Former state lawmaker Williams Stapleton pleads not guilty to federal charges - Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Former Democratic state lawmaker and Albuquerque Public Schools employee Sheryl Williams Stapleton pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday to 29 federal charges. They include fraud, conspiracy, bribery and money laundering.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the former New Mexico House majority leader was indicted by a federal grand jury last month. She was accused of state charges back in 2021 after a search warrant was executed on her home and she stepped down from the state Legislature.
Her co-defendant Joseph Johnson — owner of Robotics Management Learning Systems and a “close friend” of Stapleton, also pleaded not guilty. Both were released while they await trial.
The Indictment alleges APS paid Johnson’s company over $3.2 million over an 8-year period, though most of it was intended for career-technical education. It also accuses Johnson of supplying Stapleton with blank checks made out to his company. Stapleton allegedly wrote hundreds of them, totalling more than $1 million dollars, according to the indictment.
Stapleton’s state charges are based on allegations that she spent funds meant for vocational education at businesses and nonprofits where she had an interest. A hearing in that case is scheduled in two weeks.
Still no replacement for wildfire claims office director, FEMA official says – Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
More than two-and-a-half months after the head of the federal office overseeing nearly $4 billion in compensation for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon survivors stepped down, her replacement still hasn’t been named.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is in “the final stages” of hiring an operations director at the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office, said Colt Hagmaier, assistant administrator of the Recovery Directorate within the Office of Response and Recovery at FEMA.
Angela Gladwell stepped down in January as part of what FEMA described as a “restructuring” of federal disaster response across New Mexico.
Hagmaier was speaking during a panel discussion at the Indigo Theater in Las Vegas, following a free screening of an unfinished version of a documentary about survivors’ experiences called “Mora is Burning” hosted by the advocacy group Coalition for Fire Fund Fairness.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation over the weekend issued statements commemorating the fire’s two-year anniversary, which was on Monday.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández on Saturday said FEMA “must find a new director who knows New Mexico, who knows the uniqueness of our communities, and most importantly, who is dedicated to fully compensating those who lost so much as quickly and as painlessly as possible and to the fullest amount the law allows.”
Source New Mexico’s Patrick Lohmann moderated the panel on Monday and asked Hagmaier if he could commit to Leger Fernández’s demand.
“I can commit to you that we are hiring someone who understands the mission in New Mexico,” Hagmaier said.
In Hagmaier’s nine visits to the state and reading about the communities around the Sangre de Cristo mountains, he said he’s learned people in the area do not have much reason to trust the federal government because “history has not been kind to this part of the country.”
“I think it’s important we hire someone who understands that history, understands the multiple cultural communities, and does not make the mistake that I did of assuming that Las Vegas and Las Alamos and Mora are all the same — because they’re not,” he said. “I’ve learned that, and I don’t want to hire somebody who doesn’t already know that.”
Earlier in the night, Hagmaier acknowledged it was a mistake that under the interim rules governing how survivors could make claims to FEMA that were published in November 2021, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office restricted the amount paid for “trees and other landscaping to 25% of the pre-fire value of the structure and lot” on which they stood.
That language was copied from the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act, which refers to a 2000 wildfire that burned in and around Los Alamos, N.M. That fire was also started as an escaped prescribed burn on federal land.
The Cerro Grande Fire affected a very different community, one where many victims were wealthy, federal employees living in insured homes. Trees were most often used as landscaping, not for subsistence or income as they are in the burn scar of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire.
“I made mistakes,” Hagmaier said. “I assumed this would be very similar to Cerro Grande. It’s nothing like Cerro Grande.”
The final rules for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire claims, which went into effect August 2023, removed that 25% cap.
Hagmaier then apologized for the fire and the challenges survivors have faced.
“I don’t know if anyone has ever apologized to you,” Hagmaier said. “But I will tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the fire. I’m sorry about the challenges you’ve faced. I’m sorry that things have taken as long as they have.”
Hagmaier said FEMA “went through the standard recruitment process” and “anyone was free to apply.”
“We want to make sure the operations are happening here in New Mexico, and being led in New Mexico,” Hagmaier said.
Oversight and management of the compensation program will still be based out of FEMA headquarters in Washington D.C., he said, while day-to-day operations will be based out of FEMA Region 6, based in Texas.
New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales said during the panel that it’s “absolutely critical that we have a director that’s named, and we have a person who understands the stories, who understands New Mexicans, and understands the generations of livelihoods that were lost.”
