Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Joe Craig dies — KUNM News, Albuquerque Journal
Joe Craig, mayor of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, has died. He was in his early 70s.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Craig, who was elected in November, had been sick for several weeks and was working from home before he died Tuesday at an Albuquerque hospital.
The nature of his illness has not been released.
Craig ran for mayor on a platform of encouraging open-space and rural areas, and opposing high-density development.
A Tuesday meeting of the village board of trustees was canceled. The board had planned discussing seeking a court injunction to put a stop to the Village Center Project development on the corner of Fourth and Osuna that includes a three-story, 204 unit affordable living complex.
Marsha Adams, President of the Friends of Los Ranchos, said Craig will be missed greatly, but that the group plans to continue championing his vision for the village, and work on bringing down the development.
Craig is the second mayor of the village to die in office in the last six years. Mayor Larry Abraham died in May of 2018 at the age of 64.
Multigenerational center first of several new projects planned for NW Albuquerque - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
City leaders celebrated a key Westside project with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new multigenerational center to be built near Cibola Loop and Cuba Road NW.
The center, expected to open in August 2025, will bring to the area city services and programs aimed at residents of all ages. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said access to those services, including breakfast and lunch, is important for seniors and youth.
The center is the first of multiple new amenities planned for the site; a library and municipal pool will follow. The area already has new police and fire stations.
A multigenerational center was a logical first step, as it will serve as a bustling community hub during future Westside growth, Keller said.
“We have, I think, realized a little bit of a consensus, which is that multi-gens are the way to start,” he said, “because they are the most accessible and most beneficial for everyone.”
The new multigenerational center, Keller said, will have a drawing power that extends beyond the city limits.
“Our neighbors in Rio Rancho are gonna love it,” he said.
Dejah Moss, who lives near the site, said she’s excited about the potential of the new center to bring the community closer together. She said it’s a better fit than Section 8 housing that had been considered for the site.
Moss said her family will use the center, particularly her husband, whose prework workouts will be made easier.
She said she was surprised at the ceremony, which indicates progress on a site that’s been discussed since she moved there several years ago.
“I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen or when,” Moss said.
State Rep. Cynthia Borrego said the center is a great need, as the nearest multigenerational center, North Domingo Baca, is eight miles away and Bernalillo County’s Westside Community Center is 17 miles away.
City Council President Dan Lewis, who has at times been at odds with the mayor, praised Keller’s efforts.
“Tim Keller has been a great champion of this project,” Lewis said. “A lot of our directors (were) really championing this project and really pushing to move it forward. So, thank you to the mayor for giving good leadership on that and seeing that this project gets built.”
Keller, for his part, directed credit elsewhere, both for the new multigenerational center and other projects launched or completed during his term; those include the International District Library, New Mexico Media Academy and new Sierra Community Center.
“None of these projects were my or my administration’s idea,” he said. “They were all ideas from the community from decades past. I said ‘Let’s build something.’”
Keller said the groundbreaking was in jeopardy, but the City Council moved quickly by passing a bond issue about two weeks ago to make sure there was enough money to launch the project.
Voters previously approved $13 million in city bonds over several years for the first phase. The state Legislature has contributed about $3 million and the recent council action added another $1.8 million.
State Sen. Harold Pope Jr., one of several legislators lauded for their assistance in securing state funding for the project, said he’ll keep his gym membership, but will be a user of the new center.
MULTI-GEN CENTERS
The new multigenerational center will be the fourth operated by the city’s Department of Senior Affairs. It will join Manzano Mesa, North Domingo Baca, and the newly constructed Santa Barbara Martineztown Multigenerational Center, which is slated to open in the coming months.
Lewis said the new center is, for the time being, referred to as the “Cibola Loop Multigenerational Center,” though the plan is to consult with the community and eventually decide on a permanent name.
The building, which will have almost 15,000 square feet of space, will be constructed in phases, with the first phase to include a multipurpose room, meeting room and classroom.
Jennifer Turner, director of the city’s Municipal Development Department, said the August 2025 completion date is an informed target, as general contractor Weil Construction was brought in during the design phase and could discuss costs and scheduling associated with the project.
Another recent city project, the North Domingo Baca Park Aquatic Center, continues to move forward. Local construction firm Bradbury Stamm was selected to build the swimming and diving complex and is now in contract negotiations with the city.
That process is expected to wrap up around the end of this month, said Emily Moore, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department.
