Wildfire victims file claims under federal law as FEMA compensation process moves slowly - Alice Fordham, KUNM News
More than two thousand victims of the state's largest-ever wildfire have filed claims under federal law, as communities complain a federal compensation program has been unacceptably slow.
Two law firms, Singleton Schreiber and Roybal-Mack & Cordova, announced Monday, April 8, that they had filed claims on behalf of 2,434 people and at least four public entities who say they suffered damages as a result of the Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire of 2022.
Because the fire began as prescribed burns by the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency, Congress passed a law promising to compensate those affected and designating FEMA to administer the compensation program.
Two years on from the fire, FEMA has disbursed a little over 10% of nearly $4 billion appropriated for the compensation program. Fire victims and state officials complain that the bureaucracy involved is arduous, while many people's lives remain on hold.
State managing partner for Singleton Schreiber Brian Colón said in a statement that federal law requires claims for damages to be filed within two years.
He said, "While we remain hopeful that FEMA will finally get its act together and begin processing claims in accordance with the Hermit's Peak Fire Assistance Act, we simply cannot allow the clock to expire on victims’ ability to recover damages through the federal court system."
FEMA has recently expanded operations in Mora County, site of the worst fire damage, with a larger office to process claims there.
Highlands University classes remain canceled after ransomware attack - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
After New Mexico Highlands University was hit with a ransomware attack last week, it has announced classes won’t resume until Wednesday. Employee payroll has also been slowed.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the attack targeted the server of the MyNMHU Portal, which students and staff use to access online classes, course materials and payroll among other resources.
The university pulled the portal down to minimize the impact of the attack. Highlands officials say online and in-person classes are canceled until it can be repaired because they rely on the technology.
A university spokesperson told the New Mexican that they have not found evidence that student or staff data has been compromised. However, that will be confirmed through an ongoing investigation.
The university has set up a help center in the student union building, which staff are using to submit timesheets and get paid. While slower, a spokesperson said it is getting done.
This is just the latest cyberattack to hit New Mexico in recent months. Last week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order to beef up cybersecurity at state agencies. The university says the state and FBI are assisting in their recovery.
Organizers launch ‘Uncommitted’ primary campaign to criticize Biden’s support for Israel - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
A grassroots effort to use the New Mexico primary election to push President Joe Biden’s policy positions on Gaza officially launched in the state over the weekend.
The campaign called Vote Uncommitted New Mexico, is encouraging people to register as Democrats and vote “uncommitted” on their primary ballots, rather than selecting Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
The campaign here in New Mexico is inspired in part by earlier ones started in Michigan and Minnesota.
New Mexico’s primary on June 4 (early voting begins May 7) will be one of the last among the 25 states and territories where voters can fill out a ballot option other than the parties’ nominees, be counted in the actual national party results, and not get discarded.
By state law, “Uncommitted” appears below the presidential candidates on primary ballots.
The uncommitted vote’s purpose, organizers in New Mexico say, is to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, end what the International Court of Justice has ruled is plausibly a genocide, and show solidarity with the people of Gaza.
“Democrats are calling on President Biden to act forcefully and decisively to end the massive violence perpetrated by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people with the apparent intent to create conditions in which life is not sustainable, that is, through mass killing, forced famine, destruction of homes, medical and other infrastructure, and the resulting displacement,” the campaign argues on its website, which recently went live.
The campaign’s platform is adapted and expanded from the resolution passed by the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee last month, which urges the state’s congressional delegation and Biden to demand an immediate, unqualified ceasefire.
“So far, none of these officials has done so; they instead justify the actions of the Israeli government through false excuses and narratives,” the website argues.
Israel has killed more than 33,137 Palestinians – including more than 13,000 children – and injured 75,815 since Oct. 7, according to the Gaza health ministry.
U.S. Agency for International Development officials privately warned on April 2 that parts of Gaza are experiencing famine. Israel has denied visas for aid workers, blocked UNRWA food convoys from entering Gaza, and killed 177 of their staff.
One organizer with the campaign, Lora Lucero, is a long-time activist, retired government planner, and a representative for the Central New Mexico chapter of Progressive Democrats of America. She also lived in Gaza from 2012 to 2013, where she taught about climate change at the Islamic University of Gaza. Israel destroyed the university’s main buildings on Oct. 11.