The film shows Gladwell explaining how survivors who are dissatisfied with an administrative appeal of their claims can file a civil lawsuit in “the United States District Court of Mexico.”
Morales on Monday reminded people about this gaffe, saying survivors need “an individual who understands that we’re not a district of Mexico, but we have a person who calls Nuevomexico home.”
Before the screening, former state attorney general Hector Balderas appeared via Zoom and said this isn’t the first time the federal government has failed the people of New Mexico.
Balderas, who is originally from Wagon Mound in Mora County, listed DEA and FDA’s failures that led to opioid pills flooding the state, the federal government siding with Texas in a water rights case, and the EPA’s failure to protect New Mexico rivers after the Gold King Mine spill.
“New Mexico has been successful in the past at recovering billions of dollars,” Balderas said. “I have no doubt that we will have to enforce law and protect our rights. This is not a place that we haven’t been before.”
FIRE SURVIVORS PRESERVE THEIR RIGHT TO SUEToby Dolan, one of the survivors who also spoke during the panel, said he has seen neighbors die before they were fully compensated.
Also on Monday, two law firms representing 2,434 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire survivors announced they have submitted documents to FEMA to preserve their clients’ rights to recover damages.
The $3.95 billion fund passed by Congress was meant to avoid lawsuits against FEMA, however, the law firms say they have no choice but to file these claims in court because the law requires people make a claim to FEMA within two years of the fire, and at this point FEMA has only given out about 10% of the money.
“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,” said Brian Colón, a managing partner at Singleton Schreiber.
The law firms also filed on behalf of Mora County, Las Vegas City Public Schools, Mora Independent School District and the Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Colón said in a brief phone interview.
Antonia Roybal-Mack, founder and managing partner at Roybal-Mack & Cordova, said the U.S. government “failed the people of Northern New Mexico when it put FEMA in charge of their recovery.”
“FEMA has regularly violated peoples’ right to counsel and right to swift payment for losses. This filing preserves peoples’ legal right to seek recourse if FEMA continues to disregard basic legal rights,” Roybal-Mack said.
Workforce Solutions Department to discuss challenges with Española employers - KUNM News
New Mexico Workforce Solutions is hosting a roundtable on employment challenges for local businesses in Española Wednesday, April 10. The event will feature state and city officials discussing staffing needs and challenges with local employers.
Department Secretary Sarita Nair will be joined by the city of Espñola’s Mayor Ramon Vigil and Director of Economic Development Mike Adams. Northern New Mexico College’s CEO of Finance Operations Denise Montoya will also attend the panel.
The event begins Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Northern New Mexico College Events Center.
A push for more duplexes in ABQ - Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
This story was originally published by City Desk ABQ
Albuquerque residents would have more opportunities to live in duplex housing under a proposed zoning amendment before the city’s land use, planning and zoning (LUPZ) committee this week.
The change would allow duplexes, which were once allowed under city zoning, to be constructed from existing single-family homes located in certain areas of the metro.
Supporters say the change is important for those searching for more flexible and affordable housing options, and to offer economic benefits to homeowners who choose to split a home into two living units which could be rented.
Duplexes are part of middle housing, a category in short supply in many cities that already face low inventories and sky-high prices. It includes triplexes, fourplexes, courtyard buildings and townhomes — rental options somewhere in between a typical single family home or large apartment complex. Middle housing is typically woven into established neighborhoods that are walkable, near mass transit and more supportive of local restaurants and retail.
“I have worked with tons of doctors in training at [the University of New Mexico]. They’re here for three to four years, but a lot of them don’t have the money to buy a home,” said Brandi Thompson of Strong Towns ABQ. “It would be a great option to have a smaller one-or-two bedroom duplex for them to stay.”
Thompson, a traveling nurse, said some of her colleagues end up renting single family homes “they don’t need and don’t want.”
“It’s a strain on their finances because they’re not getting paid much,” she said. “They’re critical people for us to have here and they’re great additions to our community.”
Thompson and Jude Miller are two leaders at Strong Towns ABQ, which launched in November 2023 from the national Strong Towns group — a nonprofit, anti-sprawl, advocacy organization. The duplex proposal fits into its 2024 priorities, which include support for “incremental housing” and allowing neighborhoods “to evolve in response to local needs.”