Provision for acequia insurance hanging in balance as U.S. House and Senate debate Farm Bill - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New MexicoIn their 942-page Farm Bill proposalreleased late last week, Republican House leaders did not include a provision that would preserve insurance for acequia associations facing lower crop yields amid multi-year drought.
Keeping acequias eligible for the insurance, a provision touted by members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, is among many differences between the Senate Democrats and House Republicans plans for the twice-a-decade Farm Bill that needs to be renewed by Sept. 30.
The Farm Bill is already a year late, after expiring in September 2023 over disagreements between the split Congress on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, crop insurance and other aspects of the legislation.
The House’s version would spend up to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. While the Senate has not yet released the full text of its version of the Senate bill, or provide an estimate of its cost, it did release summaries of key provisions earlier this month, including one that would clarify that acequias are eligible for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
The program provides insurance to farmers who are not otherwise eligible for other kinds of federal crop insurance and suffer from disasters like drought, hurricanes, hail or floods.
Acequias are centuries-old irrigation channels relied upon by generations of farmers in New Mexico. Many of them buy crop insurance to protect against harvests damaged by drought, which has intensified across the state in recent years due to climate change.
In 2018, farmers along acequias in Rio Arriba County learned that a policy imposed by former President Donald Trump would make their farms ineligible for the insurance program. The federal Farm Service Agency office in the area also reduced the threshold for harvests that would allow farmers to make an insurance claim, according to U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s office.
In 2021, Luján intervened, convincing incoming President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Secretary to pause the policy and get the farmers paid back for their losses.
“New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers are essential workers who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Luján said in a news release at the time. “This reversal in policy and practice represents a hard-fought victory that gives New Mexicans the benefits they deserve and have paid into.”
In 2023, Luján sponsored the ACEQUIA Act, which would enshrine the pause into law, along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) in the House.
The law was never enacted, but Luján, as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was able to get the provision included in the Senate’s framework for the Farm Bill, Luján spokesperson Adan Serna said.
But it’s not in the House version released Thursday, and both chambers are now working to agree on a compromise, Serna said Tuesday.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement May 17 that, while the two bills have a lot in common, she was concerned the House proposal will “split the broad, bipartisan coalition that has always been the foundation of a successful Farm Bill.”
While the House version of the Farm Bill does not include the insurance provision, it does make acequias eligible for funding from the Water Source Protection Program, which provides $30 million annually to help the federal Forest Service and farmers partner to improve watershed and forest health.
Sites with radioactive material more vulnerable as climate change increases wildfire, flood risks - By Tammy Webber Associated Press
Climate change increasingly threatens some of the nation's most sensitive sites, including research laboratories, military facilities and power plants with radioactive material.
Extreme heat and drought, longer fire seasons with larger, more intense blazes and supercharged rainstorms that can lead to catastrophic flooding are forcing a reckoning that environmentalists and experts say is long overdue.
Many sites are contaminated or warehouse decades of radioactive waste, while some perform critical energy and defense research and manufacturing that could be crippled by increasingly unpredictable extreme weather.
Among them: The 40-square-mile Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where a 2000 wildfire burned to within a half mile of a radioactive waste site. The Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Southern California, where a 2018 wildfire burned 80% of the site, narrowly missing an area contaminated by a 1959 partial nuclear meltdown. And the plutonium-contaminated Hanford nuclear site in Washington, where the U.S. manufactured atomic bombs.
In February, wildfires came within 3 miles of the Pantex Plant in Texas, which assembles and disassembles nuclear weapons and stores thousands of plutonium pits — hollow spheres that trigger nuclear warheads and bombs.
Fire didn't reach the site, and officials said plutonium pits — in fire-resistant drums and shelters — likely would not have been affected. But the size and speed of the fires, urgent efforts to dig firebreaks and the decision to send workers home underscore what's at stake.
The Texas fire season often starts in February, but farther west it has yet to ramp up.
"I think we're still early in recognizing climate change and ... how to deal with these extreme weather events," said Paul Walker, program director at Green Cross International and a former House Armed Services Committee staffer. "What might have been safe 25 years ago probably is no longer safe."
That realization has begun to change how the government addresses threats.
The Department of Energy in 2022 required sites to assess climate risks to "mission-critical functions and operations," and plan for them. It cited wildfires at two national laboratories and a 2021 freeze that damaged "critical facilities" at Pantex.