Lucero said the United States government is supporting Israel in breaking international law, undermining institutions and in committing genocide. And Democratic leadership hasn’t been listening to the public or their constituents, she said.
“I can’t envision a future in Gaza, based on what I’ve seen, and knowing so many people that have been killed,” Lucero said. “As Americans, we have to envision the future of our relationship with the world.”
States Newsroom reports as the war has dragged on, Biden has seen a drastic change in support among young voters. Organizers In New Mexico believe they can tap into that voting bloc in part through social media.
The campaign posted its first public announcement on Sunday evening across social media platforms.
“Send a message to Joe Biden that his unconditional support for Israel’s genocide on Gaza is unacceptable,” the post states. “Biden must listen to his base to build a stronger Party for victory over Trump in November.”
The campaign will host a more formal launch later this month, with a news conference and rally in Albuquerque. They said they’re networking through existing mutual aid, climate justice and Palestinian solidarity groups to make the campaign statewide. So far, organizers said people from Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Taos, Las Cruces and Estancia are involved.
‘YOU’RE ENDANGERING YOUR OWN REELECTION’
Organizers have been preparing to launch the campaign since mid-March. Many of them are frustrated with the Democratic Party leadership over their support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Before uncommitted organizers started meeting, Lucero reached out to the Secretary of State’s Office to ask about whether the option would appear on the primary ballot. She also lobbied New Mexico’s congressional delegation in Washington D.C. in November and December.
Another organizer with the campaign, William Whiteman, is a co-chair of the Santa Fe chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and has been a fixture at Palestine solidarity protests in the state’s capital since Oct. 7.
He said Santa Fe DSA’s members are energized by their recent electoral victory, where they used a ground game to overcome a fundraising challenge and get Alma Castro elected to the Santa Fe City Council.
They’ll be using that energy to get the word out about the uncommitted campaign in the city, Whiteman said. “We know we have a considerable number of people we could be deploying to go knock on doors,” he said.
Reached for comment on Sunday night, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of New Mexico Daniel Garcia said the party hopes to see high participation in its primary “from voters who have every right to have their voices heard as they choose.”
Uncommitted campaign organizers said they are anticipating backlash accusing the campaign of risking Donald Trump’s victory in the general election in November.
“We don’t want to undermine the progressive movement,” said Palestinian-American Samia Assed, with the Southwest Coalition for Palestine.
Assed brought together the core group of people that first started building the campaign.
“Millions of Americans are demanding an end to the horrific violence and demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire now,” Assed said.
Some organizers believe the Democratic Party can be reformed, some don’t. But they said they are all united around bringing justice to Gaza.
Lucero said Gaza is just one example of the Democratic Party leadership not listening to progressives or the average American for many years.
“Biden, you’re endangering your own reelection by not listening to us,” she said.
New Mexico Republicans choose Rep. Rod Montoya as House minority leader - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
New Mexico Republicans have chosen a new leader to take over from Rep. Ryan Lane (R-Aztec) who stepped down before the end of his second term. Lane said he would be spending more time with his family.
As the Santa Fe New Mexican reports, the House GOP caucus has elected Rep. Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) to take over the role. Montoya has been in the House of Representatives for about nine years.
In a news release issued on April 5, the party called the leadership change “a significant shift toward a revitalized future" for the party, adding that Montoya was known for his "powerful conservative message and bold presence on the House floor".
Montoya told the New Mexican that he is direct, and that whether or not he is combative depends on who he's working with.
He noted that a number of seasoned Republicans are leaving the House at the end of the year, and said that he wanted to help young legislators reach their potential.
He also said that he has a good relationship with the House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque), noting that they co-sponsored a memorial last year.
The GOP elected freshman Rep. Alan Martínez (R-Bernalillo), as minority whip.
Pair of settlements stemming from injuries at state Capitol cost New Mexico $530,000 - Associated Press
A pair of settlements related to injuries from officials that occurred four and six years ago at the state Capitol cost New Mexico's Legislative Council Service over $500,000.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Friday that the former president of the American Federation of Teachers-New Mexico reached a $500,000 settlement with the state's Legislative Council Service stemming from injuries she sustained after falling on a stairway at the state Capitol. Stephanie Ly said in the lawsuit that she was permanently disfigured from the incident, though the lawsuit did not describe Ly's injuries or the conditions that led to them, according to the New Mexican.