‘IMPORTANT TO BUILD MOMENTUM’
The city’s Housing Forward ABQ initiative caught the attention of Thompson and Miller last year. They were excited about proposed changes to allow casitas and duplexes to be built in neighborhoods that were zoned strictly for single-family homes. Other proposals included lifting height limits for certain residential developments and reducing minimum parking requirements. The casita proposal passed last year, as did options to convert nonresidential developments (office buildings, motels) into multifamily dwellings. But changes to duplex zoning, height limits and parking requirements were not adopted.
Miller said the casita amendment was a plus, but the average cost to build one — about $100,000 — is out of reach for many.
“A duplex feels a little bit more achievable, because you can add to an existing structure,” he said. “If somebody does have the means, it brings more people to the neighborhood; it adds a little bit of density.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
WHAT: Next meeting of Strong Towns ABQWHEN: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 17WHERE: Center for Peace and Justice, at 202 Harvard Dr. SE**followed by a social hour at Flock of Moons, located at 111 Harvard Dr. SE.
Last year’s duplex reform would have allowed for the construction of a casita and a duplex on a single lot. This year’s amendment would only allow duplexes to be constructed in certain areas designated by LUPZ as urban centers, main street areas and premium transit areas, which include sectors near Central Avenue, Uptown and an area of the Westside (see map). The sites are located within a quarter mile of transit corridors. If an owner wishes to build a duplex on a vacant lot, a conditional use permit would still be required by the city.
“It’s actually pretty limited, but it makes logical sense for a first baby step to put more people in places where they can access transit. It’s important to build momentum,” Thompson said. “Not relying on a car is good for the climate; it’s good for health; it’s good for building stronger communities.”
Miller said single family homes are largely a post-World War II construct whose time may be passing.
“People’s families are different than they were in the 1950s,” he said. “Housing sizes have typically fallen; people don’t have as many kids; more people are single and there’s just fewer people per household.”
NEXT STEPS
City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn said she’s sponsoring the measure with City Councilor Nichole Rogers because many of their constituents say they can’t afford to buy or rent single family homes. Fiebelkorn said many are “precariously housed or precariously unhoused.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
WHAT: Land use, planning and zoning (LUPZ) committee meetingWHEN: 5 p.m. April 10 and May 15WHERE: Vincent E. Griego Council Chambers, on the basement level of the City of Albuquerque Government Center at 1 Civic Plaza NWVIRTUAL: via Zoom
“We want more people to live in those zones and increase the density,” she said. “It’s important to show that duplexes aren’t scary or detrimental. It’s vital that, specifically in our urban centers, we think of ways like this to increase density and housing options. The more supply, the lower the overall cost.”
The duplex proposal is part of a bill that includes other proposed zoning reforms to the city’s integrated development ordinance (IDO). LUPZ is scheduled to hear the proposed changes on Wednesday and on May 15. Fiebelkorn thinks the IDO bill could come before the full City Council as early as May or as late as June.
New Mexico Supreme Court upholds 2 murder convictions of man in 2009 double homicide case - Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday upheld two first-degree murder convictions of a man found guilty in a 2009 double homicide case.
Robert Chavez was convicted in 2022 in the killings of Max Griego Jr. and Mary Hudson Gutierrez and sentenced to two consecutive life prison sentences.
Chavez appealed the sentences to the state's high court, saying there was insufficient evidence to convict him of the murders based on uncorroborated testimony from accomplices. His team also argued that the district court erred when it used segments of his recorded jail telephone calls as evidence.
But the Supreme Court ruled the accomplice testimony was corroborated, there was sufficient evidence to convict Chavez and the district court didn't abuse its discretion in its evidentiary rulings.
Chavez's sentences are running consecutive with previous sentences, including a 26-year prison term for drug trafficking and life in prison plus 21 years for another murder.
Prosecutors said Chavez was the leader of the "AZ Boys," an organization allegedly connected to drug trafficking.
Court records show Griego and Hudson Gutierrez were found fatally shot in July 2009 at a home in Alamogordo, a small town about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of the border. Two men plus a driver were seen fleeing the scene, according to the documents.
The case went cold for almost a decade until Chavez and two other suspects were indicted in January 2019
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 on Monday 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, the 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 Representative Ryan Lane, of Aztec, who stepped down before the end of his second term. Lane said he would be spending more time with his family.
As theSanta Fe New Mexican reports, the House GOP caucus has elected Rod Montoya, of 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 Democratic House Speaker Javier Martínez, noting that they co-sponsored a memorial last year.
The GOP elected freshman Representative Alan Martínez, of Bernalillo, as minority whip.