Yet the agency does not consider future climate risks when authorizing new sites or projects, or in periodic environmental assessments. It only considers how sites themselves might affect climate change, which critics call short-sighted and potentially dangerous.
Likewise, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers only historical climate data in licensing decisions and nuclear plant oversight, according to a General Accounting Office study in April that recommended NRC "fully consider potential climate change effects." The GAO found that 60 of 75 U.S. plants were in areas with high flood hazard and 16 with high wildfire potential.
"We're acting like ... (what's) happening now is what we can expect to happen in 50 years," said Caroline Reiser, a climate and energy attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The reality of what our climate is doing has shifted dramatically, and we need to shift our planning."
The National Nuclear Security Administration's environmental safety and health division, which oversees active DOE sites, will develop "crucial" methodologies to address climate risks in permitting and site assessments, said John Weckerle, the division's director of environmental regulatory affairs.
"We all know the climate is changing. Everybody's thinking about, what effect are we having on the climate?" Weckerle said. "Now we need to flip that on its head and say, 'OK ... but what do we think is going to happen as a result of climate on a particular site?'"
Experts say risks vary. Most plutonium and other radioactive material is in concrete or steel structures or underground. And many sites are remote, where public risk likely would be minimal.
Still, potential threats have arisen.
In 2000, a wildfire burned one-third of the 580-square-mile (1,502-square-kilometer) Hanford site, which produced plutonium for the U.S. atomic weapons program and is considered the nation's most radioactive place.
Air monitoring detected plutonium in nearby populated areas at levels higher than background, but only for one day at levels not considered hazardous, according to a Washington health department report.
The state said the plutonium likely was from surface soil blown by wind during and after the fire.
A 2018 fire in California started at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former nuclear research and rocket-engine testing site, and burned within several hundred feet of contaminated buildings and soil, and near where a nuclear reactor core partially melted down 65 years ago.
The state's Department of Toxic Substances Control muti-agency sampling found no off-site radioactive or other hazardous material from the fire. But an outside study found radioactive microparticles in ash beyond of the lab boundary.
The state ordered 18 buildings demolished, citing "substantial endangerment to people and the environment," because future fires could release radioactive and hazardous substances.
It ordered cleanup of old burn pits contaminated with radioactive materials, fearing fire or floods could damage tarps covering them.
A 2000 wildfire burned 7,500 acres at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, coming within a half-mile of more than 24,000 above-ground containers of mostly plutonium-contaminated waste.
Most containers have since been shipped to offsite storage. Remaining radioactive material — including from the Manhattan Project — now is underground or in containers beneath fire-retardant fabric-and-steel domes.
The lab's fire preparedness includes thinning forests, said Rich Nieto, manager of its wildland fire program. "What used to be a three-month (fire) season, sometimes will be a six-month season," he said.
Fire isn't the only threat. Intense rainstorms can wash away contaminated sediment. Floods and extreme cold have forced the shutdown of several DOE sites in recent years.
In 2010, Pantex was inundated with rain that affected operations for almost a month and flooded a plutonium storage area. In 2021, it was shut down for a week because of extreme cold that officials said led to "freeze-related failures" at 10 nuclear facilities there.
Pantex has since adopted freeze-protection measures, upgraded fire and electrical systems and installed backup generators.
Other DOE sites are looking at their own needs, the nuclear security agency's Weckerle said.
"We live in a time of increased risk," he said. "That's just the heart of it (and) ... a lot of that does have to do with climate change."
Albuquerque City Council approves $1.4 billion budget - By Carolyn Carlson, City Desk ABQ
Budget bumps, popsicles and postponed charter changes dominated the lengthy Albuquerque City Council meeting May 20. In the end, a $1.4 billion budget was approved for fiscal year 2025.
BUDGET UPS AND DOWNS
A big chunk of the five-plus hour meeting was spent working out the dollar details. After a couple of hours of discussion between the council and administration, Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel handed out popsicles continuing a city budget tradition started by her predecessor Lawrence Rael.
A big ticket item was the reorganization of some employees who work for departments but are also under the purview of the mayor’s office. These include some parks and recreation employees who will now be under the chief administrative officer. An additional $3.5 million was added to the administration’s budget of $3.1 million to handle the new employees.
There were no changes to the proposed $271.5 million police budget, the $17.9 million community safety budget or the $119.9 million Albuquerque Fire Rescue budget.
