FEMA offering medical and dental assistance to those affected by South Fork and Salt fires - Jeanette DeDios, KUNM News
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is offering New Mexicans assistance in paying for medical or dental expenses that were caused by the South Fork and Salt fires.
This assistance is provided by the Individuals and Households Program and unlike other forms of IHP assistance, individuals do not need to live in the declared disaster areas to be considered for assistance.
Assistance may also be available for disaster-caused losses and needs for medical and dental items or services. That includes prescriptions, medical equipment, service animals, and more.
To be eligible, expenses cannot be covered by your insurance, but partially covered items or services may be eligible. And you do not need to apply for a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration to receive assistance.
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES
- Injury or illness caused by the disaster.
- Pre-existing injury, disability, or medical condition aggravated by the disaster.
- Replacement of prescribed medication.
- Loss or damage of personal medical or dental equipment, e.g., cane, hearing aid, glasses, dentures.
- Medical or dental insurance deductibles and co-payments for eligible expenses.
- Veterinary and other expenses related to the loss or injury of a service animal.
TO BE ELIGIBLE
- Your expenses cannot be covered by your insurance or other sources.
- You may be eligible if your expenses are partially covered or under-insured.
- You must submit an insurance settlement or denial letter for medical/dental insurance or documentation of assistance received from other sources that helped with disaster-caused medical or dental expenses, such as voluntary agencies or other government agencies.
- You must submit verification of your disaster-caused damage/loss, and proof of expenses, e.g., receipts, estimates, etc. and a signed statement from a medical or dental provider, including the date of disaster-caused injury and expenses necessary for recovery.
OTHER FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Assistance for replacing lost or damaged medical or dental equipment is limited to items of similar quality and function as the item being replaced.
- Assistance for medical and dental services does not include medically unnecessary procedures (e.g., procedures designed to enhance appearance, such as teeth whitening).
- Assistance for service animals is limited to service dogs and miniature horses that perform a qualified task for a person with a disability. A service animal must be required because of a disability and perform a functional task for the applicant or a member of the household. Assistance is not available for therapy animals or emotional support animals.
HOW CAN I APPLY?
- The first step for individuals and households to receive assistance is to apply to FEMA for federal assistance. There are no costs involved to apply for, or receive, FEMA assistance. There are four ways to apply:
- Go online to disasterassistance.gov/
- Download the FEMA App for mobile devices
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., MT. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
- Visit a Disaster Recovery Center operated by the state of New Mexico and FEMA. For location and hours, visit fema.gov/drc
This video shows how to apply for assistance.
If you live in Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba or San Juan Counties or the Mescalero Apache Reservation the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Oct. 19, 2024.
4 people fatally shot in Albuquerque in apparent triple murder-suicide - Associated Press
Four people were fatally shot outside a northwest Albuquerque apartment building in an apparent triple murder-suicide early Sunday, authorities said.
Albuquerque police originally said four men were found dead. But at a news conference Sunday afternoon, they said three men and one woman died, including a father and son.
Police said witnesses told officers that the deceased knew each other. Their names were being withheld until relatives can be notified.
The four people were found at an apartment building parking lot and all were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds, according to police.
They said a young man shot and killed a man and woman in their 20s and a man in his 50s after a confrontation, then turned the gun on himself.
When the shootings occurred, police said nearby residents were urged to stay inside and lock their doors before the area was declared secure just before 1 a.m.
___
This story has been corrected to show that police now say the fatal shootings appear to be a triple-murder and a suicide. Earlier, authorities said that there were four fatalities and one person was in custody in connection with the deaths.
PNM, EPE look to increase regional collaboration amid energy transition challenges - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
As the utility grid changes, two of New Mexico’s investor-owned utilities are exploring options for partnering with other electricity providers in the region to better manage their supplies and demand.
Both El Paso Electric and the Public Service Company of New Mexico are considering joining what is known as a day-ahead market. The consulting firm Brattle Group analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of joining two of the existing day-ahead markets—EDAM and Markets+.
John Tsoukalis with the Brattle Group presented the information to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Thursday. After the presentation, PNM and EPE officials provided a few brief remarks.
These day-ahead markets are voluntary but financially binding markets that allow utilities to better hedge against the changing electricity prices. Participants buy and sell electricity the day before it is produced and delivered.
The PRC began discussing regional markets in depth with EPE and PNM about a year ago.
These markets are becoming increasingly important as more renewable energy enters the electric grid. That is because renewable sources like wind and solar are highly dependent on weather, which can change relatively quickly. In contrast, the past generation sources like gas and coal were easier to predict and manage.
Even renewable energy generation that is headed to California or Arizona can place constraints on the infrastructure that PNM and EPE rely on.
Currently, PNM and EPE participate in the Western Energy Imbalance Market, which helps manage regional electricity supplies and demands on a real-time basis.
