Santa Fe-based lawyer and Trump ally says he’ll fight Georgia charges - Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
John Eastman says he’ll fight the criminal charges he’s facing in Georgia. The Santa Fe-based attorney was one of 18 allies of Donald Trump to be indicted along with the former President for conspiring to overturn his 2020 defeat.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Eastman faces nine counts altogether.
He’s accused of conspiring to establish fake electors for Trump in Georgia, as well as trying to get former Vice President Mike Pence to reject certain votes for Joe Biden, and making false allegations in federal court in an attempt to overturn the results.
In a statement, representatives for Eastman said the activity set out in the indictment is political. They characterized the attorney’s charges as criminalizing legal advice, adding that, “Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless.”
They said the Santa Fe resident would challenge the Georgia charges “in any and all forums available to him.”
Burned plastic, metal, fuels released into Albuquerque sky by fire at plastic facility - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Just over one week after hundreds of tons of plastic, and thousands of gallons of fuel burned out of control for hours on a windy afternoon in southeast Albuquerque, there has been no full public accounting of the fire’s environmental effects.
The smoke plume that could be seen for miles on Aug. 6 was the result of burned plastic, metal, rubber, diesel, fuel oil and propane that was stored in a yard next to a plastic fabrication facility, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a state environment official overseeing the cleanup.
As of Monday, city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County air regulators have not said how many people may have been exposed to the smoke.
State water regulators say it is highly unlikely that any of the solid debris or ash from the fire or any water used to fight it seeped into the Rio Grande.
Three scientists in New Mexico with expertise in public and environmental health, and a University of New Mexico lung doctor told Source NM burning plastic is extremely hazardous, and recommended the public wear high-filtration masks and use air purifiers in their homes should anything similar happen again.
In a letter to Albuquerque’s mayor, Pueblo of Isleta Gov. Max Zuni said city emergency management officials reached out on the day of the fire but his government had not received any follow-up for two days about the ongoing impacts and consequences of the pollutants from the fire.
“The threat isn’t over just because the fire is out,” Zuni said in a news release. “The substances used to put out the flames has to go somewhere. It seeps into the ground or flows into the Rio Grande. And Isleta is downstream. The concern is real.”
440,000 POUNDS OF PLASTIC ‘POTENTIALLY BURNED’
At 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 6, Albuquerque Fire Rescue was sent to a plastic fabrication facility called Atkore United Poly Systems in the Mesa del Sol area.
They found a vehicle and plastic pipes on fire, according to an AFR news release. The fire’s cause was still under investigation as of Aug. 11, said Albuquerque Fire Rescue public information officer Jason Fejer.
There were 440,000 pounds of plastic stored and “potentially burned” at the United Poly Systems plant, along with 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel, 400 gallons of fuel oil, and 125 gallons of propane, according to data reported to Isleta officials by the EPA.
The plastic pipes were stacked in the yard outside the plastic plant and spanned “a couple acres,” said Stephen Connolly, incident response coordinator for the Hazardous Waste Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department.
Connolly said a 300-gallon tank of diesel and six forklifts all burned to the ground, but said on Aug. 10 he was waiting for Atkore to give him a complete inventory of what burned.
The amount of fire and high winds prompted Albuquerque firefighters to call for more help, according to Albuquerque fire officials. First from more fire crews from within the city, and then from across the region, including Bernalillo County, Kirtland Air Force Base, Corrales, and Sandoval County.
The fire was out of control for five-and-a-half hours until 8 p.m. on Aug. 6, and continued to emit smoke until 11 a.m. on Aug. 7, Fejer said. Cleanup crews that afternoon uncovered smoldering debris, he said.
Plastic smoke exposure causes cancer, lung disease
New Mexico State Climatologist Dave DuBois has been studying air quality and atmospheric science for two decades and worked at NMED’s Air Quality Bureau for more than three years.
DuBois said when polyethylene burns, it creates gasses and very small particulate matter that can cause cancer.
Short-term health effects of being exposed to the pollution from the fire could include cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness, according to Dr. Sara Assaf, a lung doctor and intensivist at UNM Hospital and Sandoval Regional Medical Center.
Long-term health effects could include cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), or silicosis, according to Dr. Gayan Rubasinghege, an environmental toxicologist at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology who studies the health effects of airborne mine dust and wildfire smoke.
The New Mexico Department of Health deferred all questions about this story to the New Mexico Environment Department.
Connolly said he had not been made aware of any type of health screening of people living in the area around the fire, but there has been health monitoring of the company’s workers.
Cleanup crews at the site are wearing personal protective equipment rated for “Level C,” which is when the concentration and type of airborne substances makes it necessary to wear air purifying respirators, according to the EPA.