"I don't know what the right verb is to use, whether it was tripped or what, but she ended up having a mishap on the stairs where she ends up falling and breaking her fall with her head," Democratic state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, who was walking with Ly at the time, told the New Mexican.
Ivey-Soto added that Ly was "knocked out initially, and then when she came to, she was dazed and confused and had trouble speaking through the blood coming from her mouth."
A New Mexico state lawmaker also reached a $30,000 settlement with the state four years after being crushed by doors that were newly installed at the state Capitol.
The Santa Fe New Mexican also reported that Democratic state Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, of Albuquerque, claimed that she was "severely injured" in January 2020 when she used her keycard to get through a door. The lawsuit states that the door "closed abruptly and forcefully on the left side of her body, causing her to suffer injuries." The state had just installed new doors in the Capitol, along with the keycard system.
The lawsuit alleges that the building superintendent later told Roybal Caballero the door had been installed incorrectly, which caused it to "snap closed unexpectedly."
About $25,000 of the settlement will be used to reimburse people who provided care or helped pay after the injury, which could include medical professionals and insurance companies, according to the New Mexican.
Senate candidates in New Mexico tout fundraising tallies in 2-way race - Associated Press
Campaign fundraising is off to a quick start in the contest between incumbent U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and lone Republican contender Nella Domenici, according to tallies announced Friday by the New Mexico candidates.
Domenici's campaign said it raised more than $1.25 million between January and the end of March. That includes a $500,000 contribution by the Republican businesswoman-turned-candidate herself, along with donations from at least 1,100 people, the campaign confirmed in an email.
Heinrich's campaign said the second-term senator raised more than $1.5 million during the same period from more than 7,600 donors. Heinrich's campaign had about $3.5 million in cash on hand at the end of 2023. Detailed filings with the Federal Election Commission were not yet available Friday.
Domenici, the daughter of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete V. Domenici, announced her candidacy in January and has called for new approaches to border enforcement, natural resource development and public education.
Republicans hope to regain their political footing this year in New Mexico, where Democrats hold all congressional seats and every statewide elected office. President Joe Biden won New Mexico by 11 percentage points, or about 100,000 votes.
Heinrich won reelection in 2018 with about 54% of the vote in a three-way race against Republican Mick Rich and Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.
Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales III initially registered to pursue the GOP Senate nomination ahead of New Mexico's June 4 primary but failed to collect enough petition signatures to qualify.
Democrats hold a tenuous 51-49 voting majority in the Senate but are defending more seats than Republicans in the November election.
Huge crowds await a total solar eclipse in North America. Clouds may spoil the view - By Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer
Millions of spectators along a narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada eagerly awaited Monday's celestial sensation — a total eclipse of the sun — even as forecasters called for clouds.
The best weather was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
It promised to be North America's biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
"Cloud cover is one of the trickier things to forecast," National Weather Service meteorologist Alexa Maines explained at Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center on Sunday. "At the very least, it won't snow."
In New Mexico, the National Weather Service said cloud cover will be greatest across northern and east central NM and the least amount of cloud cover is expected across southwest and south central areas.
Timing of the eclipse will vary on location, but will generally begin shortly after 11am and end just before 2pm.
Across northeast NM, approximately 65% of the sun will be eclipsed, while across the southeast, around 85% of the sun will be eclipsed.
The cliff-hanging uncertainty added to the drama. Rain or shine, "it's just about sharing the experience with other people," said Chris Lomas from Gotham, England, who was staying at a sold-out trailer resort outside Dallas, the biggest city in totality's path.
For Monday's full eclipse, the moon was due to slip right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun's outer atmosphere or corona visible, would be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars and maybe even a comet to pop out.
The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds. That's almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth. It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.
Extending five hours from the first bite out of the sun to the last, Monday's eclipse begins in the Pacific and makes landfall at Mazatlan, Mexico, before moving into Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and 12 other U.S. states in the Midwest, Middle Atlantic and New England, and then Canada. Last stop: Newfoundland, with the eclipse ending in the North Atlantic.