The BioPark and library services came out as winners.
Councilors approved a $500,000 bump for the BioPark to go toward taking care of all the living things — more than twice the amount requested by staff and the public after $200,000 was left out of the mayor’s proposed budget. The library also received $400,000 back in the budget. Councilors eliminated fee increases for the city’s swimming pools and raised municipal golf green fees by $1.
About $1 million in funding for housing vouchers was left out of the budget. When questioned about putting the funding back, Health, Housing and Homelessness representatives talked about the amount of time it takes to get voucher money out the door. City administrators said it can take up to 200 days for a person to work through the process and get placed in housing — and that is if housing is available. Because of this, not all the funding allocated is used in one year and is subject to being reverted.
Also included was $400,000 in funding to use to match federal Medicaid or Medicare resources to create a pilot program that will offer wrap-around services for individuals with psychiatric and/or substance abuse disorders.
IT’S COMPLICATED
After hours of amendments, councilors deferred several city charter changes until the next meeting.
One major proposal is to change the requirement that a mayor or city councilor have at least 50% of the vote or be subject to a run-off election. The proposed change states the winner would need at least 40% of the total vote.
The other proposals involve changing the procedure for the appointment and removal of the city attorney and city clerk; allowing the City Council to remove the police chief and fire chief and changing the procedure to resolve disputes between the executive and legislative branches regarding their respective duties.
If approved, the proposed changes would be sent to the voters in November.
Santa Fe ‘mansion tax’ returns to court - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
The city of Santa Fe’s so-called “mansion tax” will return to court Wednesday, less than a week before it’s set to take effect.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the lawsuit was filed in October by Kurt Hill, Richard Newton and the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, which campaigned against the tax voters passed overwhelmingly in November. They argue the tax is illegal because the city does not have the authority to tax real estate.
The city argues the tax is on the transaction, so is permissible. It also charges that the plaintiffs cannot challenge the ordinance because they haven’t been harmed by it.
The ordinance would impose a 3% tax on Santa Fe homes sold for more than $1 million. It would be on the purchaser to pay the tax on any amount over the $1 million mark. The revenue would benefit the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The tax is scheduled to go into effect next Tuesday, May 28.
Nearly 800 New Mexico veterans see healthcare benefits expand under toxic exposure law - By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The law, approved with broad bipartisan support following years of advocacy by veterans, their families and service organizations, has also led to more than 145,000 people enrolling in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In New Mexico more than 11,800 claims have been sent to the VA, which has processed and approved 6,858 of those claims, according to data provided by the White House. Under the new order 892 veterans in the state will also be able to access more health care benefits.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement that the law has made “tangible, life-changing differences for” veterans and their survivors.
“That has meant more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans as well as access to no-cost VA health care across all 50 states and the territories,” McDonough said.
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during the call that the law, known as the PACT Act, “represents the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans, including veterans exposed to burn pits and certain veterans exposed to radiation and Agent Orange.”
“This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent,” Tanden said. Biden’s son, Beau, died at 46 years old in 2015 from brain cancer.
The approval rate for benefits under the PACT Act is about 75%, according to a senior administration official.
Biden is set to make the announcement during a trip to Merrimack, New Hampshire.
BURN PIT EXPOSURE
Congress struggled for years before reaching a compromise on when and how to provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to open air burn pits during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hazardous chemicals, medical waste, batteries and other toxic substances were disposed of in those burn pits, typically located on military bases. Service members had no choice but to live and work alongside the smoke, often breathing it in.
The law added 23 illnesses to the list of conditions that the VA presumes are connected to military service, eliminating the arduous and complicated process that many veterans had to undergo to try to get health care and benefits for those diagnoses.
Before the bill became law, veterans often had to prove to the VA that their illnesses were connected to their military service if they wanted to receive benefits or health care for those illnesses.
The U.S. Senate voted 84-14 in June 2022 to send the legislation to the House, where it was delayed for weeks over a dispute about incentivizing health care providers to move to rural or very rural areas.
The bill passed the House following a 342-88 vote in July, after that section was removed from the package. Senators voted 86-11 in August to send the bill to Biden’s desk.
The president signed the bill during a ceremony on Aug. 10.
“When they came home, many of the fittest and best warriors that we sent to war were not the same,” Biden said during the event. “Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”
The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.
The VA has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.