The firefighters wear protective gear including air packs and masks, Fejer said. None of them reported exposures or injuries on scene or in the days after, he said.
“The fire threatened the community’s health during a heat wave, leaving residents to decide whether to use their evaporative air conditioners and expose their homes to hazardous pollutants, or to suffer through the extreme temperatures,” Zuni said. “The fire also put at risk surrounding wildlands in the height of wildfire season.”
PLASTIC PLANT SITS ABOVE RIO GRANDE AQUIFER
The storage yard sits above the Rio Grande groundwater aquifer, and about three-quarters of a mile from the Tijeras Arroyo, which flows into the Rio Grande’s surface water upstream of the Pueblo of Isleta, followed by Los Lunas and Belen.
What’s left behind by the fire might contain heavy metals and gasoline, Connolly said, which means there is benzene.
Rubasinghege said if polyethylene or polypropylene burns, it can generate volatile organic compounds which could include styrene or benzene, which could cause cancer.
He said the fire could have also generated polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which is also known to cause cancer.
As the fire raged, Atkore built earthen berms around it so none of the water used to fight it would leave the property, at the direction of Hazardous Waste Bureau officials.
NMED spokesperson Matthew Maez said the berms and other culverts contained the water. Some water seeped into dirt around the storage yard’s asphalt bottom, he said, but the depth to groundwater there is close to 400 feet, making it “highly unlikely that fire-fighting water reached groundwater.”
“No water reached any surface water, including the Rio Grande,” Maez said.
Bernalillo County Fire Department Spokesperson Robert Arguelles said Monday that no foam was used to put out the fire, only water. He said the county initially asked the Air Force to use firefighting foam, but reversed after figuring out it wouldn’t make a difference.
Connolly said Atkore United Poly Systems took samples on Aug. 9 on and around the property to determine what exactly is in the ash and debris left by the fire.
He said they also collected the water used to fight the fire, sampled it, and categorized it into possible hazardous waste including heavy metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons from the burning plastic.
Spaceport paid out $130K in settlement with former employee - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Spaceport Authority paid $130,000 to settle the lawsuit with former employee Karen Barker last month, according to court documents released Tuesday.
In the agreement, Barker agreed to drop the 2020 lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation when she worked for the agency between 2017 and 2019.
Barker sued both the agency and the former New Mexico Spaceport Authority CEO Dan Hicks, claiming they subjected her to “different, less favorable treatment than male counterparts,” while she was the Strategic Solutions Director.
Spaceport attorneys countered in motions that she wasn’t fired for sex discrimination, but due to “unfitness for management.”
The parties settled just before the trial scheduled for July 31.
The settlement does not equal any admission or fault on the New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s behalf. Most of the settlement paid Barker’s legal fees – totaling $117,000, the remaining $13,000 went directly to Barker, according to the agreement.
The settlement was part of a batch of 18 other settlements published on the New Mexico Sunshine Portal Tuesday. Before Tuesday, the portal would only show settlements issued before July 26. Instead, the portal would display a message reading “No records match your search.”
Thom Cole, a spokesperson for the General Services Department, did not return calls or respond to texted and emailed questions about why there were delays in publishing the 18 settlements, which totaled nearly $1.7 million.
Melanie Majors, the executive director for New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said Friday the gap could be due to a backlog after a vacation.
“But, government shouldn’t stop because someone goes on vacation,” she said. “I question why the state would not have the site updated for such a timeframe, especially since these are required to be made available in a timely manner,”
State law requires settlements be made available for inspection on or after the date the settlement is signed by all parties.
In other near-space news, Virgin Galactic launched a commercial flight with three passengers, from Spaceport America, near Truth and Consequences on Aug. 10. The plans are to fly passengers in a suborbital flight once per month, with another flight scheduled for September.
Interest in Santa Fe Indian Market grows among vendors - Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Organizers of this weekend’s Santa Fe Indian Market say there was a 30% jump in applications to participate.
The Albuquerque Journal reports over 1,400 vendors applied to the market and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, which runs the market, selected 1,000 to participate. This year’s artists represent more than 200 tribes across the U.S. and Canada.
Painters and photographers made up the bulk of the uptick, but organizers also say they saw an increase in first-time applications from both younger and older people this year.
To accommodate a bigger market, organizers say the annual event will expand into Cathedral Park in addition to its usual site on the Santa Fe Plaza.
US wildlife managers agree to review the plight of a Western bird linked to piñon forests - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
U.S. wildlife managers announced Wednesday that they will investigate whether a bird that is inextricably linked to the piñon and juniper forests that span the Western United States warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The pinyon jay's numbers have declined over the last half-century as persistent drought, more severe wildfires and other effects of climate change have intensified, leaving the birds with less food and fewer nesting options as more trees die or are removed.