Tsoukalis said the Brattle Group’s models are based on the projections for 2032.
“We pick a year that is distant enough in the future that the results won’t be automatically stale on day one, but not so far in the future that we don’t know about what the resource mix will look like and what load will look like,” he said.
Kelsey Martinez, director of regional markets and transmission strategy with PNM, and Emmanuel Villalobos, director of market development and resource strategy with EPE, presented on their respective utilities and the day-ahead markets.
The commission requested that Martinez and Villalobos include information about how the day-ahead markets could benefit ratepayers.
Martinez said the Brattle Group’s study results are new for PNM as well and the utility hasn’t had much time to evaluate them.
She said PNM’s decisions regarding regional markets are driven largely by the potential cost benefits to customers.
“We intend to move forward as soon as we can with a decision and implementation of a day ahead market,” Martinez said. “We really do think it’s absolutely necessary to be able to manage costs as we move through the energy transition.”
She said the day-ahead markets can also provide more reliability.
As PNM considers which day-ahead market to join, it is also looking at what utilities in Arizona are doing. Martinez said a lot of PNM’s transmission is connected to Arizona. At the same time, she said PNM did not want its choice to be dictated by the choice of Arizona utilities.
“We realized through this study that we do have a choice, and that the Arizona utilities market connectivity does influence things,” she said about the Brattle Group’s study.
Martinez said going with the same day-ahead market that Arizona utilities are joining could benefit PNM In some ways, but that more analysis needs to be done.
Another factor that is influencing PNM is the wind energy in eastern New Mexico. A lot of the wind development in the eastern part of the state is happening to benefit customers in places like California or Arizona. That can put constraints on PNM’s infrastructure as well by creating congestion. Joining the same day-ahead market that California utilities are using could help better manage that congestion.
She said PNM has not yet decided which day-ahead market it will join.
Villalobos said the Brattle Group’s study is “not the decision maker, but it is the next tool in our tool bag that we’re going to be able to use to finally make a market decision.”
He said that a past analysis indicated that Markets+ would be more beneficial to EPE, but the Brattle Group’s analysis points to EDAM being more beneficial.
He acknowledged that the past analysis was done when both Markets+ and EDAM were in earlier stages of development. The Brattle Group’s study is based on information that has actually been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Villalobos said the two studies do show that joining a day-ahead market is more beneficial than not joining.
“The study re-enforces the importance of regional collaboration,” he said.
Border arrests are expected to rise slightly in August but are hovering near 4-year lows - By Elliot Spagat Associated Press
Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico during August are expected to rise slightly from July, officials said, possibly ending a streak of five straight monthly declines but the numbers are hovering near four-year lows.
Authorities made about 54,000 arrests through Thursday, which, at the current rate, would bring the August total to about 58,000 when the month ends Saturday, according to two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been publicly released.
The tally suggests that arrests could be bottoming out after being halved from a record 250,000 in December, a decline that U.S. officials largely attributed to Mexican authorities increasing enforcement within their borders. Arrests were more than halved again after Democratic President Joe Biden invoked authority to temporarily suspend asylum processing in June. Arrests plunged to 56,408 in July, a nearly four-year low that changed little in August.
Asked about the latest numbers, the Homeland Security Department released a statement by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on Congress to support failed legislation that would have suspended asylum processing when crossings reached certain thresholds, reshaped how asylum claims are decided to relieve bottlenecked immigration courts and added Border Patrol agents, among other things.
Republicans including presidential nominee Donald Trump opposed the bill, calling it insufficient.
"Thanks to action taken by the Biden-Harris Administration, the hard work of our DHS personnel and our partnerships with other countries in the region and around the world, we continue to see the lowest number of encounters at our Southwest border since September 2020," Mayorkas said Saturday.
The steep drop from last year's highs is welcome news for the White House and the Democrats' White House nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, despite criticism from many immigration advocates that asylum restrictions go too far and from those favoring more enforcement who say Biden's new and expanded legal paths to entry are far too generous.
More than 765,000 people entered the United States legally through the end of July using an online appointment app called CBP One and an additional 520,000 from four nationalities were allowed through airports with financial sponsors. The airport-based offer to people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — all nationalities that are difficult to deport — was briefly suspended in July to address concerns about fraud by U.S. financial sponsors.
San Diego again had the most arrests among the Border Patrol's nine sectors on the Mexican border in August, followed by El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, though the three busiest corridors were close, the officials said. Arrests of Colombians and Ecuadoreans fell, which officials attributed to deportation flights to those South American countries. Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras were the top three nationalities.
NM State auditor taking a look at CRRUA finances - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico state auditor’s office confirmed it’s taking a closer look at the books of a water utility for Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, and southern Doña Ana county.