It will take just 1 hour, 40 minutes for the moon's shadow to race more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across the continent.
Eye protection is needed with proper eclipse glasses and filters to look at the sun, except when it ducks completely out of sight during an eclipse.
The path of totality — approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide — encompasses several major cities this time, including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York and Montreal. An estimated 44 million people live within the track, with a couple hundred million more within 200 miles (320 kilometers). Add in all the eclipse chasers, amateur astronomers, scientists and just plain curious, and it's no wonder the hotels and flights are sold out and the roads jammed.
Experts from NASA and scores of universities are posted along the route, poised to launch research rockets and weather balloons, and conduct experiments. The International Space Station's seven astronauts also will be on the lookout, 270 miles (435 kilometers) up.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
New Mexico electric vehicle mandates to remain in place as auto dealers fight the new rules - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Mandates for auto dealers to provide an increasing number of electric vehicles for sale across New Mexico will remain in place as state regulators on Friday denied an effort to derail implementation of the new rules pending a legal challenge.
Members of the state Environmental Improvement Board voted 4-1 after deliberating behind closed doors, marking a setback to the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association as it pursues its challenge before the state Court of Appeals.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been pushing for more electric vehicles in the state, saying doing so will curb emissions and help address climate change. The state has adopted more stringent standards for vehicle emissions and established the mandates for inventories of zero-emission vehicles, winning praise from environmentalists.
But local auto dealers and others, including Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, are concerned that the mandates will have negative effects particularly for rural communities that lack electric vehicle charging infrastructure. They also have argued that affordability is an issue for consumers on the Navajo Nation and across New Mexico.
Republicans in the legislative minority also have criticized the governor's plans as impractical, citing the range that many people have to drive in New Mexico — which is the fifth largest state in the U.S., although sparsely populated.
Starting in 2026, 43% of all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks shipped to New Mexico auto dealerships by national auto manufacturers must be zero-emission vehicles. The rules also call for 15% of all new commercial heavy-duty trucks to be zero-emission vehicles.
By 2032, four out of every five passenger cars shipped to the state by manufacturers must have zero emissions.
"These standards are poised to slash harmful tailpipe pollution and save lives as they make New Mexico households, businesses, and economy less tethered to volatile and costly gasoline that damages our climate," the advocacy group New Mexico Clean Air said in a statement after Friday's vote.
The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board, which covers the most populated area in the state, also supports the rules.
While New Mexico is pushing ahead with its clean car initiatives, federal regulators have opted to relax initial tailpipe limits that were proposed last year. That decision followed news that EV sales were beginning to slow in December.
Carlos Garcia, with Garcia Automotive Group, one of the largest car dealership networks in the state, had testified that the EV market was flat despite claims made by environmentalists. He pointed to recent announcements that Toyota, Honda, Ford and other major manufacturers were cutting their forecasts and EV spending.
"It is clear that this rule has far-reaching effects beyond air quality and will impact every New Mexican socially and economically, not just car dealers and the thousands of employees in the automotive industry," he said in written testimony. "The economic implications this rule forces on all New Mexicans will cause irreparable harm to many."
Critics also said the tax incentives promised by Democratic legislative leaders for electric vehicles are income restricted and capped at prices that ends up excluding much of the market. Garcia said not one pickup truck would qualify for the incentive.
Some board members had questioned during the hearing in March if delaying implementation of the mandates would signal a rolling back of the momentum in New Mexico. Dealers argued the market isn't ripe yet, but environmentalists said the state would be among the leaders nationally if it sticks with its emission standards and the benchmarks for EV sales.
Lujan Grisham issues order to step up state’s cybersecurity - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order Friday meant to strengthen the cybersecurity of New Mexico government agencies. In her announcement, she called the matter one of “public safety and national security.”
Under the order, the Department of Information Technology will assess the IT security of all state departments in an effort to identify and fortify weak spots.
For their part, the agencies themselves must adopt cybersecurity and privacy policies in line with standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The agencies must be in compliance with the standards by November unless they seek an exemption from the IT Department. Applications for exemptions must include a plan to get into compliance.
While the order only applies to agencies under the governor’s executive branch, she encourages other public entities to voluntarily participate.