Environmentalists also are concerned that without the pinyon jay — a social bird that essentially plants the next generation of trees by stashing away the seeds — it's possible the piñon forests of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and other Western states could face another reproductive hurdle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to review the jay's status comes in response to a petition filed more than a year ago that included research showing the species' numbers have declined by an estimated 80% over the last five decades, a rate even faster than that of the greater sage grouse.
"This decision moves us one step closer to reversing the trend of one of the fastest declining birds in North America," Peggy Darr of the group Defenders of Wildlife said in a statement. "Without pinyon jays, we stand to lose iconic Southwestern landscapes, cultures and cuisines intimately tied to piñon pine nuts."
Piñon-juniper forests cover more than 75,000 square miles in the United States, and wildlife managers in several Western states already have classified the bird as a species of greatest conservation need.
Nearly 60% of the jay's remaining population can be found in New Mexico and Nevada, but its range also includes central Oregon and parts of California, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Mexico's northern Baja California.
Defenders of Wildlife pointed Wednesday to research published this year that indicated one hypothesis for the birds' decline was habitat loss and degradation due to climate change. Another was land management policies that call for the thinning or removal of piñon-juniper forests to reduce wildfire threats or improve habitat for other species. And development has resulted in the clearing of trees to make room for homes as Western cities expand.
Fewer trees mean less food for the birds, and previous research has shown that the jays will forgo breeding when piñons are scarce.
Pale blue with a white bib, the pinyon jay typically mates for life and can be choosey about where to build a nest. For example, taller and older trees aren't high on the list as they typically have less foliage and can double as perches for potential predators.
While environmentalists say there still is much research to be done on pinyon jays, it was well known by the 1970s that the birds' habits revolved around harvesting, stashing and later retrieving pine seeds. In one case, a researcher watched a bird carry 56 seeds in one trip.
Drought and high temperatures also have been shown to affect the production of piñon cones, forcing the birds to fan out over hundreds of miles when food is scarce.
Researchers have said that understanding the bird's needs and effects on its habitats will be fundamental to managing Western environments to ensure pinyon jay colonies can be protected.
The Fish and Wildlife Service also agreed to review the status of the bleached sandhill skipper, a butterfly with golden-orange wings that has been the focus of a fight over a geothermal energy project near the Nevada-Oregon state line.
The proposed power plant would be outside the butterfly's habitat, an alkali wetland that spans about 2 square miles. But environmentalists are concerned that tapping underground water sources likely would affect the flows that support plants where the butterflies lay eggs and get nectar.
Prosecutors weigh second gun analysis in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
Prosecutors have received a second expert analysis of the revolver fired in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of a Western film in New Mexico, as they weigh whether to refile charges against the actor.
Baldwin has said the gun fired accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was behind the camera in rehearsal. Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired, fatally wounding Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They commissioned a new analysis of the gun, along with other weapons and ammunition from the set of the movie, "Rust," which moved filming from New Mexico to Montana.
The new gun analysis from experts in ballistics and forensic testing based in Arizona and New Mexico relied on replacement parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin — after parts of the pistol were broken during earlier testing by the FBI. The new report examines the gun and markings it left on a spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed.
"Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver," states the analysis led by Lucien Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona.
An attorney for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the movie set, disclosed the report in a court filing Tuesday. Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in December.
Defense attorneys for Baldwin did not immediately reply to an email Tuesday seeking comment on the gun analysis. A publicist declined comment.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said in an email Tuesday that a formal announcement on whether to refile any charges against Baldwin is forthcoming but didn't say how soon.
In an early June court filing, prosecutors gave themselves 60 days to renew a case against Baldwin, contingent on a determination that the gun did not malfunction.
"A possible malfunction of the gun significantly effects causation with regard to Baldwin," they wrote.
Authorities have not specified exactly how live ammunition found its way on set and into the .45-caliber revolver made by an Italian company that specializes in 19th century reproductions.
The company Rust Movie Productions has paid a $100,000 fine to state workplace safety regulators following a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting.
An August FBI report on the agency's analysis of the gun found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could go off without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer — such as by dropping the weapon.
The only way the testers could get it to fire was by striking the gun with a mallet while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during the testing.
In Tuesday's court filing, Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys asked for new safeguards at trial to ensure the movie armorer can't be convicted if negligence by any other person was the only significant cause of death or changed the course of events in unforeseeable ways.
Morrissey criticized the defense's request for special jury instructions as premature and a bid for media attention.
Defense attorneys said they plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed asked assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls to call her back into rehearsal if Baldwin was going to use the gun. She said that didn't happen before Hutchins was shot.
In March, Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting that also wounded director Joel Souza.
Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, said the new analysis of the gun that was fired at Hutchins "supports the idea that there was no modification" to the gun prior to the fatal shooting and that it fired as designed when broken parts were replaced.