State Auditor Joseph Maestas said the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) was under scrutiny in an Aug. 19 letter to New Mexico Environmental Law Center attorneys requesting further action on behalf of residents.
“The [Office of the State Auditor] already has initiated an investigation of CRRUA regarding the concerns of fraud, waste, and abuse,” Maestas wrote in the letter.
Late last year, it came to light that CRRUA had distributed water with high levels of arsenic to customers for more than a year, without telling the public or the New Mexico Environment Department. Arsenic naturally occurs at higher levels in the region’s groundwater. High exposure over time contributes to certain kinds of cancers, and is linked to higher rates of diabetes, heart conditions and skin conditions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Top environmental officials called on the state auditor’s office and the state’s top prosecutor to investigate the water utility in March.
That investigation is ongoing and the state auditor’s office is “actively collaborating with other state and federal agencies,” said David Peña, a policy director with the New Mexico Auditor.
The office will publish a document at the conclusion of the investigation and after a legal review by state lawyers, which would outline any findings or note the inquiry’s closure, Peña said, but the timeline for that is uncertain.
CRRUA officials and staff said the utility has made significant improvements in water quality this year. The latest three tests from the New Mexico Environment Department show CRRUA is now in compliance, with arsenic levels in the utility’s water measuring below the federal limit of 10 parts per billion.
In June, CRRUA’s voluntary testing found the drinking water in one facility exceeded the federal level for arsenic at 13 parts per billion, but said staff addressed the issue and treated the water to safe standards.
An independent evaluation of CRRUA’s operations found the utility’s water rates were too small to effectively hire people needed to operate water treatment. The audit also found that the utility’s staff were not trained on best practices for some of the chemical treatment procedures, and that significant upgrades and repairs are needed to water treatment plants.
CRRUA raised its water rates in July, five years after it passed a plan that was never put in place by its staff.
The water utility also announced that it is using $440,000 to replace a filter in an arsenic treatment plant and that it has addressed 70% of the 58 infractions laid out by state regulators after a review in late 2023.
ANOTHER PUBLIC MEETING SET FOR SEPT. 16
But one thing residents said was at the top of the list: more public meetings.
José Saldana, an electrical engineer living in Sunland Park, said he was hopeful the investigation would spur state agencies to reckon with continued mistrust of CRRUA.
“People have known we have bad-quality water for years, decades,” he said.
Saldana said the company’s communication strategy of using social media excludes a lot of the older residents, and said that recent cancellations of the board’s regular meetings and use of special meetings was making it difficult for the community to attend.
He wants a broader discussion about the city of Sunland Park and Doña Ana County pausing the rate increases, or finding a different water company to operate the utility.
“Hire another company to gain the respect and trust again and not increase water bills until they fix the issues,” he said.
After Source NM inquiries Thursday, the New Mexico Environment Department announced a tentatively scheduled public meeting for Sept. 16 for concerns about CRRUA’s water.
“We had not announced that date yet because we generally post such dates closer to the day of the meeting,” said Drew Goretzka, an environment department spokesperson. Details about the meeting aren’t finalized yet.
Daisy Maldonado, an organizer with nonprofit Empowerment Congress of Doña Ana County, said she understands why the board might be hesitant to hold town hall meetings.
“Essentially, they’re not the folks who are ultimately responsible for past transgressions,” she said. “However, they are tasked to repair what has happened in the past – that’s the reason to show the community that they’re trying to rebuild the trust and reputation of services.”
She said holding meetings in-person is crucial to avoiding rumors and offers the chance for the public to directly ask questions.
Emails, phone calls and a text message requesting comment from CRRUA spokesperson Udell Vigil went unreturned Thursday.
Emails and calls to Mayor of Sunland Park, Javier Perea, who chairs CRRUA’s board, also went unreturned. A city employee said Perea was out of town and would return to the office after the Labor Day weekend on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Saldana and Vivian Fuller, from Santa Teresa, both spoke at the wide-ranging town hall Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held on July 25, asking for state agencies to hold informational meetings, and asked for a delay in paying higher rates until people could trust CRRUA’s water quality.
Lujan Grisham said water costs are expected to rise with the scarcity and costs to treat water, and also said it would take time to address the longstanding issues at CRRUA. She promised Sunland Park and Santa Teresa residents that state environment and health agencies would host a public meeting.
“We’ve been out there but we’re not communicating with residents, it’s clear to me that we’re not doing the job we should do,” Lujan Grisham said at the event in July.
NM Democratic Party staff unionize - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
The Democratic Party of New Mexico announced Friday that its staff has unionized — a first for the state political party.
In a statement, spokesperson Daniel Garcia, who will serve as the staff union steward, said the move was, “long overdue” for a party with “strong connections to the structure and ideals of the Organized Labor Movement.”
