She said she's worried about what the webbing might do.
"A lot of things float down the river, even when it's not flooding; things that you can't see like large branches, large rocks," Martinez said. "And so anything like that could get caught up in these buoys and change the way that water is flowing around them."
Santo Domingo Pueblo 3D prints materials for its first large-scale solar farm - Megan Gleason, Source New Mexico
From having very little internet access at all to setting up a Pueblo-wide service network over the past few years, Santo Domingo leaders are working to expand broadband services in a self-sufficient way.
They’re now in the process of creating the Pueblo’s first large-scale solar farm, a project that’ll help get energy to internet towers to boost broadband services.
A $12.7 million federal grant awarded to Santo Domingo Pueblo in 2022 is helping fund this project, along with other private grant dollars.
Other tribal nations that also recently received federal broadband funding are struggling with supply chain issues in their internet expansion.
Santo Domingo Pueblo developed a workaround. The Pueblo is using 3D printers to create the parts needed to build energy and internet infrastructure.
Tribal leaders showed state and federal officials the 3D printing process in-person on Thursday at a site where contractors are laying down fiber underground.
Frank White is the Santo Domingo Pueblo information technology director. He said 3D printing allows the Pueblo to obtain certain types of hardware that are difficult to get right now because of supply chain issues, something that the pandemic intensified. He said the Pueblo is also in touch with specific vendors that can access hard-to-find equipment.
“We’re trying to get creative,” he said.
White said a lot of work has already gotten done on the solar project, and expects it to be completed in another couple of years.
Lindsey Abeita (Kewa) is a digital content producer for the Pueblo. She said the 3D printing methodology allows the Pueblo to expand its internet presence independently.
“So we can be a self-sustaining Pueblo,” she said.
Sanchez said federal funding makes all this work possible. He said the Pueblo has the capacity to get it done but needs a little help to make it to that point.
Federal delegation members listened to Sanchez and White explain the 3D printing process and what the tribal leaders are doing with the funds that the federal government gave them last year.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández told Source NM it’s exciting how the Pueblo is getting all of this work done this way.
She said other tribal nations could emulate what Santo Domingo is doing, a Pueblo that she said has “taken the lead in terms of looking at how to create the internet.”
She said she thinks it’s great that these broadband services are creating careers for tribal members. “We are here to celebrate that,” she said.
Leger Fernández said internet can also help with language preservation.
Abetia said there needs to be a concentrated effort to make sure that actually happens.
She said there could be a “conflict with language and culture” as more and more households are connected to internet. Particularly with younger kids, she said, they could get distracted online instead of learning about their culture.
“I feel like we have a balance,” she said. “I know it just comes within the household.”
FEDERAL FUNDS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR OTHER PROJECTS
The $12.7 million is also funding other projects.
White said it will allow the Pueblo to hook up over 300 households to fiber internet, set up a new IT building and create more internet towers.
But tribal leaders are encountering challenges with inflation, White said. He said it’s causing issues with how far officials can go with this federal broadband grant.
That’s something other tribal communities also awarded federal funds last year are struggling with, too.
“We don’t know whether the funding will actually complete all the projects that we had planned,” White said.
He said the Pueblo has already had to cut down on how many households officials can connect to broadband.
White pointed in the distance toward a cluster of homes. For example, he said, officials initially planned to connect around 70 of those homes to better internet services but had to cut that down by about 30 households.
EXPANDING BEYOND THE PUEBLO
Before 2015, Santo Domingo had little to no internet.
The Pueblo joined the Middle Rio Grande Tribal Consortium in 2015, laying down fiber between the Santo Domingo, Santa Ana, San Felipe and Cochiti Pueblos, according to a presentation from White and Sanchez.
That infrastructure allowed tribal officials to set up a free Pueblo-wide wireless internet system in 2020, connecting over 700 homes by the end of the year, according to the presentation slides. In 2021, the officials added faster speeds that people can pay more for.
Sanchez said they now want to expand their internet services beyond the Pueblo borders, getting access to the Peña Blanca community and the city of Sile, areas underserved by major broadband providers.
Santo Domingo recently applied for a state broadband grant and plans to connect almost 1,200 homes to fiber internet if the tribal community gets the money and the Pueblo council approves, according to the presentation.
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján said they applaud Santo Domingo for setting up these internet services.
Heinrich said he remembers visiting Santo Domingo at the beginning of the pandemic when there was very little fiber installed. He said the Pueblo has come a long way in three years.
“Just to recognize what you’ve accomplished here — I think it’s brilliant,” Heinrich said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at a broadband conference later on Friday in Santa Fe that tribal nations are leading the way for broadband expansion efforts.
“We’re going to be the first state with sovereign nations fully connected in the country,” she said. “It is powerful.”