The new firearms report contains images of the broken, disassembled gun as delivered in July, along with images taken from a video of Baldwin in rehearsal prior to the fatal shooting, with his finger apparently resting on the trigger of the pistol.
"From an examination of the fired cartridge case and the operationally restored evidence revolver, this fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger," the report from Haag states. "The only conceivable alternative to the foregoing would be a situation in which the trigger was already pulled or held rearward while retracting the hammer to its full cock position."
US launches program to provide electricity to more Native American homes - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday unveiled a new program to bring electricity to more homes in Native American communities as the Biden administration looks to funnel more money toward climate and renewable energy projects.
The program will be funded by an initial $72.5 million. In all, federal officials said $150 million is being invested from the Inflation Reduction Act to support the electrification of homes in tribal communities, many of which have seen mixed success over the decades as officials have tried to address the lack of adequate infrastructure in remote areas.
In 2022, the U.S. Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy issued a report citing that nearly 17,000 tribal homes were without electricity, with most being in southwestern states and in Alaska. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland testified before Congress earlier this year that 1 in 5 homes on the Navajo Nation and more than one-third of homes on the neighboring Hopi reservation are without electricity.
Newland described Tuesday's announcement as a historic investment to fund long-overdue needs in tribal communities.
"It will have a fundamental and significant impact on businesses, communities and families," he said in a statement.
Tribes will have to apply for the funding — and federal officials will choose projects based on need, readiness, risks of climate change impacts, new job opportunities and other factors.
The program will provide financial and technical assistance to tribes to connect homes to transmission and distribution that is powered by renewable energy. Funding can also be used to transition electrified homes in tribal communities to zero-emissions energy systems and to cover the costs of repairs, as well as retrofitting that is necessary to install the new systems.
Newland had previously estimated that it will cost roughly $70,000 per home to deliver electricity to areas that are not already on or immediately near a power grid, or wired for electricity.
Energy experts have said that the work could require developing micro-grids or installing solar panels so residents can power refrigerators, and charge up cellphones and laptops. The Energy Department earlier this year said it would tap tribal colleges and universities to help build out an renewable energy economy in Indian Country that could support the work.
The Interior Department consulted with tribes late last year as officials developed the new program. The plan is to award the funding during two rounds by the end of 2024.
Museum to honor Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of reality - Associated Press
A museum in New Mexico to honor the Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of becoming a reality, according to organizers.
The state put $6.4 million in capital outlay funds toward the project this year, but the museum's organizers face a significant financial climb before doors can open, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday.
"Our capacity is severely limited," said Regan Hawthorne, CEO of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum. "We're still fledgling. We're still gaining momentum in finding our identity."
Hawthorne's late father, Roy Hawthorne, was a Marine who served as a Code Talker on South Pacific islands from 1942 to 1945.
The complex, unbreakable code was developed by an original group of 29 Navajo Marines in 1942. They used it in combat communications in Pacific campaigns during World War II and helped U.S. forces gain ground and victories.
Only three of the original Navajo Code Talkers are still alive. There is a group of 29 that are referred to as the original Code Talkers, but the three who are alive now aren't part of that group.
The Chevron Mining Co. donated more than 200 acres in McKinley County in 2009 for a Code Talkers museum, but the project has not gained much momentum since then.
Regan Hawthorne said the museum's leaders have to finalize a deal with the Navajo Nation on the land for the museum.
To avoid a problem with the state's anti-donation clause, he said, museum leaders are working on a deal to give or sell the land to the tribe.
Regan Hawthorne added that finding funding has been challenging, in part because of confusion over the land and museum organizers' lack of an office where they can meet people and solicit financial support.
The tribe celebrates the Code Talkers every Aug. 14 and has done so since 1982, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the date as National Navajo Code Talkers Day.
On Monday, the 25th Navajo Nation Council paid tribute to the Code Talkers again at an event held at the Navajo Veterans Memorial Park in Window Rock, Arizona.
Southern Arizona doctor dies while hiking in New Mexico with other physicians, authorities say - Associated Press
A southern Arizona doctor has died after suffering an apparent heart attack in New Mexico while on a hike with other physicians.
Taos County sheriff's officials said 61-year-old Renhick Guyer of Marana, Arizona, died Sunday close to the summit of Wheeler Peak near Taos.
They said Guyer was hiking the steep trail with his wife and a group of friends who are all medical doctors.
Authorities said Guyer collapsed and fell off the trail and the other party members were unable to resuscitate him.
Sheriff's deputies couldn't retrieve Guyer's body until Monday morning because of thunderstorms in the area of the 13,161-foot (4,011-meter) Wheeler Peak and its rugged terrain.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator will determine the cause of death.