After nearly two years of effort, the employees unionized under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — or IAMAW — Local Lodge 794, according to the announcement.
IAMAW representative Ashley Long said they were “proud” to welcome the party staff into the union, calling its collective bargaining agreement “unique.”
In addition to covering salary ranges, benefits, and grievance procedures, the agreement protects staff at the political party from repercussions for expressing personal opinions or participating in political activities on their own time. The agreement also prohibits AI from “replacing human labor.”
Party Affairs and Organizing Director Isaiah Baca said in a statement that the agreement makes the party a stronger workplace and means it is, “finally fully living up to its pro-Labor values.”
In a statement, the party said its newly unionized staff “offers their unironic support and nonpartisan willingness to help the Republican Party of New Mexico staff unionize,” as well.
Navajo Nation adopts changes to tribal law regulating the transportation of uranium across its land - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
The Navajo Nation has approved emergency legislation meant to strengthen a tribal law that regulates the transportation of radioactive material across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S.
The move is in response to the revival of a uranium mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon that has drawn much criticism from environmentalists and Native American tribes in the region.
Navajo President Buu Nygren signed the legislation Thursday as talks continue among tribal officials and Energy Fuels Inc. to craft an agreement that would address concerns about any potential risks to the public or the environment.
The updated law calls for more advance notification of plans to ship uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine in northern Arizona to a mill in Utah. The payment of transport fees and the filing of emergency preparedness plans also are among the mandates.
The tribe in 2005 banned uranium mining across the sprawling reservation, pointing to the painful legacy of contamination, illness and death that was left behind by the extraction of nearly 30 millions tons of the ore during World War II and the Cold War.
Despite that ban, tribal lawmakers in 2012 stopped short of prohibiting the transportation of uranium across Navajo lands. Instead, they declared the tribe's general opposition to moving ore across tribal lands and adopted regulations to protect human health and the environment by requiring notification and financial assurance, among other things.
Navajo leaders said it was time to strengthen that law and require earlier notification of shipments by Energy Fuels as the company ramps up operations.
Nygren said notification under the existing law didn't happen when Energy Fuels shipped its first two loads of ore in July and his efforts to have tribal police intercept the semi-trucks were too late.
"The purpose of this legislation is to provide for the protection, health and safety of the Navajo Nation and its people and our precious resources such as our water," he said in a letter thanking lawmakers for prioritizing the issue.
Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch said ongoing talks with the company are aimed at making sure any transport of the ore is done in a responsible way. She also made references to the legacy of uranium mining in the region and said remediation work has yet to be done in many locations.
"That's part of why the (Navajo) Nation needed to respond so strongly here, to push back and ensure that our community doesn't continue to get disproportionately burdened with radiation and uranium-based waste and contamination," she said in a statement.
Energy Fuels said Thursday it is optimistic about reaching an agreement with the Navajo Nation that will clear the way for shipments to resume. The company also said the discussions have been consistent with the provisions of the amended tribal law.
"At the end of the day, we want Navajo leadership and Navajo citizens to be comfortable with modern uranium ore transport and to understand that it poses no risk to human health or the environment," said Curtis Moore, a company spokesman. "And, we are willing to go above-and-beyond applicable federal and state laws to make that happen."
The Navajo law does make reference to U.S. regulations that govern the transportation of radioactive materials. In general, those rules call for more precautions when enriched uranium, spent nuclear fuel or highly radioactive waste is involved. Uranium ore falls into a different category.
The semi-trucks that will be carrying ore are outfitted with thick plastic covers that are tight-fitting and water proof to limit dust from escaping or rain from seeping in.
Under the Navajo law, the trucks can be inspected, and shipments during tribal fairs along the designated route would be prohibited.
If a company ignored the rules, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency could issue an order of compliance along with penalties. The Navajo attorney general could also seek a temporary restraining order or injunction through tribal court if the law were violated.
4 people fatally shot in Albuquerque in apparent triple murder-suicide - Associated Press
Four people were fatally shot outside a northwest Albuquerque apartment building in an apparent triple murder-suicide early Sunday, authorities said.
Albuquerque police originally said four men were found dead. But at a news conference Sunday afternoon, they said three men and one woman died, including a father and son.
Police said witnesses told officers that the deceased knew each other. Their names were being withheld until relatives can be notified.
The four people were found at an apartment building parking lot and all were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds, according to police.
They said a young man shot and killed a man and woman in their 20s and a man in his 50s after a confrontation, then turned the gun on himself.
When the shootings occurred, police said nearby residents were urged to stay inside and lock their doors before the area was declared secure just before 1 a.m. ___ This story has been corrected to show that police now say the fatal shootings appear to be a triple-murder and a suicide. Earlier, authorities said that there were four fatalities and one person was in custody in connection with the deaths.